Nationalist Movements in the Balkans

At its most powerful, the Ottoman Empire stretched deep into Europe. However, by the early 19th century, it was losing its hold on its remaining European territories in the Balkan Peninsula. Inspired by the French Revolution, ethnic nationalism emerged as the peoples of the Balkans sought independence. The growing ethnic tensions in the region set the stage for World War I.

Serbia (1815) and Greece (1832) won independence only after long wars. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Bulgaria all rebelled against Ottoman rule. In 1877, Serbia and Russia came to their aid in what was to be the last and most important Russo-Turkish War. After the war ended in 1878, the Treaty of Berlin freed Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro but placed Bosnia and Herzegovina under the control of Austria-Hungary.