After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the 1878 Treaty of Berlin set up an autonomous state, the Principality of Bulgaria, within the Ottoman Empire. Although remaining under Ottoman sovereignty, it functioned independently, taking Alexander of Battenberg as its first prince in 1879. In 1885 Alexander took control of the still-Ottoman Eastern Rumelia, officially under a personal union. Following Prince Alexander's abdication (1886), a Bulgarian Assembly elected Ferdinand I as prince in 1887. Full independence from Ottoman control was declared in 1908.
In the 1912–1913 Balkan Wars, Bulgaria initially formed an alliance with Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire, and together they conquered a great deal of Ottoman territory. Bulgaria, however, unhappy with the resulting division of territory, soon went to war against its former allies Serbia and Greece and lost territory it had gained in the first war. The First World War (1914–1918) saw Bulgaria fighting (1915–1918) alongside Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Defeat led to the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (27 November 1919), in accordance with which Bulgaria lost further territory. Social problems and political instability persisted throughout the Interwar period. In the Second World War (1939–1945), Bulgaria again allied with Germany (March 1941). Although Sofia attempted to pull out of the war as the Soviet Union advanced towards its territory (1944), the Red Army invaded (September 1944), and a communist government came to power (1944–1946) and established the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990).
1878–1912
The proposed Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878 provided for a self-governing Bulgarian state, which comprised the geographical regions of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. Fearing the establishment of a large Russian client state in the Balkans, the other Great Powers, especially Great Britain and Austria-Hungary, refused to agree to the treaty and insisted it be revised.R. J. Compton, Bulgaria (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2007) pp.93–94. The British were concerned over the safety of their routes to the Suez Canal and India.R. J. Compton, Bulgaria, p. 94. The sovereigns of the Austro-Hungarian Empire feared that the establishment of a large independent Slavic state in the Balkans would encourage their own Slavic subjects to seek independence.R. J.Compton, Bulgaria, p. 94.
As a result, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, supervised a revised Treaty of Berlin (1878), one that scaled back the proposed Bulgarian state. An autonomous Principality of Bulgaria was created, between the Danube and the Stara Planina range, with its seat at the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo, 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 meeting in Turnovo as the Bulgarian Principality's Constituent Assembly, on February 10, 1879R. J. Compton, Bulgaria, p. 96. 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.R. J. Compton, Bulgaria, p. 101. An autonomous Ottoman province under the name of Eastern Rumelia was also created south of the Stara Planina range, whereas Macedonia reverted to the sovereignty of the Sultan.
Personal Union with Eastern Rumelia The Bulgarians adopted an advanced democratic constitution, and power soon passed to the Liberal Party led by Stefan Stambolov.R. J. Compton, Bulgaria, p. 102. 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 and used the momentum to launch a counterattack. The Serbian army was pushed deeply into Serbian territory, but Bulgaria was forced to halt its advance after the Austro-Hungarian Empire threatened to intervene on the Serbian side. The unification was accepted by the Powers in the form of personal union.
Ferdinand
These events made Alexander very popular in Bulgaria, but Russia was increasingly dissatisfied with his liberal tendencies. 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.R. J. Compton, Bulgaria p. 128. In July 1887 the Bulgarians elected Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as their new Prince. Ferdinand was the "Austrian candidate" and the Russians refused to recognize him despite his friendship with Tsar Alexander III.R. J. Compton, Bulgaria, p. 132. 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.
In 1889, Tsar Ferdinand briefly considered moving Bulgaria's capital from Sofia to Plovdiv, due to its more central location and stronger cultural ties to Thrace. Historian Petar Dimitrov suggests that this was not done because Sofia's strategic position near the Serbian border made it a more defensible choice.Anne O'Nimus, "Urban Planning in the Balkans", Journal of Contemporary History, St Petersburg University Press (1996), pp. 112–113.
There was a substantial Bulgarian population still living under Ottoman rule, particularly in Macedonia and Adrianople. 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 the Serbian nation. Thus began a five-sided struggle for control of these areas which lasted until 1912. In 1903 the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising broke out in Ottoman Macedonia, making war seem likely. In the Aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution, Ferdinand used the struggles between the Great Powers to break free from Ottoman suzerainty. On October 5, Ferdinand declared the Independence of the Tsardom of Bulgaria at the Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo, although since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1916, this has been celebrated on September 22.
Ilinden 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. On 2 August 1903 a mass armed uprising, known in history as the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, 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.
Balkan Wars
In 1911 the Nationalist Prime Minister, Ivan Evstratiev Geshov, set about forming an alliance with Greece and Serbia, and the three allies agreed to put aside their rivalries to plan a joint attack on the Ottomans.
In February 1912 a secret treaty was signed between Bulgaria and Serbia, and in May 1912 a similar treaty was signed with Greece. Montenegro was also brought into the pact. The treaties provided for the partition of Macedonia and Thrace between the allies, although the lines of partition were left dangerously vague. After the Ottomans refused to implement reforms in the disputed areas, the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912. (See Balkan Wars for details.)
The allies had an astonishing success. The Bulgarian army inflicted several defeats on the Ottoman forces and advanced threateningly against Istanbul, while the Serbs and the Greeks took control of Macedonia. The Ottomans sued for peace in December. Negotiations broke down, and fighting resumed in February 1913. The Ottomans lost Adrianople to a combined Bulgarian-Serbian task force. A second armistice followed in March, with the Ottomans losing all their European possessions west of the Midia-Enos line, not far from Istanbul. Bulgaria gained possession of most of Thrace, including Adrianople and the Aegean port of Dedeagach (today Alexandroupoli). Bulgaria also gained a slice of Macedonia, north and east of Thessaloniki (which went to Greece), but only some small areas along her western borders.
Bulgaria sustained the heaviest casualties of any of the allies, and on this basis felt entitled to the largest share of the spoils. The Serbs in particular did not see things this way, and refused to vacate any of the territory they had seized in northern Macedonia (that is, the territory roughly corresponding to the modern North Macedonia), stating that the Bulgarian army had failed to accomplish its pre-war goals at Adrianople (i. e., failing to capture it without Serbian help) and that the pre-war agreements on the division of Macedonia had to be revised. Some circles in Bulgaria inclined toward going to war with Serbia and Greece on this issue. In June 1913 Serbia and Greece formed a new alliance, against Bulgaria. The Serbian Prime Minister, Nikola Pašić, told Greece it could have Thrace if Greece helped Serbia keep Bulgaria out of Serbian part of Macedonia, and the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos agreed. Seeing this as a violation of the pre-war agreements, and discreetly encouraged by Germany and Austria-Hungary, war was declared by Tsar Ferdinand on Serbia and Greece, and the Bulgarian army attacked on June 29. The Serbian and the Greek forces were initially on the retreat on the western border, but they soon took the upper hand and forced Bulgaria into retreat. The fighting was very harsh, with many casualties, especially during the key Battle of Bregalnica. Soon Romania entered the war and attacked Bulgaria from the north. The Ottoman Empire also attacked from the south-east. The war was now definitely lost for Bulgaria, which had to abandon most of her claims of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, while the revived Ottomans retook Adrianople. Romania took possession of southern Dobruja.
War and social conflict World War I