The Eastern problem was a complex problem of Europe. The real attention towards this problem was given in the Vienna Congress of 1815. It is necessary to find a solution to the problems arising from the regions situated in the eastern region of Turkey. The Christian communities living in the Balkan regions took advantage of Turkey’s weakness and started declaring themselves independent. Due to this attitude of these communities, it was natural for the attention of various countries of Europe to go towards this. Now it seemed that clouds of danger have started hovering over the peace of Eastern Europe. Therefore, to avoid these dangers and to deal with the problems arising, the countries of Europe named it ‘Eastern Problem’.

According to Miller, “The Eastern question may be defined as the problem of filling up the Vaccum created by the gradual disappearance of the Turkish Empire from Europe.”

Another historian Saugate has described it in his book ‘History of Europe’ as follows- “The group of problems, dealing with lands and people from the Danube to the Nile, is commonly referred to as the Eastern Question.”

Lord Male has defined it in this way – “This problem has always been complicated and complex, in which the selfish interests of various powers and races were involved.”

According to a Russian politician, “The Eastern problem is like a terrible arthritis which sometimes grips the legs and sometimes makes the hands useless.”

Background of Eastern Question

What were the issues in the background of the Eastern Problem and the problems related to it? As a result of which this problem arose –

1. Discontent with the Sultan of Turkey – Turkey was a weak country in the beginning of the 19th century. The Sultan of Turkey was incompetent and corrupt. He used to spend all his time in luxury. He was always indifferent to the interests of the people. People had lost their fascination for the Sultans. In such circumstances, they started expressing their displeasure towards the Sultan of Turkey.
2. Domination of Religion in the State – The Turkish Empire was mainly based on religion. Qualification had no importance in administration. Turkish officials dominated all the posts related to administration. Only incompetent, useless and careless people were given place in administration. In such circumstances, the administration could not be run smoothly.
3. Vast Empire of Turkey – Around the 17th century, the Sultans of Turkey had expanded their empire. Administration of this vast empire was extremely difficult because there was lack of means of transportation. Hence, rebellions started here.
4. People belonging to different religions, castes and languages ​​- People belonging to a single religion, caste or language did not live in the Turkish Empire, but different religions and castes were dominant here. The Sultans of Turkey were religious fanatics. They could not tolerate people of other religions. Due to this fanaticism, a feeling of discontent against the Turkish Sultans arose among the Christian people living in the Balkans.
5. Effect of French Revolution – The effect of the French Revolution of 1789 also helped in provoking the Eastern problem. The slogans of freedom, equality and fraternity of the French Revolution instilled a sense of nationalism in the Christian people living in the Balkan states. They now started revolting to get rid of the rule of Turkey. These revolts proved to be helpful in the origin of the Eastern problem.
6. Interests of various European powers – Various European countries also started interfering in Turkey to achieve their political objectives, as a result of which the Eastern problem entered a critical phase. Different countries adopted different approaches towards the Eastern problem because the interests of those countries were involved in it. The interests of various European powers were as follows-
   • Russia– Russia was eyeing Turkey. It wanted to expand its power in Turkey. It wanted to take control of various parts of the Christian countries by taking the contract of the people of Christian countries. By doing this, Russia wanted to establish its influence in the Black Sea region. The expansion of the Russian Empire in this sea could happen only by ignoring the interests of Turkey. Considering him the protector of the Christian people, it made various treaties with the Sultan of Turkey. Through these treaties, it also acquired the right to protect the Christians of the Balkans. For example (1) According to the Cujuk Kainarkji Treaty of 1774 AD, Russia acquired the right to protect the Christian people. (ii) By the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812 AD, it acquired some regions of the Balkans. In such a situation, the European powers became alert and tried to curb the growing influence of Russia by every possible effort.
   • England – England could not tolerate the growing influence of Russia in Turkey under any circumstances. If this had happened, England would have had to face a threat to its Indian empire in Asia. Therefore, England was forced to support Turkey to stop the power of Russia in the Balkan region. In this objective, England was successful in stopping the influence of Russia for a long time.
   • Austria– As far as Austria is concerned, it showed more interest in the Balkan regions than Russia and England. The state of Austria was surrounded by the border of Turkey. Austria mainly carried out its trade through the valley of Danube, over which Russia had control. It was natural that Austria considered Russia as its enemy. Austria was afraid that the Slavic people living in its empire might revolt because Russia was a supporter of the Slavic people of the Balkan regions. Russia had supported the national movement carried out by the Slavic people against Turkey. Therefore, Austria wanted to establish peace in its kingdom and did not want to let Russian influence grow in the Balkan regions.
   • France– France was in favour of maintaining the unity of Turkey because it had religious and trade interests in the East. According to the treaty made with Turkey, France had obtained trade related facilities from it. Apart from this, it had also obtained the rights related to the defence of Roman Catholic Christians. Hence, it was also not in favour of the Turkish Empire being disintegrated.
   • Germany– From 1815 to 1870 AD, Prussia did not show any interest in the East. German Chancellor Bismarck did not want to put Germany in the trouble of the East. He believed that if Germany makes any kind of interference in the East, it will have to face the hostility of the European powers and this will become a threat to the German Empire. That is why Bismarck considered it to be in his interest to maintain peace in the East.

Balkan Wars

First Balkan War (1912-1913)

Even after the Bulgaria and Bosnia crisis of 1908, the eastern problem did not end. In 1908 itself, the Young Turk movement took place. Its objective was to rebuild Turkey, but its policy was very narrow. They started oppressing the non-Turkic communities. This frightened the Christian communities. They all started thinking about opposing Turkey together. These states formed their own union in 1911. Four countries were prominent in this union- Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece. Although these four states had mutual differences, they could forget their mutual differences and meet at one place. This union became famous by the name of Balkan League. These four countries declared war against Turkey. Thus the First Balkan War began.

Turkey kept getting defeated during the war. Finally Constantinople also came under threat. Finally Turkey surrendered. The League demanded its rights over Adrianopul, Geneva and Scutari. The Sultan of Turkey rejected these demands. As a result, the war started again. This time also Turkey was defeated. The League took control of the above three cities. Finally Turkey surrendered unconditionally.

Treaty of London, 1913

Turkey was defeated in the First Balkan War and it requested for a treaty with the Allied Nations. Finally the Treaty of London was signed. The main conditions of this treaty were as follows –

1. Turkey’s European empire came to an end. Now only Asian territories remained under its control.
2. The island of Kit was given to Greece.
3. A state named Albania was created.

Mutual dispute

There was a dispute among the members of the Balkan League on the question of division of the conquered territories. Bulgaria claimed that despite its sacrifices, the members of the Balkan League had achieved success. Therefore, according to the division, it should get the major territories. Serbia’s statement was that this war was not between Turkey and Bulgaria but between the Balkan League and Turkey. Therefore, Bulgaria should not get the major territories. Serbia wanted to take control of Albania because it wanted to expand its territory till the Adriatic Sea in the south. The reason for Greece’s demand for the entire Macedonia or partial Macedonia was that both had ethnic similarity. Although Romania was not a part of the Balkan League, its borders were connected with Bulgaria. Therefore, he was also taking interest in this problem. In the end, Bulgaria was left alone in this mutual conflict.

Second Balkan War, 1913

Being proud of its military power, Bulgaria declared war against Serbia and Greece. Romania also helped them. Turkey also joined these countries and declared war against Bulgaria. Bulgaria was attacked from all sides. No one helped it and Bulgaria was badly defeated and it was forced to sign the Treaty of Bucharest with the Allied Nations in 1913.

Treaty of Bucharest

According to this treaty, the following decisions were taken –

1. The four countries were expanded by taking away the conquered territories of Bulgaria. Adrianoput was given to Turkey.
2. Turkey’s European kingdom was disintegrated. Its population of 4,23,900 vanished. It was left with only a piece of 842 square miles.
3. Greece benefited the most from this. It had been demanding the island of Crete for a long time. It had also placed this demand in the Berlin Treaty of 1878. But its demand was not accepted according to this treaty. Many small islands of the Aegean Sea were given to Greece. The region of Salonika was also given to Greece. Most of Epirus was also given to it. The important region of Janina was also given to it. Apart from this, Greece also wanted to take control of the southern region of Albania, because the people there were Greeks, but due to the opposition of the Allied nations, it could not get this region. The people of Greece and Eastern Macedonia were Greeks. Hence, it demanded these. But its demand was not fulfilled and these regions were given to Bulgaria. This increased the conflict between Greece and Bulgaria. Thus, even after getting many regions according to this treaty, Greece remained dissatisfied.
4. The strip to the north of Bulgaria was given to Romania. After the First Balkan War, Bulgaria was considered the most powerful country. If it had acted wisely, it would have become the leader of all. But whatever it had gained, it lost it all due to its foolishness.

As a result of this treaty, Europe was divided into two opposing groups. On one side were Russia and Serbia. On the other side were Austria, Bulgaria and Germany. After the Berlin Treaty (1878), England stopped helping Turkey. If England had taken his side on this occasion, then Russia and France would also have supported him and the disintegration of the Turkish Empire would have stopped.

Nobi Bazar was divided. Half of it was given to Serbia and the remaining part to Montenegro. Serbia got only the regions of Albania and old Serbia in the middle up to the coast. Even after getting these regions, Serbia was not satisfied. Its main objective was to reach the coast. Due to this objective not being fulfilled, it became a staunch opponent of its rival Austria in this regard. Over time, the bitterness between Serbia and Austria kept increasing and finally it proved to be the immediate cause of the First World War.

It is correct to call the Balkan Peninsula the volcano of Europe. The reason is that on one hand the states of the Balkans kept fighting with each other. On the other hand, the interests of the superpowers of Europe clashed in it. Ultimately, as a result of these Balkan wars, the First World War of Europe started. Grant and Tempered have written that no event is as responsible for the World War of 1914 as the Balkan War.

Murder of Arch Duke Ferdinand

On 18 June 1914, the Prince of Austria, Arch Duke Ferdinand and his wife were murdered in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. The murderer, despite being a Serb, was a citizen of Austria. But Austria still called it a conspiracy of Serbia and the responsibility of this murder was imposed on Serbia. On this, Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia with strict conditions and was given only 48 hours to reply. Serbia accepted most of the things, but demanded that some things be put in an international conference, because accepting these things meant ending its existence. But Austria was not satisfied with this and declared war against Serbia on 28 July 1914. Russia demanded that this entire question be put in an international conference of European countries, but Austria opposed it. As a result, he ordered his armies to march towards the border. On this, Germany declared war against Russia on August 1. Three days after this incident, war was declared against France as well. Thus, the First World War began.