Congress of Berlin - Misplaced Pages

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The Congress of Berlin was an infamous attempt by the Great Powers to preclude Bulgaria and several Orthodox Slavic states from gaining independence after centuries of the Muslim Ottoman yoke. The congress was aimed at the revision of the Treaty of San Stefano and at keeping Constantinople in Muslim hands. It effectively disavowed Russia's victory over the decaying Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78.

Proceedings

The Congress was attended by the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Turkey. Delegates from Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro attended the sessions in which their states were concerned, but were not members of the congress.

The congress was demanded by the rivals of the Russian Empire, particularly by Austria-Hungary and Great Britain and hosted in 1878 by Otto von Bismarck. The Congress of Berlin proposed and ratified the Treaty of Berlin.

The meetings were held at Chancellor Bismarck's residence, the Radziwill Palace, beginning on June 13, 1878. The congress revised or eliminated 18 of the 29 articles in the Treaty of San Stefano. Furthermore, using as a foundation the treaties of Paris (1856) and of London (1871), it effected a rearrangement of the Eastern situation.

Russophobia

The principal mission of the World Powers at the congress was to deal a fatal blow to the burgeoning movement of pan-Slavism. The movement caused serious concern in Berlin and particularly in Vienna, which was afraid that the repressed Slavic nationalities would revolt against the Habsburgs. London and Paris were nervous about diminishing influence of the Ottoman Empire in the south and about Russian cultural expansion to the south, where both Britain and France were poised to colonize Egypt and Palestine.

The Russians, led by chancellor Alexander Gorchakov, had managed to create the Bulgarian autonomous principality under Turkey's nominal rule, thus fuelling British fears of growing Russian influence in the East (see also the Great Game). This state had access to the Aegean Sea and comprised a very large portion of Macedonia. The United Kingdom at once recalled its favourite doctrine of the balance of power, which the largest empire in the world often used to further its imperialist ends.

Ceding to Russian pressure, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro were declared independent principalities. The indepenence of Bulgaria, however, was denied: it was "guaranteed" autonomy and guarantees against Turkish oppression. The Dobruja was given to Romania; Montenegro obtained Niksitch, Podgoritza, and Antivari. The Porte agreed to obey the specifications contained in the Organic Law of 1868, and to guarantee the civil rights of non-Mohammedan subjects. Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under the administration of Austria-Hungary.

Other matters

Other similar changes to the boundaries of various political entities were wrought, and political stipulations were made that affected all of the nations in some way or other. In other matters, the Great Powers agreed that the status of the Turkish Empire was to be decided by the Powers jointly, and not by any one of them. Russia accused Germany of treacherous behavior against her, an old friend, and she resented it. Distrust, enmity, and a long-lasting schism developed between the two nations.

Various other items did not progress smoothly. Italy was dissatisfied with the results of the Congress, and the situation between Greece and Turkey was left unresolved. The establishment of a border between Greece and Turkey failed to be accomplished. In 1881, after protracted negotiations, the Great Powers accepted the compromise offered by the Porte. Neither nation was satisfied, however, and tensions continued until the Porte declared a war on Greece on April 17th, 1897. Fighting continued until Russia demanded that it be stopped. An armistice was concluded on May 18, 1897, but more fighting lay ahead in the twentieth century. So, the congress sowed the seeds of further conflicts, including the Balkan Wars, the First World War, and the Armenian Genocide.