1908 proclamation of Bulgaria's independence from the Ottoman Empire
Bulgarian Declaration of Independence
|
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The declaration (manifesto) of independence
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Created
| 5 October [
O.S.
22 September] 1908
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Purpose
| To announce the
de jure
independence of
Bulgaria
from the
Ottoman Empire
|
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The
de jure
independence of Bulgaria
(
Bulgarian
:
Независимост на България
,
romanized
:
Nezavisimost na B?lgariya
) from the
Ottoman Empire
was
proclaimed
on 5 October [
O.S.
22 September] 1908 in the old capital of
Tarnovo
by Prince
Ferdinand of Bulgaria
, who afterwards took the title "
Tsar
".
[1]
[2]
Background
[
edit
]
Bulgaria
had been a widely autonomous
principality
since 13 July 1878
Congress of Berlin
and the end of the
Russo-Turkish War (1877?78)
. Although it was still technically under the
suzerainty
of the
Sublime Porte
, this was a
legal fiction
that Bulgaria only acknowledged in a formal way. It acted largely as a
de facto
independent state with its own constitution, flag, anthem and currency, and conducted a separate foreign policy. On 18 September [
O.S.
6 September] 1885, it had
unified with
the
Bulgarian
-majority Ottoman autonomous province of
Eastern Rumelia
.
After the liberation, Bulgaria's main external goal was the unification of all Bulgarian-inhabited areas under foreign rule into a single Bulgarian state: the main targets of Bulgarian
irredentism
were
Macedonia
and southern
Thrace
, which continued to be part of the Ottoman realm. In order to join an anti-Ottoman alliance and claim those territories by war, however, Bulgaria had to proclaim its independence first.
Normally, this would have constituted a violation of the
Treaty of Berlin
's terms, and would have been unlikely to be approved by the
Great Powers
. However, the chaos that ensued in the Ottoman Empire following the
Young Turk Revolution
of 1908 provided suitable conditions for the Bulgarian proclamation of independence. Many of the Great Powers had also abandoned their support for the Ottomans, looking for territorial gains instead:
Austria-Hungary
was
hoping to annex
the
Bosnia Vilayet
, the
United Kingdom
was looking to seize the empire's
Arab
territories in the east, and the
Russian Empire
's main target was control over the
Turkish Straits
. In September 1908 at a meeting in
Buchlov
(
German
:
Buchlau
, contemporary
Czech Republic
), envoys of Austria-Hungary and Russia supported each other's plans and agreed not to hinder Bulgaria's proclamation of independence which was likely to take place.
Towards the middle of September, the democratic government of
Aleksandar Malinov
had decided that the suitable moment was near. 4 October [
O.S.
21 September] 1908, Prince
Ferdinand
arrived at
Rousse
from a break in his Hungarian mansion.
[3]
He was awaited there by the government to discuss the final decision on board the
Krum
ship. The delegation then took the train to Tarnovo, where the official proclamation would take place. According to recent research,
[
clarification needed
]
it was at the
Dve Mogili
railway station
that the
manifesto
of independence was completed on 5 October [
O.S.
22 September] 1908.
[
citation needed
]
Independence
[
edit
]
The independence of Bulgaria was formally proclaimed at the
Holy Forty Martyrs Church
in Tarnovo. As part of the proclamation, Ferdinand raised Bulgaria from a principality to a
kingdom
, increasing its international prestige. In a nod to past Bulgarian states, Ferdinand took the title of "tsar," which was translated as "king" outside of Bulgaria. The country would be ready to join the
Balkan League
and fight the Ottoman Empire in what would become the
First Balkan War
of 1912?1913.
Bulgaria's declaration of independence was followed by Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia the following day and
Greece
's union with the
Cretan State
(unrecognized until 1913). With the two countries' joint violation of the Treaty of Berlin and the dominant support among European countries, the independence of Bulgaria was internationally recognized by the spring of 1909. The Ottoman Empire did not demand any financial compensation from Bulgaria, which took over the railways run by the
Oriental Railway Company
and the taxes in Eastern Rumelia. Russia cancelled forty years of payments the Ottomans owed on the indemnity for the war of 1877?78. This amounted to 125,000,000
francs
(out of a total indemnity of 802,000,000 francs). In turn Bulgaria agreed to transfer its tribute payments?85,000,000 francs over 85 years?to Russia.
[4]
Bulgaria's
Independence Day
is subsequently celebrated annually on 22 September.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Bourchier, James David
(1911).
"Bulgaria/History"
. In
Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 778?784, see page 784, para 4.
Declaration of Independence.....
- ^
Anderson, Frank Maloy
;
Hershey, Amos Shartle
(1918).
"The Bulgarian Declaration of Independence, 1908."
.
Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870-1914
. Washington, DC: National Board for Historical Service, Government Printing Office. pp. 380?382
. Retrieved
22 September
2018
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
Miller, William
(1923).
The Ottoman Empire and its Successors, 1801-1922
(2nd ed.). Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 478
. Retrieved
22 September
2018
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
Alan Bodger, "Russia and the End of the Ottoman Empire", in Marian Kent (ed.),
Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire
(London: Frank Cass, 1996), 81.
References
[
edit
]
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
- Lawrence, T. J. (1910).
The Principles of International Law
(4th ed.). Boston, New York, Chicago: D. C. Heath & Co. pp. 326?330
. Retrieved
22 September
2018
– via Internet Archive.
- Scelle, Georges
(January 1911). "Studies on the Eastern Question".
The American Journal of International Law
.
5
(1). Translated by Fenwick, Charles G.: 144?177.
doi
:
10.2307/2186769
.
JSTOR
2186769
.
S2CID
246004242
.
- Scelle, Georges
(April 1911). "Studies on the Eastern Question".
The American Journal of International Law
.
5
(2). Translated by Fenwick, Charles G.: 394?413.
doi
:
10.2307/2186724
.
JSTOR
2186724
.
S2CID
246010757
.
- Scelle, Georges
(July 1911). "Studies on the Eastern Question".
The American Journal of International Law
.
5
(3). Translated by Fenwick, Charles G.: 680?704.
doi
:
10.2307/2186367
.
JSTOR
2186367
.
S2CID
146858952
.
- Scelle, Georges
(January 1912). "Bulgarian Independence".
The American Journal of International Law
.
6
(1). Translated by Henckels, Theodore: 86?106.
doi
:
10.2307/2187398
.
JSTOR
2187398
.
S2CID
246004722
.
- Scelle, Georges
(July 1912). "Bulgarian Independence".
The American Journal of International Law
.
6
(3). Translated by Henckels, Theodore: 659?678.
doi
:
10.2307/2187065
.
JSTOR
2187065
.
S2CID
246003186
.
- Anderson, Frank Maloy
;
Hershey, Amos Shartle
(1918).
"The Bulgarian Declaration of Independence, 1908."
.
Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870-1914
. Washington, DC: National Board for Historical Service, Government Printing Office. Archived from
the original
on 3 August 2021
. Retrieved
22 September
2008
.
- "Ден на независимостта на България"
(in Bulgarian). Регионална библиотека "Любен Каравелов", Русе
. Retrieved
22 September
2008
.
- Дюлгерова, Нина.
"Съединението и независимостта на България в руските външнополитически приоритети"
(in Bulgarian). Archived from
the original
on 5 February 2009
. Retrieved
22 September
2008
.
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Background
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Battles
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Diplomacy and politics
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Battles
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Diplomacy and politics
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Other
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General
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Aftermath
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Atrocities
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Participants
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