VII The Russo-Turkish War of 1878
Bulgarian atrocities—The Andrassy Note; England destroys its effect—The Berlin Memorandum; England opposes it—Russia prepares for a Turkish war—Conference of Constantinople—New Turkish Constitution—Russo-Turkish War—Treaty of San Stefano—Intervention of the Powers—The Berlin Congress—Final treaty of peace.
The Slavs migrated to the Balkan Peninsula as early as 450 A.D., and Bosnia remained the only Slavonic part of the Turkish Empire where a native nobility owned the land and a peasantry tilled it for them.
Having been defeated by the Turks, the nobility became Mahommedans to save their patrimony, while the peasantry, having nothing to lose, remained Christians; but the tyranny of their nobility at length obliged the Turks to put an end to the Feudal System in Bosnia (1850–1851).
In August, 1875, Herzegovina (the southwestern district of Bosnia) revolted against the Sultan, being aided by a strong natural position and receiving the assistance of both Servia and Montenegro.
While this revolt was going on the Bulgarians also rose in rebellion against the Sultan (1876), but were put down by the Turkish Government, although not without shameful cruelties and outrages being committed by the Turkish troops and militia, which caused great indignation throughout Europe,75 and specially so in Russia. This, therefore, gave the latter country a good opportunity of claiming to be a general protector of the Christians in Turkey.
The Austro-Hungarian Minister, Count Andrassy, on behalf of Austria, Germany, and Russia, drew up a Note in which five76 chief concessions were insisted upon from the Porte as necessary for the pacification of the revolted provinces.
Lord Derby, on behalf of the English Government, signed77 it, but added that the integrity78 of the Ottoman Empire was to be respected. Here the Czar caught a key-note of the English policy, and he played on it afterwards to his own advantage.
The Porte accepted the conditions of the Note, but the rebels did not trust the Turkish promises, so the insurrections continued.
The Czar then, with Gortschakoff, met Bismarck and Andrassy at Berlin, and, together, they drew up the “Berlin Memorandum,”79 in which the three Powers asked the Sultan to grant an armistice for two months in order that the demands of the insurgents might receive a fair consideration. Italy and France added their voices, but England refused80 to sign the Memorandum and sent a powerful squadron to Besika Bay, expecting that the Sultan would refuse the Memorandum because it would endanger the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. This “Berlin Memorandum” displays the skilful way in which Russia, under the clever guidance of the Czar and his Minister Gortschakoff, carried on negotiation. She was only seeking a pretence81 for a single-handed war policy with Turkey, and in order to do this she proposed measures at Berlin which she knew would prove objectionable to England. Germany, who dreaded a special alliance between France and Russia, was obliged to agree to these measures, thus becoming a tool of Russia, who wanted to make England first deviate from the Treaties of Paris and London, and, if possible, to break down the balance of power in Europe which she herself had already done by her withdrawal from the Black Sea clauses in the Treaty of Paris. England fell into the snare together with the other Powers. She objected to the Berlin Memorandum, refused to sign, and sent a fleet to Besika Bay in support of her objection. This was just what Russia desired.
A new Sultan now ascended the throne, and Russian influence declined while that of England increased.
In July, 1876, Prince Milan of Servia, and Prince Mikita of Montenegro, declared war against Turkey, having open assistance from Russia. The rebels, however, were subjugated by the Turks.
In November, 1876, Alexander II. of Russia, made a public declaration that “if Turkey did not give due guarantees for the better government of her Christian subjects he would force them to do so, either in concert with his allies or by independent action.”
The European Powers, in consequence of this proclamation, proposed a Conference at Constantinople to settle the matter. The Czar, seeing that the Conference was inevitable, agreed to it. The representatives met, and, as was to be expected, asked nearly the same conditions as had been contained in the “Andrassy Note.”
The promulgation of a new Constitution for the Ottoman Empire was the result of the Conference, much to the disappointment of Russia, who did not expect that any such result would be arrived at. Thus, in order to stop any further reforms or concessions being made by Turkey, she succeeded in removing from power the author of the new Constitution, viz., Midhat Pasha, who was an important personage in Turkish politics.
The following little story shows the skilful way in which the Turkish Minister was removed from power by the agency of Russia:—
“During the Conference, the day after the Turks had proclaimed their new Constitution, General Ignatieff met Sir W. White.
“‘Have you read the Constitution?’ asked Ignatieff. ‘No,’ said the Englishman; ‘what does it matter? It is not serious.’ ‘But,’ said Ignatieff, ‘you must really read one Article;’ and so saying he pointed out the Article which set forth that all provisions to the contrary notwithstanding the Sultan was to retain an absolute right to banish from the capital any person whose presence might seem objectionable to him. ‘Mark my words,’ said Ignatieff, ‘the first man to be exiled under that clause will be Midhat Pasha, the author of the Constitution.’
“The prediction was fulfilled to the letter. Meeting Ignatieff some time after, Sir W. White recalled the prophecy and its fulfilment. ‘Oh! yes,’ said the general, carelessly; ‘I arranged that.’ ‘But you had left Constantinople before Midhat’s exile.’ ‘Certainly, but I arranged it just before I left.’ ‘How?’ ‘It was very simple; the weather was stormy in the Black Sea, and I could not leave for some days after the departure of my colleague. I went on board my steamer and anchored exactly opposite the Sultan’s palace. I did not go and bid him farewell, but waited. In a day or two, as I anticipated, there came an aide-de-camp from the Sultan to express his regret and surprise that I, whom he had known better than any of the Ambassadors, should be departing without paying him a farewell visit. I replied that, of course, I should have been delighted to have paid my respects to His Majesty, but that it was no longer necessary. I had paid my farewell visit to Midhat Pasha, as, under the Constitution, it was to him, not the Sultan, that such an act of respect was due. Almost immediately after arriving in Russia I heard of the exile of Midhat. My parting shot had secured his downfall.’”82
The Conference failed, and Russia declared war against Turkey, for now she had obtained what she had been striving for during the diplomatic transactions, viz., a pretence for a single-handed policy with regard to Turkey, and, secondly, she had obtained sufficient time for making all necessary war preparations. Now, although she had already got back what she had lost in the Crimean War (through the Franco-Prussian War), yet she was determined to obtain what she had intended to take at the Crimean War, viz., Constantinople.
A large Russian army crossed the Pruth (April, 1877), and encamped before Constantinople. In Asia Kars was captured. This led to the Treaty of San Stefano.
By this treaty the Ottoman Empire in Europe was completely abrogated. It recognized the independence of Servia, Montenegro, and Roumania; Bulgaria was created, and its boundaries now extended to the Black and Ægean Seas, embracing several valuable harbours. Although the latter country still remained tributary to Turkey, yet Russia had the appointment of a Christian prince in her hands. It has now to have a separate administration, to be supervised by Russian commissioners, and was also to be garrisoned by Russian troops.
In Bosnia, Crete, Thessaly, and Epirus a certain amount of reform was to be introduced by the Porte under the supervision of Russia. It was also enacted that the part of Bessarabia taken from Russia in 1856 should be ceded back to her, to which Lord Palmerston attached great value, “because,” he said, “it is not of local, but of European interest.” Kars, Batoum, and other adjoining districts in Asia were added to Russia, by which cession she undoubtedly held the strongholds of Armenia. Turkey had to pay Russia three hundred million roubles.
The results of this treaty may be described as follows: It was nothing less than (1) “To take all the European dominions of the Ottoman Empire from the Porte and put them under the administration of Russia;” (2) “to make the Black Sea as much a Russian lake as the Caspian;” (3) to give Russia a firm hold of the Mediterranean, and thereby imperil the naval supremacy of England in that quarter.
Naturally, England could not accept the Treaty of San Stefano without some alterations. Lord Derby resigned on the refusal of his demand that the treaty should be laid before Parliament, and Lord Salisbury sent out a vigorous circular which showed the injustice towards other races of a large Bulgaria establishing Slav supremacy in the Balkan Peninsula under Russian influence; also the loss of the ports of Bourgas and Batoum by the Turks would give Russia command of the Black Sea trade, while the cession of Kars to her would also influence Turkey’s Asiatic possessions. This would also affect the English interests in the Persian Gulf, the Levant, and the Suez Canal, which were in the Ottoman keeping, and therefore was a matter of extreme solicitude for England. She would be willing, however, to join in general stipulations made by the joint Powers, but would not submit to Prince Gortschakoffs commands. Again, an unpaid pecuniary debt owing to Russia by Turkey would give the former dangerous power.
The following words occur in the first despatch of the English Government to Russia:—
“The course on which the Russian Government has entered involves graver and more serious consideration. It is in contravention of the stipulation of the Treaty of Paris (March 30, 1856), by which Russia and the other signatory Powers engaged, each on its own part, to respect the independence and the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire. At the close of the Conference of London of 1871, the above plenipotentiary, in common with those of the other Powers, signed a declaration affirming it to be an essential principle of the law of nations that no Power can liberate itself from the engagement of a treaty, nor modify the stipulations thereof, unless with the consent of the contracting parties by means of an amicable arrangement. In taking action against Turkey on his own part, and having recourse to arms without further consultation with his allies, the Emperor of Russia has separated himself from the European concert hitherto maintained, and has at the same time departed from the rule to which he himself had solemnly recorded his consent.”83
The English Government addressed a second despatch to Russia, stating that the English Government is “of opinion that any treaty concluded by the Governments of Russia and the Porte affecting the treaties of 1856 and 1871 must be a European treaty, and would not be valid without the assent of the Powers who were parties to those treaties.”
The Russian Minister’s (Gortschakoff’s) reply was received at last: “We repeat the assurance that we do not intend to settle by ourselves European questions having reference to the peace which is to be made.”
Then the English Government sent another despatch to Russia and the other foreign Courts, and it was communicated through an English Ambassador at St. Petersburg that the Russian Emperor “stated categorically that questions bearing on European interests will be concerted with European Powers, and he had given Her Majesty’s Government clear and positive assurance to this effect.”
At length Austria, with the full appreciation of Russia, invited England to a Conference at Berlin for the object of establishing “an European agreement as to the modifications which it might become necessary to introduce in existing treaties in order to make them harmonize with the present situation.”
The English Government, however, stipulated beforehand “that it would be desirable to have it understood in the first place that all questions dealt with in the San Stefano Treaty between Russia and Turkey” should be fully considered in the Congress, and “that no alteration in the condition of things previously established by treaty should be acknowledged as valid until it has received the consent of the Powers.”
Russia replied that “the preliminary treaty of peace between Russia and Turkey will be textually committed to the Great Powers before the meeting of the Congress, and that in the Congress itself each Power will have full liberty of assent and of its free action” (“la pleine liberté de ses appréciations et de son action”).
This was a diplomatic triumph for England, and the treaty was formally submitted to the Congress. But there were certain facts which must not escape our notice, for just before the publication of the Treaty of San Stefano the excitement in England had attained its zenith. Russia, perceiving this, and hearing that England was quite ready to take up arms against her, took the utmost precautions not to injure English interests; so a Russian occupation of Constantinople, or any other circumstance which might excite the enmity of England, were omitted in the San Stefano Treaty.
When this became known in England the excitement abated somewhat; and, seeing this, Russia consented to submit the treaty to the Congress.
The Congress was opened at Berlin, under the presidency of the German Chancellor, Bismarck; and Beaconsfield firmly stood his ground at the Congress, previously calling out the reserve forces and summoning seven thousand Indian troops to Malta. Austria began to arm. Russia now could not be obstinate.
The following conditions were fixed and drawn up by the Congress:—
Bulgaria
Article I. Bulgaria is constituted an autonomous and tributary principality under the suzerainty of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan; it will have a Christian Government and a national militia.
Article III. The Prince of Bulgaria shall be freely elected by the population and confirmed by the Sublime Porte, with the assent of the Powers. No member of the reigning dynasties of the Great European Powers may be elected Prince of Bulgaria.
In case of a vacancy in the princely dignity, the election of the new prince shall take place under the same conditions and with the same forms.
Eastern Roumelia
Article XIII. A province is formed south of the Balkans which will take the name of “Eastern Roumelia,” and will remain under the direct political and military authority of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, under conditions of administrative autonomy. It shall have a Christian Governor-general.
Article XVII. The Governor-general of Eastern Roumelia shall be nominated by the Sublime Porte, with the assent of the Powers, for a term of five years.
Crete, &c.
Article XXIII. The Sublime Porte undertakes to scrupulously apply to the island of Crete the Organic Law of 1868, with such modifications as may be considered equitable.
Similar laws adapted to local requirements, excepting as regards the exemption from taxation granted to Crete, shall also be introduced into the other parts of Turkey in Europe for which no special organization has been provided by the present treaty.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Article XXV. The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary.
Montenegro, Servia, and Roumania
Article XXVI. The independence of Montenegro, Servia, and Roumania is recognized by the Sublime Porte, and by all the high contracting parties, subject to the conditions set forth in the following:—
In Montenegro the difference of religious creeds and confessions shall not be alleged against any person as a ground for exclusion or incapacity in matters relating to the enjoyment of civil and political rights, admission to public employments, functions, and honours, or the exercise of the various professions and industries in any locality whatsoever.
The freedom and outward exercise of all forms of worship shall be assured to all persons belonging to Montenegro, as well as to foreigners; and no hindrance shall be offered either to the hierarchical organization of the different communions or to their relations with their spiritual chiefs.
Article XLV. The principality of Roumania restores to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia that portion of Bessarabian territory detached from Russia by the Treaty of Paris of 1856.
Cessions in Asia
Article LVIII. The Sublime Porte cedes to the Russian Empire in Asia the territories of Ardahan, Kars, and Batoum, together with the latter port.
Article XIX. His Majesty the Emperor declares that it is his intention to constitute Batoum a free port, essentially commercial.
Article LX. The valley of Alaxhkerd and the town of Bayazid, ceded to Russia, are restored to Turkey.
The Sublime Porte cedes to Persia the town and territory of Khotou for its delimitation of the frontiers of Turkey and of Persia.84
The Anglo-Turkish Convention
Article I. Batoum, Ardahan, Kars, or any of them, shall be retained by Russia, and if any attempt shall be made at any future time by Russia to take possession of any further territories of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan in Asia, as fixed by the Definitive Treaty of Peace, England engages to join His Imperial Majesty the Sultan in defending them by force of arms.
In order to enable England to make necessary provision for executing her engagement, His Imperial Majesty the Sultan further consents to assign the island of Cyprus to be occupied and administrated by England.
Beaconsfield having thus attained “peace with honour” for England, returned, and in a speech85 in the House, said, “They are not movements of war, they are operations of peace and civilization; we have no reason to fear war. Her Majesty has fleets and armies which are second to none.”