The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a
vassal state
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back t ...
under the
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is ca ...
of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
. It was established by the
Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
After the
Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the
Treaty of San Stefano was signed by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
and the Ottoman Empire on 3 March 1878. Under this, a large Bulgarian vassal state was agreed to, which was significantly larger: its lands encompassed nearly all
ethnic Bulgarians in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, and included most of
Moesia,
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
and
Macedonia, stretching from the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
to the
Aegean. However, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
were against the establishment of such a large Russian
client state
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite sta ...
in the Balkans, fearing it would shift the balance of power in the Mediterranean. Due to this, the
great power
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power i ...
s
convened and signed the
Treaty of Berlin, superseding the Treaty of San Stefano, which never went into effect. This created a much smaller
principality, alongside an autonomous
Eastern Rumelia within the Ottoman Empire.
In practice, Bulgaria's status as an Ottoman vassal was a
legal fiction, and Bulgaria only acknowledged the authority of the
Sublime Porte in a formal way. It had its
own Constitution, flag and anthem, and conducted its own foreign policy. From 1880, it had its own currency as well. In 1885, a
bloodless revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
resulted in Eastern Rumelia being ''de facto'' annexed by Bulgaria, which the Ottoman Empire accepted with the
Tophane Agreement
The Tophane Agreement was a treaty between the Principality of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire signed on during an ambassadorial conference in Istanbul. The agreement was named after the Istanbul neighborhood Tophane, located in Beyoğlu distri ...
. On 5 October 1908, Bulgaria
declared its independence as the
Kingdom of Bulgaria.
Background
In 1396 the
Bulgarian–Ottoman Wars
The Bulgarian–Ottoman wars were fought between the kingdoms remaining from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, in the second half of the 14th century. The wars resulted with the collapse and subordination of t ...
ended with the fall of the
Bulgarian Empire
In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
, due to the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans and its own internal divisions. Under Ottoman rule, the Bulgarian
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
was destroyed and the national consciousness suppressed. The
Bulgarian National Revival, emerging in the late 18th century, revived Bulgarian identity and stoked the idea of creating a new Bulgarian state. Numerous revolutionary movements and uprisings against the Ottomans occurred alongside similar movements in the rest of the Balkans, culminating in the
Russo-Turkish War of 1877 to 1878.
Treaty of Berlin
The
Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878 proposed a Bulgarian state, which comprised the geographical regions of
Moesia,
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
and
Macedonia. Based on that date
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...
celebrate
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
's
national day each year.
Fearing the establishment of a large Russian client state on the Balkans, the other great powers, however, were not willing to agree to the treaty. As a result, the
Treaty of Berlin (1878), under the supervision of
Otto von Bismarck of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
Benjamin Disraeli of
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, revised the earlier treaty, and scaled back the proposed Bulgarian state.
A widely autonomous Principality of Bulgaria was created, between the Danube and the
Stara Planina
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border be ...
range, with its seat at the old Bulgarian capital of
Veliko Turnovo, and including Sofia. This state was to be under nominal Ottoman sovereignty but was to be ruled by a prince elected by a congress of Bulgarian notables and approved by the Powers. They insisted that the Prince could not be a Russian, but in a compromise Prince
Alexander of Battenberg, a nephew of Tsar
Alexander II, was chosen. An autonomous Ottoman province under the name of
Eastern Rumelia was created south of the
Stara Planina
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border be ...
range, whereas Macedonia was returned under the sovereignty of the Sultan.
19th century
The Bulgarians adopted an
advanced democratic constitution, and power soon passed to the Liberal Party led by
Stefan Stambolov. Prince Alexander had conservative leanings, and at first opposed Stambolov's policies, but by 1885 he had become sufficiently sympathetic to his new country to change his mind, and supported the Liberals. He also supported the Unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, which was brought about by a coup in Plovdiv in September 1885. The Powers did not intervene because of the power struggles between them. Shortly after,
Serbia declared war on Bulgaria in the hope of grabbing territory while the Bulgarians were distracted. The Bulgarians defeated them at
Slivnitsa
Slivnitsa ( bg, Сливница ) is a town in western Bulgaria, 22 km away from Sofia, lying on the main road connecting the capital with the Bulgarian-Serbian border. Slivnitsa is part of Sofia Province and is close to the towns of Kostin ...
, pushed the Serbian army into Serbia and succeeded to re-conquer the seized by the Berlin Treaty Bulgarian populated towns of
Pirot and
Vranya, but they were given back to Serbia with the
Treaty of Bucharest in 1886.
These events made Alexander very popular in Bulgaria, but Russia was increasingly dissatisfied at the liberal tendencies under his reign.
In August 1886 they fomented a coup, in the course of which Alexander was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Russia. Stambolov, however, acted quickly and the participants in the coup were forced to flee the country. Stambolov tried to reinstate Alexander, but strong Russian opposition forced the prince to abdicate again. In July 1887 the Bulgarians elected
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as their new Prince. Ferdinand was the "
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
candidate" and the Russians refused to recognise him. Ferdinand initially worked with Stambolov, but by 1894 their relationship worsened. Stambolov resigned and was assassinated in July 1895. Ferdinand then decided to restore relations with Russia, which meant returning to a conservative policy.
20th century
There was a substantial Bulgarian population still living under Ottoman rule, particularly in Macedonia. To complicate matters, Serbia and Greece too made claims over parts of Macedonia, while Serbia, as a Slavic nation, also considered Macedonians
as belonging to Serbian nation. Thus began a five-sided struggle for control of these areas which lasted until
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. In 1903 there was a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia and war seemed likely. In 1908 Ferdinand used the struggles between the Great Powers to
declare Bulgaria a fully independent kingdom, with himself as Tsar, which he did on 5 October (though celebrated on 22 September, as Bulgaria remained officially on the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...
until 1916) in the
Holy Forty Martyrs Church, Veliko Tarnovo.
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
The main external political problem confronting Bulgaria throughout the period up to World War I was the fate of Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. At the end of 19th century the
Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization was founded and began the preparation of an armed uprising in the regions still occupied by the Ottoman Turks. Relying in part on nationwide support on the part of the Principality of Bulgaria, IMARO got down to organizing a network of committees in Macedonia and Thrace. In August 1903 a mass armed uprising, known in history as the Ilinden-Preobrajenie, broke out in Macedonia and Thrace. Its aim was to liberate those regions, or at least to draw the attention of the Great Powers and make them advocate for the improvement of the living conditions for the population through legal and economic reforms. After three months of fierce battles the Ottoman army crushed the uprising using much cruelty against the civilian population.
List of Princes of Bulgaria
Gallery
File:Syedinena Bylgaria - Litografia na N.Pavlovich.JPG, Bulgarian unification of 1885
File:Palace of prince Alexander of Bulgaria (engraving).jpg, The 1886 Bulgarian coup d'état
The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1886, also known as the 9 August coup d'état ( bg, Деветоавгустовски преврат, ''Devetoavgustovski prevrat'') was an attempted dethronement of Knyaz Alexander Battenberg in Principality of Bu ...
File:Portrait of Alexander I von Battenberg.png, Portrait of Prince Alexander
File:Bulgarian-Exarchate-1870-1913.jpg, Territory of the Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...
from 1870-1913
See also
*
History of Bulgaria (1878–1946)
References
External links
Rulers of Bulgariaat World Statesmen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgaria, Principality of
States and territories established in 1878
States and territories disestablished in 1908
1878 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
1908 disestablishments in Europe
1870s in Bulgaria
1880s in Bulgaria
1890s in Bulgaria
1900s in Bulgaria
Vassal states of the Ottoman Empire
Former principalities