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Bulgarian unification
The Unification of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Съединение на България, romanized: Suedinenie na Bulgariya) was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated by the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee (BSCRC). Both had been parts of the Ottoman Empire, but the principality had functioned de facto independently whilst the Rumelian province was autonomous and had an Ottoman presence. The unification was accomplished after revolts in Eastern Rumelian towns, followed by a coup on 18 September [O.S. 6 September] 1885 supported by the Bulgarian Prince Alexander I. The BSCRC, formed by Zahari Stoyanov, began actively popularizing the idea of unification by means of the press and public demonstrations in the spring of 1885.
The 10th Russo-Turkish War ended with the signing of the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano, which cut large territories from the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria was resurrected after 482 years of foreign rule, albeit as a principality under Ottoman suzerainty.
The Russian diplomats knew that Bulgaria would not remain within these borders for very long – the San Stefano peace was called "preliminary" by the Russians themselves. The Congress of Berlin began on 13 June [O.S. 1 June] 1878 and ended on 13 July [O.S. 1 July] 1878 with the Berlin Treaty that created a vassal Bulgarian state in the lands between the Balkans and the Danube. The area between the Balkan Mountains and the Rila and Rhodope Mountains became an autonomous Ottoman province called Eastern Rumelia. The separation of southern Bulgaria into a different administrative region was a guarantee against the fears expressed by Great Britain and Austria-Hungary that Bulgaria would gain access to the Aegean Sea, which logically meant that Russia was getting closer to the Mediterranean.
The third large portion of Treaty-of-Berlin Bulgaria, Macedonia, remained within the Ottoman borders as it had been before the war.
In these conditions it was natural that Bulgarians in Bulgaria, Eastern Rumelia and Macedonia all strived for unity. The first attempt was made in 1880. The new British prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone (who had strongly supported the Bulgarian cause in the past) made Bulgarian politicians hope that the British policy on the Eastern Question was about to change, and that it will support and look favourably upon an eventual union. Unfortunately, the Second Gladstone ministry did not bring a change in Great Britain's interests. Secondly, there was a possible conflict growing between the Ottoman Empire on one side and Greece and Montenegro on the other.
The union activists from Eastern Rumelia sent Stefan Panaretov, a lecturer in Robert College, to consult the British opinion on the planned unification. Gladstone's government though, did not accept these plans. Disagreement came from Imperial Russia as well, which was strictly following the decisions taken during the Berlin Congress. Meanwhile, the tensions between Greece and the Ottoman Empire had settled, which finally brought the first unification attempt to a failure.
By mid-1885 most of the active unionists in Eastern Rumelia shared the vision that the preparation of a revolution in Macedonia should be postponed and all efforts should be concentrated on the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The Bulgarian Prince Alexander I was also drawn to this cause. His relations with Russia had worsened to such extent that the Russian emperor and the pro-Russian circles in Bulgaria openly called for Alexander's abdication.[citation needed] The young prince saw that his support for the Unification is his only chance for political survival.[citation needed]
The unification was initially scheduled for the middle of September, while the Rumelian militia was mobilized for performing manoeuvres. The plan called for the unification to be announced on 27 September [O.S. 15 September] 1885, but on 14 September [O.S. 2 September] 1885 a riot began in Panagyurishte (then in Eastern Rumelia) that was brought under control the same day by the police. The demonstration demanded unification with Bulgaria. A little later this example was followed in the village of Goliamo Konare. An armed squad was formed there, under the leadership of Prodan Tishkov (mostly known as Chardafon) – the local leader of the BSCRC. BSCRC representatives were sent to different towns in the province, where they had to gather groups of rebels and send them to Plovdiv, the capital of Eastern Rumelia, where they were under the command of Major Danail Nikolaev.
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Bulgarian unification
The Unification of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Съединение на България, romanized: Suedinenie na Bulgariya) was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated by the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee (BSCRC). Both had been parts of the Ottoman Empire, but the principality had functioned de facto independently whilst the Rumelian province was autonomous and had an Ottoman presence. The unification was accomplished after revolts in Eastern Rumelian towns, followed by a coup on 18 September [O.S. 6 September] 1885 supported by the Bulgarian Prince Alexander I. The BSCRC, formed by Zahari Stoyanov, began actively popularizing the idea of unification by means of the press and public demonstrations in the spring of 1885.
The 10th Russo-Turkish War ended with the signing of the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano, which cut large territories from the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria was resurrected after 482 years of foreign rule, albeit as a principality under Ottoman suzerainty.
The Russian diplomats knew that Bulgaria would not remain within these borders for very long – the San Stefano peace was called "preliminary" by the Russians themselves. The Congress of Berlin began on 13 June [O.S. 1 June] 1878 and ended on 13 July [O.S. 1 July] 1878 with the Berlin Treaty that created a vassal Bulgarian state in the lands between the Balkans and the Danube. The area between the Balkan Mountains and the Rila and Rhodope Mountains became an autonomous Ottoman province called Eastern Rumelia. The separation of southern Bulgaria into a different administrative region was a guarantee against the fears expressed by Great Britain and Austria-Hungary that Bulgaria would gain access to the Aegean Sea, which logically meant that Russia was getting closer to the Mediterranean.
The third large portion of Treaty-of-Berlin Bulgaria, Macedonia, remained within the Ottoman borders as it had been before the war.
In these conditions it was natural that Bulgarians in Bulgaria, Eastern Rumelia and Macedonia all strived for unity. The first attempt was made in 1880. The new British prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone (who had strongly supported the Bulgarian cause in the past) made Bulgarian politicians hope that the British policy on the Eastern Question was about to change, and that it will support and look favourably upon an eventual union. Unfortunately, the Second Gladstone ministry did not bring a change in Great Britain's interests. Secondly, there was a possible conflict growing between the Ottoman Empire on one side and Greece and Montenegro on the other.
The union activists from Eastern Rumelia sent Stefan Panaretov, a lecturer in Robert College, to consult the British opinion on the planned unification. Gladstone's government though, did not accept these plans. Disagreement came from Imperial Russia as well, which was strictly following the decisions taken during the Berlin Congress. Meanwhile, the tensions between Greece and the Ottoman Empire had settled, which finally brought the first unification attempt to a failure.
By mid-1885 most of the active unionists in Eastern Rumelia shared the vision that the preparation of a revolution in Macedonia should be postponed and all efforts should be concentrated on the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The Bulgarian Prince Alexander I was also drawn to this cause. His relations with Russia had worsened to such extent that the Russian emperor and the pro-Russian circles in Bulgaria openly called for Alexander's abdication.[citation needed] The young prince saw that his support for the Unification is his only chance for political survival.[citation needed]
The unification was initially scheduled for the middle of September, while the Rumelian militia was mobilized for performing manoeuvres. The plan called for the unification to be announced on 27 September [O.S. 15 September] 1885, but on 14 September [O.S. 2 September] 1885 a riot began in Panagyurishte (then in Eastern Rumelia) that was brought under control the same day by the police. The demonstration demanded unification with Bulgaria. A little later this example was followed in the village of Goliamo Konare. An armed squad was formed there, under the leadership of Prodan Tishkov (mostly known as Chardafon) – the local leader of the BSCRC. BSCRC representatives were sent to different towns in the province, where they had to gather groups of rebels and send them to Plovdiv, the capital of Eastern Rumelia, where they were under the command of Major Danail Nikolaev.