Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth CenturyMorris, Charles
History
Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century
Morris, Charles
Nineteenth century -- History
The Congress of Berlin, to which the treaty was referred, settled the
question in the following manner: Montenegro, Roumania, and Servia were
declared independent, and Bulgaria became free, except that it had to
pay an annual tribute to the sultan. The part of old Bulgaria that lay
south of the Balkan Mountains was named East Roumelia and given its own
civil government, but was left under the military control of Turkey.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under the control of Austria. All
that Russia obtained for her victories were some provinces in Asia
Minor. Turkey was terribly shorn, and since then her power has been
further reduced, for East Roumelia has broken loose from her control
and united itself again to Bulgaria.
[=The Turks in Armenia and Crete=]
Another twenty years passed, and Turkey found itself at war again. It
was the old story, the oppression of the Christians. This time the
trouble began in Armenia, a part of Turkey in Asia, where in 1895 and
1896 terrible massacres took place. Indignation reigned in Europe, but
fears of a general war kept them from using force, and the sultan paid
no heed to the reforms he promised to make.
In 1896 the Christians of the island of Crete broke out in revolt
against the oppression and tyranny of Turkish rule. Of all the powers
of Europe little Greece was the only one that came to their aid, and
the great nations, still inspired with the fear of a general war,
sent their fleet and threatened Greece with blockade unless she would
withdraw her troops.
[=The War Between Turkey and Greece=]
The result was one scarcely expected. Greece was persistent, and
gathered a threatening army on the frontier of Turkey, and war broke
out in 1897 between the two states. The Turks now, under an able
commander, showed much of their ancient valor and intrepidity, crossing
the frontier, defeating the Greeks in a rapid series of engagements,
and occupying Thessaly, while the Greek army was driven back in a
state of utter demoralization. At this juncture, when Greece lay at
the mercy of Turkey, as Turkey had lain at that of Russia twenty years
before, the powers, which had refused to aid Greece in her generous but
hopeless effort, stepped in to save her from ruin. Turkey was bidden
to call a halt, and the sultan reluctantly stopped the march of his
army. He demanded the whole of Thessaly and a large indemnity in money.
The former the powers refused to grant, and reduced the indemnity to
a sum within the power of Greece to pay. Thus the affair ended, and
such is the status of the Eastern Question to-day. But it may be merely
a question of time when Russia shall accomplish her long-cherished
design, and become master of Constantinople; possibly by the way of
Asia, in which her power is now so rapidly and widely extending.
CHAPTER XI.
The European Revolution of 1848.
[=Opposition in France to Louis Philippe=]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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