The Ottoman Empire and Nationalism in the Balkans



Essential Unit Question: What are the responsibilities of government?Aim: Did ethnic nationalism make WII inevitable?Nationalism in the Balkans Directions: Read the following passage and highlight key information. Answer the questions after the reading. Before 1914, European had experienced almost fifty years of peace. There had been wars (including wars of conquest in the non-Western world) but none had involved the great powers. A series of crises had occurred that might easily have led to war. One reason they did not is that until 1890, Otto Von Bismarck of Germany exercised a restraining influence on the Europeans. Bismarck knew that the emergence of a unified Germany in 1871 had upset the balance of power established at Vienna in 1815. Fearing the French desire for revenge over their lose of Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck made an alliance in 1873 and again in 1881 with Austria-Hungary and Russia. But the Three Emperors’ League, as it was called, failed to work very well, because of Russian-Austrian rivalry in the Balkans. The problem with the Balkans was a by-product of the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was troubled by the hopes of its subject people in the Balkans for their freedom. Corruption and inefficiency had weakened the Ottoman Empire that only by the efforts of the European powers kept it alive.In the course of the 19th century, the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire gradually gained their freedom, although the rivalry in the region between Russia and Austria-Hungary complicated the process. For Russia, the Balkans provided the shortest overland route to Constantinople and the Mediterranean. Austria viewed the Balkans as fertile ground for expansion. Although Germany had no real interests in the Balkans, Bismarck was fearful of the consequences of a war between Russia and Austria over the region and served as a restraining influence on both powers. Events in the Balkans, however, precipitated a new crisis.Greece was made an independent kingdom in 1830 after its successful revolt against the Ottoman Empire. In 1875, several peoples in the Balkans revolted. The Ottoman Turks crushed the revolts, but the Russians came to the aid of their fellow Slavs in the Balkans by declaring war on the Ottomans. After Russia’s defeat of the Ottoman Turks, the great powers met at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 and Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, until then nominally under Ottoman control, were recognized as independent states. Bulgaria gained autonomous status under Russian protection. The other Balkan territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under the protection of Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary could occupy them but not annex them. These gains, however, did not stop Balkan nationalism.After the Congress of Berlin, the European powers sought new alliances to safeguard their security. Angered by the German’s actions at the Congress, Russia terminated the Three Emperors’ League. Bismarck then made an alliance with Austria that was joined by Italy in 1882. The Triple Alliance committed Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy to support the existing political order while providing a defensive alliance against France or “two or more great powers not members of the alliance.” At the same time, the ending of the Russian-German alliance brought France and Russian together, and in 1894, the two powers created a military alliance. During the next ten years, German policies abroad threatened British’s empire and by 1907, Great Britain, France and Russia – known as the Triple Entente- stood opposed to the Triple Alliance. Europe was now divided into two opposing camps that became more and more inflexible and unwilling to compromise.Crises in the Balkans (1908-1913)In 1908, Austria-Hungary took the step of annexing two Slavic-speaking territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia was outraged, who hoped one day to make that region part of a Greater Serbia. Russia, whose mission was to protect their fellow Slavs and to gain access to the eastern Mediterranean through the Bosporus and Dardanelles, supported the Serbs. Backed by Russia, the Serbs prepared for war against Austria-Hungary. However, Germany supported Austria-Hungary and because Russia was already weak from their defeat in the Russo-Japanese war, backed down from war, was left humiliated again, but vowed revenge!In 1912, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Greece organized the Balkan League and defeated the Ottomans in the First Balkan War. The victorious allies were unable to agree on how to divide the newly conquered territories of Macedonia and Albania so a Second Balkan War erupted. This time it was Serbia, Greece, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire against Bulgaria and won. As a result, Bulgaria only received a small part of Macedonia. The two Balkan wars left the people of the Balkans embittered and created more tensions among the great powers.Serbia’s desire for a Greater Serbia was unfulfilled and blamed Austria-Hungary for it. Austria-Hungary was convinced that Serbia was a threat to its empire. Russia was angry and determined not to back down again in the event of another confrontation with Austria-Hungary and Germany. By the beginning of 1914, these two opposing camps viewed each other with suspicion. An American in Europe observed, “The whole of Germany is charged with electricity. Everyone’s nerves are tense. It only needs a spark to set the whole thing off.” Western Civilization: Volume C: Since 1789By Jackson J. SpielvogelWhat rivalry existed between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balkan region of the Ottoman Empire?What alliances were created and who belonged to each alliance?What is nationalism and why were the people of the Balkan region nationalistic? Based on this reading, why is the Balkan region seen as the “Powder Keg” of Europe? 2014855643001000 ................
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