View source for Treaty of Berlin (1878)

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{short description|Settlement by the Congress of Berlin following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78}}
{{Infobox treaty
| name                = Treaty of Berlin
| long_name           = Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, for the Settlement of the Affairs of the East

| image               = Balkans 1878.png
| image_alt           = <!-- alt-text here for accessibility; see [[MOS:ACCESS]] -->
| caption             = Southeastern Europe after the [[Congress of Berlin]]

| type                = 
| context             = Congress of Berlin, after the [[Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878]]
| date_signed         = {{Start date|1878|7|13|df=y}}
| location_signed     = [[Berlin]], [[German Empire]]
| negotiators         = <!-- format this as a bullet list -->
| signatories         = <!-- format this as a bullet list -->
| parties             = 
* {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}
* {{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
* {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
* {{flag|French Third Republic|name=French Republic}}
* {{flag|German Empire}}
* {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
* {{flag|Russian Empire|1858}}

| depositor           = <!-- OR: -->
| depositories        = <!-- format this as a bullet list -->
| citations           = <!-- format as XX [[Article on Treaty Series|TS]] YYY -->

| language            = <!-- OR: -->
| languages           = <!-- format this as a bullet list -->

| wikisource          = <!-- OR: -->
| wikisource1         = <!-- Up to 5 wikisourceN variables may be specified -->
}}

The '''Treaty of Berlin''' (formally the '''Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East''') was signed on 13 July 1878.<ref>{{Citation |last= Hertslet |first= Edward |author-link=Edward Hertslet |year=1891 |contribution= Treaty between Great-Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Turkey, for the Settlement of Affairs in the East, Signed at Berlin, 13th July 1878 (Translation)|title= The Map of Europe by Treaty; which have taken place since the general peace of 1814. With numerous maps and notes  |volume= IV (1875–1891) |edition=1st |publisher=  Her Majesty's Stationery Office |publication-date=1891|location= London |pages= 2759–2798 |url=https://archive.org/stream/mapofeuropebytre04hert#page/2758/mode/2up|access-date=8 February 2019 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{sfn|Phillips|1911}} In the aftermath of the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] victory against the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878]], the [[European balance of power|major powers]] restructured the map of the [[Balkans|Balkan region]]. They reversed some of the extreme gains claimed by Russia in the preliminary [[Treaty of San Stefano]], but the Ottomans lost their major holdings in Europe. It was one of three major peace agreements in the period after the 1815 [[Congress of Vienna]]. It was the final act of the [[Congress of Berlin]] (13 June – 13 July 1878) and included the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Third French Republic|France]], [[German Empire|Germany]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]], Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Chancellor of Germany [[Otto von Bismarck]] was the chairman and dominant personality.

The most important task of the Congress was to decide the fate of [[History of Bulgaria (1878–1946)|Bulgaria]], but Bulgaria itself was excluded from participation in the talks, at Russian insistence.<ref name="Krasner">{{cite book |last=Krasner |first=Stephen D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkrfTZlyUogC&pg=PA165 |title=Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1999 |page=165 |isbn=0-691-00711-X }}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Bulgaria/History |volume= 04 | pages = 779&ndash;784|first=James David |last=Bourchier |author-link=James David Bourchier |quote= Political History}}</ref> At the time, as it was not a [[sovereign state]], Bulgaria was not a subject of [[international law]], and the same went for the Bulgarians themselves. The exclusion was already an established fact in the great powers' [[Constantinople Conference]], which had been held one year before without any Bulgarian participation.

The most notable result of the conference was the official recognition of the newly independent states of [[Principality of Romania|Romania]], [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]], and [[Principality of Montenegro|Montenegro]] (which had de facto been acting independently for decades).

==Background==
The [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Paris Peace Treaty]] of 1856, which ended the [[Crimean War]], had made the [[Black Sea]] a neutral territory. The treaty had protected the Ottoman Empire, ended the [[Holy Alliance]] (Austria, Prussia and Russia) and weakened Russia's overall position. In 1870, Russia invoked the doctrine of ''[[rebus sic stantibus]]'' and effectively terminated the treaty by breaching provisions concerning the neutrality of the Black Sea. The great powers became increasingly convinced that the Ottoman Empire would not be able to hold its territories in Europe.<ref name=sina>{{Cite encyclopedia| last=Bogaert| first=Sina Van den |title = Berlin Congress (1878)|encyclopedia=Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL]|access-date = 15 December 2017| url = http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e687}}</ref>

In 1875, the [[Herzegovina uprising (1875–77)|Herzegovina uprising]] resulted in the [[Great Eastern Crisis]]. As the conflict in the Balkans intensified, atrocities during the 1876 [[April Uprising]] in Bulgaria inflamed [[anti-Turkish]] sentiments in Russia and Britain, which eventually culminated in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War of 1877]].<ref name=sina/>

== Terms ==

The treaty formally recognized the independence of the ''de facto'' sovereign principalities of [[United Principalities|Romania]], [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]] and [[Principality of Montenegro|Montenegro]] (plus their expansion) and the autonomy of Bulgaria although the latter ''de facto'' functioned independently and was divided into three parts: the Principality of Bulgaria, the autonomous province of [[Eastern Rumelia]], and [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], which was given back to the Ottomans,<ref>{{cite book |last=Jelavich |first=Barbara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clLtuNxa1cgC&q=Russia+and+the+Formation+of+the+Romanian+National+State |title=Russia and the Formation of the Romanian National State, 1821–1878 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2004 |page=286 |isbn=0-521-52251-X }}</ref> thus undoing Russian plans for an independent and Russophile "[[Greater Bulgaria]]". The Treaty of San Stefano had created a Bulgarian state, which was just what Britain and Austria-Hungary feared the most.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crampton |first=R. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eH1MSHM1hLUC&q=A+Concise+History+of+Bulgaria |title=A Concise History of Bulgaria |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2005 |page=84 |isbn=0-521-85085-1 }}</ref>

The Treaty of Berlin confirmed most of the Russian gains from the Ottoman Empire specified in the Treaty of San Stefano, such as [[Batumi]] and [[Adjara]], but the valley of [[Eleşkirt|Alashkerd]] and the town of [[Doğubeyazıt|Bayazid]] were returned to the Ottomans.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schem|first=Alexander Jacob|date=1878|title=War in the East: An Illustrated History of the Conflict Between Russia and Turkey, With a Review of the Eastern Question|url=https://archive.org/details/warineastillustr00sche|publisher=H.S. Goodspeed & Co.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/warineastillustr00sche/page/685 685]–700|chapter=Chapter IX [Third Book]: The Berlin Congress}}</ref> The regions of [[Ardahan]] and [[Kars]] were also ceded to Russia.<ref>Article LVIII of the Treaty of Berlin, American Journal of International Law. II (4, Supplement, Official Documents): 401–424. October 1908</ref> The [[Peace of Constantinople (1879)|1879 Treaty of Constantinople]] was a further continuation of negotiations. It reaffirmed the provisions of the Treaty of San Stefano which had not been modified by the Berlin Treaty and established amounts of compensation that the Ottoman Empire owed to Russia for losses to businesses and institutions during the war. It granted amnesty to Ottoman subjects and for release of prisoners of war.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |script-title=ru:Константино́польский Мир 1879 |url=https://bigenc.ru/domestic_history/text/2092163 |encyclopedia=[[Great Russian Encyclopedia]] |access-date=19 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219175412/https://bigenc.ru/domestic_history/text/2092163 |archive-date=19 February 2022 |language=ru |trans-title=Peace of Constantinople 1879 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AJIL 1908">{{cite journal |title=The Definitive Treaty of Peace between Russia and the Porte: Signed at Constantinople on 8th February,1879 |journal=[[American Journal of International Law]] |date=October 1908 |volume=2 |issue=4 Supplemental |pages=424–426 |doi=10.2307/2212671 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2212671 |access-date=19 February 2022 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] for the [[American Society of International Law]] |jstor=2212671 |s2cid=246006401 |language=French |issn=0002-9300 |oclc=5545378434}}</ref> In addition, Article VII of the treaty provided that in the territory acquired by Russia, subjects could choose whether they wished to be Ottoman or Russian subjects for a period of six months after the agreement became effective.<ref name="AJIL 1908"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lohr |first1=Eric |title=Russian Citizenship: From Empire to Soviet Union |url=https://1lib.mx/book/2612171/b81e9d |date=2012 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-06634-2 |pages=39–40 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Despite the pleas of the Romanian delegates, Romania was forced to cede [[southern Bessarabia]] to the Russian Empire.<ref name="Hitchins">{{Cite book|title = Rumania: 1866–1947|series= Oxford History of Modern Europe|last = Hitchins|first = Keith |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |year = 1994|isbn = 0-19-822126-6|page = 50 }}</ref> As a compensation, Romania received [[Dobruja]], including the [[Danube Delta]].<ref name="Hitchins"/> The treaty also limited the Russian occupation of Bulgaria to 9 months, which limited the time during which Russian troops and supplies could be moved through Romanian territory.<ref name="Hitchins"/>

The three newly independent states subsequently proclaimed themselves kingdoms: [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] in 1881, [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]] in 1882 and [[Kingdom of Montenegro|Montenegro]] in 1910, and [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] proclaimed full independence in 1908 after it had united with [[Eastern Rumelia]] in 1885. {{nowrap|Austria–Hungary}} annexed Bosnia in 1908, sparking the [[Bosnian crisis]], a major European crisis that reinforced {{nowrap|pre-[[World War I]]}} alliances.<ref name="bosniancrisis">[https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/bosnian_crisis/ "Bosnian Crisis"]</ref>{{fcn|date=January 2024}}

The Treaty of Berlin accorded special legal status to some religious groups and also would serve as a model for the [[Minority Treaties]], which would be established within the framework of the [[League of Nations]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Buergenthal |first=Thomas |title=International Human Rights in a Nutshell |edition=3rd |publisher=[[West Publishing Company|West]] |date= 1 July 2002 |isbn=0-314-26014-5 |page=7 }}</ref> It stipulated that Romania recognize non-Christians (Jews and Muslims) as full citizens. It also vaguely called for a border rectification between [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Greece]] and the Ottoman Empire, which occurred after protracted negotiations in 1881, with the transfer of [[Thessaly]] to Greece.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

In the "Salisbury Circular" of 1 April, the [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Marquess of Salisbury]], appointed foreign secretary the next day, made clear his own and his government's objections to the Treaty of San Stefano and its favourable position of Russia.<ref>Walker, Christopher J. (1980), ''Armenia: The Survival of A Nation'', London: Croom Helm, p. 112</ref> Historian [[A. J. P. Taylor]] wrote, "If the treaty of San Stefano had been maintained, both the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary might have survived to the present day. The British, except for [[Benjamin Disraeli|Beaconsfield]] in his wilder moments, had expected less and were, therefore, less disappointed. Salisbury wrote at the end of 1878: 'We shall set up a rickety sort of Turkish rule again south of the Balkans. But it is a mere respite. There is [[sick man of Europe|no vitality left]] in them. The treaty also calls on the parties involved to attack the nation that violates the treaty.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=A. J. P. |author-link=A. J. P. Taylor |title=The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1954 |isbn=0-19-881270-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/struggleformaste00ajpt/page/253 253] |url=https://archive.org/details/struggleformaste00ajpt/page/253 }}</ref>

The [[Kosovo Vilayet]] remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungary was allowed to station military garrisons in the Ottoman [[Vilayet of Bosnia]] and the [[Sanjak of Novi Pazar]]. The Vilayet of Bosnia was placed under [[Bosnia and Herzegovina in Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian occupation]] although it formally remained part of the Ottoman Empire until it was [[Bosnian Crisis|annexed by Austria-Hungary]] thirty years later, on 5 October 1908. The Austro-Hungarian garrisons in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar were withdrawn in 1908, after the annexation of the Vilayet of Bosnia and the resulting [[Bosnian Crisis]],<ref name="bosniancrisis"/> to reach a compromise with the Ottoman Empire, which was struggling with internal strife because of the [[Young Turk Revolution]] (1908). The chaotic situation in the Ottoman Empire also allowed Bulgaria to formally [[Bulgarian Declaration of Independence|declare its independence]] on 5 October 1908.{{cn|date=July 2021}}

== List of plenipotentiaries ==
* {{flagicon|Ottoman Empire}} [[Ottoman Empire]]
** [[Alexander Karatheodori Pasha]], Minister of [[Public works|Public Works]]
** [[Mehmed Ali Pasha (marshal)|Mehmed Ali Pasha]], ''[[marshal]]'' of the Ottoman army
** [[Sadullah Pasha]], ambassador to Berlin{{sfn|Phillips|1911}}
* {{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
** [[Benjamin Disraeli|Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
** [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury]], [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK)|Foreign Secretary]]
** [[Odo Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill|Lord Odo Russell]], ambassador to Berlin
* {{flagcountry|German Empire}} and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
** [[Otto von Bismarck]], [[Minister President of Prussia]] and [[Chancellor of Germany]]
** [[Bernhard Ernst von Bülow|Baron Ernst von Bülow]], [[Foreign Minister of Prussia]]
** [[Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst]], ambassador to Paris
* {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}
** [[Gyula Andrássy|Gyula, Count Andrássy]], [[List of foreign ministers of Austria-Hungary|Foreign Minister]]
** [[Alajos Károlyi|Count Alajos Károlyi]], ambassador to Berlin
** [[Baron Heinrich Karl von Haymerle]], ambassador to Rome
* {{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}
** [[William Henry Waddington]], the Comte de Saint-Vallier, ambassador to Berlin and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
** Félix Hippolyte Desprez, Director of Political Affairs in the Department for Foreign Affairs
* {{flagcountry|Russian Empire|1858}}
** [[Alexander Gorchakov|Alexander, Prince Gorchakov]], [[Table of Ranks|Chancellor]] and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Foreign Minister]]
** [[Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov|Count Pyotr Shuvalov]], ambassador to the [[court of St James's]]
** [[Pavel Ubri|Paul d'Oubril]], ambassador to Berlin
* {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|1861}}
** [[Edoardo de Launay]], ambassador to Berlin
** [[Luigi Corti]]

== See also ==
* [[Treaty of San Stefano]]
* [[Bulgarian irredentism]]
* [[Commissions of the Danube River]]
* [[Kosovo Vilayet]]
* [[List of treaties]]
* [[Armenian delegation at the Berlin Congress]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Primary sources ===
* {{cite book |author=European commission for Eastern Roumelia |title=Report presented to the international commission at Constantinople [European commission for Eastern Roumelia as to the state of Macedonia since the treaty of Berlin |publisher=Gilbert & Rivington |url=https://archive.org/details/reportpresented00roumgoog |year=1880 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gladstone |first=William Ewart |author-link=William Ewart Gladstone |title=The Berlin Treaty and the Anglo-Turkish Convention: speech of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone, M.P. in the House of Commons on Tuesday, July 30th, 1878 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kIMIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA29 |year=1878 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gladstone |first=William Ewart |author-link=William Ewart Gladstone |contribution=The Treaty of Berlin, 30 July 1878 |title=Gladstone's Speeches, Descriptive Index and Bibliography by Arthur Tilney Bassett with a Preface by Viscount Bryce, O.M. and Introduction to the Selected Speeches by Herbert Paul |publisher=Methuen & Co |location= London |pages=505–52 |url=https://archive.org/stream/gladstonesspeech00gladuoft#page/504/mode/2up |date=1916 }}

== Further reading ==
* Anderson, M.S. ''The Eastern Question, 1774–1923: A Study in International Relations'' (1966) [https://www.questia.com/library/7391310/the-eastern-question-1774-1923-a-study-in-international online] 
* {{cite encyclopedia |first=David M. |last=Goldfrank |title=Berlin, Congress of |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Russian History |year=2003 |isbn=978-0028656939 |editor-last=Millar |editor-first=James R. |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofru0001unse }}
* Langer, William L. ''European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890'' (1950) pp 151–170. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.237096 Online]
* {{cite book |last=Millman |first=Richard|title=Britain and the Eastern question, 1875–1878 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70aaAAAAIAAJ |year=1979 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-822379-5 }}
* {{cite book |last=Medlicott |first=W. N. |author-link=W. N. Medlicott|year=1963 |title=The Congress of Berlin and After: A Diplomatic History of the Near East Settlement, 1878–1880 |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Frank Cass }}, Focus on the aftermath.
* {{cite book |last= Munro |first=  Henry F. |title= The Berlin Congress (Confidential, For Official Use Only)|year= 1918 |place= Washington, DC |publisher= Government Printing Office |url= https://archive.org/details/berlincongress00munr/page/n8 |via= Internet Archive |access-date= 8 February 2019}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Berlin|display=Berlin § Berlin, Congress and Treaty of|volume=3|pages=790–791|first=Walter Alison |last=Phillips |author-link=Walter Alison Phillips}}
* Stavrianos, Leften Stavros. ''The Balkans since 1453'' (1958).
* {{cite book |last=Taylor |first=A. J. P. |author-link=A. J. P. Taylor |title=The struggle for mastery in Europe: 1848–1918|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13016 |year=1954 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Yavuz |editor-first1=M. Hakan |editor-first2=Peter |editor-last2=Sluglett |title=War and Diplomacy: The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Treaty of Berlin |publisher=University of Utah Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-60781-150-3 }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Treaty of Berlin (1878)}}
* {{cite journal |title= Treaty between Great Britain, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Russia, and Turkey for the Settlement of Affairs in the East: Signed at Berlin, July 13, 1878 (Translation) |journal= The American Journal of International Law |volume= II |issue= 4, Supplement, Official Documents |date= October 1908 |pages= 401–424 |jstor= 2212670   |doi= 10.2307/2212670  |s2cid= 246011615 }}

{{Great power diplomacy}}
{{Ottoman treaties}}
{{Great Eastern Crisis}}

{{Straits Question navbox}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Berlin (1878)}}
[[Category:1878 in Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:1878 in Bulgaria]]
[[Category:1878 in France]]
[[Category:1878 in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:1878 treaties]]
[[Category:1870s in Romania]]
[[Category:Territorial evolution of Romania]]
[[Category:19th century in Serbia]]
[[Category:19th century in Montenegro]]
[[Category:Peace treaties of Russia|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of Austria-Hungary|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of the French Third Republic|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of the German Empire|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Ottoman Empire|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Russian Empire|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)|Berlin, 1878]]
[[Category:1878 in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:History of Adjara]]
[[Category:Ottoman period in Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:July 1878 events]]
[[Category:Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury]]
[[Category:Benjamin Disraeli]]
[[Category:Otto von Bismarck]]