The Balkans Leading up to the Balkan League
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The Balkans Leading up to the Balkan League
The world scene in the early 19th and 20th century was one which was delicately held in balance through a series of treaties, truces, and agreements. This volatile setting was one which all agreed could change at any moment. As the 20th century began the world powers began to focus more and more on the ever explosives region of the Balkan peninsula. The Ottoman Empire, commonly referred to at this time as the Ðsick man of Europe, was in a state of demise as they barely maintained any control over their Balkan subjects. Rebellions were a regular occurrence in the Balkan states, and the waning might of the Ottoman Empire looked as though the end of its grip over these states was soon to come. Yet the importance of the Balkan states to the world scene was unquestionable, and as such the European powers interfered with all aspects of their society on a regular basis, which greatly heightened the amount of tension. As the newly formed Balkan states began to gain their independence several questions arose. The newly formed states would have to determine their boundaries, their culture, who they supported, and countless other aspects which were pivotal to their existence. Thus the Balkan states, unable to find a solution through diplomatic terms, became a territory filled with strife, terrorism, and revolutions. The effects of these actions had worldwide counter effects, as different nations of the world headed for an armed conflict of unseen proportions.
The European powers greatly influenced Balkan affairs in the early 20th century. In order to understand what led to the state of the Balkan independence it is essential to look at the global scene. The end of the 19th century was a century marked by rivalries between the European powers as they all sought to add to their empire. It was an era marked by imperialism and driven by industrialization. This inevitably scared many of the powers, who realized the potential for a world wide conflict. At the center of this problem was the Ottoman empire. The Ottoman Empire, as described above, was seen as the Ðsick man of Europe. This phrase came about because the previously large and powerful Ottoman Empire was in a declining stage as they had been steadily losing power since the early part of the 19th century. The land held by the Ottoman Empire was pivotal to the balance of power, and while all of the great powers wanted some stake in territorial gains, none wanted the balance of power to be uneven. Thus the European powers sought to gain inroads to the Balkans and other Ottoman lands through diplomatic and economic means, hoping to avoid an armed conflict.
While the European states were struggling to gain power for their own countries, The Balkan peninsula was becoming continually less politically stable as they began to struggle with one another for power and territory. Pivotal to Balkan scene, and thus indirectly to the world scene as well, was the Macedonian question. Macedonia was a pivotal position desired by all the Balkan states for many reasons. It was in the center of the Balkans and claimed an important historical role solely because of the fact that every power that ever dominated the peninsula had controlled it. Macedonia was a “museum of all Balkan people” (Schevill 432) and thus was filled with people who hardly had a unified nationality. According to Barbara Jelavich, Macedonia had at least 8 groups of people who inhabited it, Turks, Bulgars, Geeks, Serbs, Albanians, Vlachs, Jews, and Gypsies. The Serbs, Bulgars, and Greeks therefore all claimed part of the territory for themselves. The Balkan states each held different claims based upon different premises which eventually led to an all out “quarrel not only with rifles, but also with historical, geographical, and philological arguments” (Ristelhueber 175.) An example of this can be seen through a survey conducted by the different states about the ethnic ties of the Macedonian people. The Bulgarian statistics had 1,184,036 Bulgarians and 57,600 Serbs living in Macedonia. Whereas the Serbian survey counted 2,048,320 Serbs with only 700 Bulgarians (Ristalhueber 175.) The Greeks estimated 656,305 of themselves with about 200,000 Serbs and only 700 Bulgarians. Thus the Macedonian question was one which inevitably would provoke conflict as the Balkan states began to wage a battle of ideology and weaponry in pursuit of Ðtheir territory.
The Balkan states mentioned above began their struggle for Macedonia through organizations which were placed within the Macedonian territory. One pivotal issue in this struggle was religion. The Ottoman empire allowed the Bulgarian Exarchate to establish three new bishoprics in Macedonia. This greatly shifted the balance of power, as it extended Bulgarian influence into the middle of Macedonia. The Bulgarian Exarchate soon started to displace the Greek Patriarch in many villages. This was important because religion was essential to the cultural ties of the people to a certain Balkan state, and the stronger the cultural ties the greater claim the Balkan states would have to a territory. The establishment of the church was also important for another reason, because it was usually accompanied by a school. Thus the school and church would serve to put out the propaganda for the nation with witch they were associated, influencing the side to which the Macedonian people would associate themselves with. Entire towns would convert almost on a whim according to which religion would offer them economic benefits. An example of this can be seen through an ordinary interaction between a passerby and a Macedonian peasant, as described in Misha Glennys The Balkans in which a man runs into a peasant at the Monastir market and they engage in a conversation. The man asks the peasant if his village is Greek or Bulgarian. The peasant responds as follows ” it is Bulgarian now, but four years ago it was Greek.” [Glenny 199] When asked why the sudden change the peasant explains how the Bulgarians offered to send a priest to live in the village for free, whereas the Greeks were charging money.
Soon the Balkan states realized propaganda promoting their ideology was not enough to win them control of Macedonia, and thus turned to military organizations to further their cause. The Bulgarians established an internal military organization which greatly influenced actions in Macedonia known as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, which had two distinct parts the IO and the EO. The IO was an organization inside of Macedonia which sought to gain the support of peasants and use force and terror if need be to convert towns and villages. Those who went against the Bulgarian movement were deemed traitors or spies and were regularly