Constantinople Conference
Encyclopedia
The 1876–1877 Constantinople Conference ( from the conference venue Tersane Sarayı or 'Shipyard Palace') of the Great Powers
(Britain
, Russia
, France
, Germany
, Austria-Hungary
and Italy
) was held in Constantinople (Istanbul
) from 23 December 1876 until 20 January 1877. Following the Herzegovinian Rebellion
started in 1875 and the Bulgarian Uprising
in April 1876, the Great Powers agreed on a project for political reforms both in Bosnia and in the Ottoman
territories with a majority Bulgarian
population.
The Great Powers were represented at the conference respectively by:
Of these, Lord
Salisbury, Count
de Chaudordy and Baron
von Calice were Ambassadors Plenipotentiary
to the conference, while Count Ignatyev, Sir Henry Elliot, Count de Bourgoing, Baron von Werther, Count Zichy and Count Corti were the resident Ambassadors of their countries in Constantinople.
The US Consul General
in Constantinople, Eugene Schuyler
also took an active part in drafting the conference decisions.
The Ottoman Empire
was represented at the conference by:
Midhat Pasha
was the Grand Vizier
(First Minister), and Saffet Pasha the Foreign Minister of the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottoman representatives participated in the plenaries of the conference, they were not invited to the preceding working sessions at which the Great Powers negotiated their agreement.
Lord Salisbury and Count Ignatyev played a leading role in the process. Ignatyev was trying to dispel British misgivings about Russia’s assumed role of a protector of the Orthodox Slavs
being but a disguise of its drive to take over the Black Sea Straits
and Constantinople itself and thus – as Prime Minister Disraeli feared – potentially threaten the vital Mediterranean
routes to British India. On his part, Salisbury saw the conference as a promising opportunity for mapping out a comprehensive deal with Russia over their conflicting territorial ambitions in Central Asia.
province including Bosnia
and most of Herzegovina
, while a southern part of the latter was to be ceded to the Principality of Montenegro
.
, and Western, with capital Sofia
.
The conference determined that, as of the late 19th century, the Bulgarian ethnic territories within the Ottoman Empire extended to Tulcea
and the Danube Delta
in the northeast, Ohrid
and Kastoria
in the southwest, Kirklareli
and Edirne
in the southeast, and Leskovac
and Niš
in the northwest. These territories were to be incorporated into the two Bulgarian autonomous provinces as follows:
The Great Powers elaborated in detail the constitutional, legislative
, executive, defense
and law enforcement
arrangements, cantonal administrative
system, taxation, international supervision etc. for the proposed autonomous provinces.
Government on 23 December 1876, dismissing the opening Ottoman suggestions that the Conference's mission might have been obviated by a new Ottoman Constitution approved by Sultan
Abdul Hamid II
that same day. In the subsequent conference plenary sessions the Ottoman empire submitted objections and alternative reform proposals that were rejected by the Great Powers, and attempts to bridge the gap did not succeed. Eventually, on 18 January 1877 Grand Vizier Midhat Pasha announced the definitive refusal of the Ottoman Empire to accept the conference decisions.
– from Western support.
Tsarigrad Peak
in Imeon Range
on Smith Island
in the South Shetland Islands
, Antarctica is named after the conference (‘Tsarigrad’ being the old Bulgarian name for Constantinople).
Great power
A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...
(Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, France
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
, Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
) was held in Constantinople (Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
) from 23 December 1876 until 20 January 1877. Following the Herzegovinian Rebellion
Herzegovina Uprising
Several uprisings were led by Serbs and Croats in the region of Herzegovina, then under Ottoman rule:*1852-1878 Uprising*1875-1878 Uprising*1882 Uprising...
started in 1875 and the Bulgarian Uprising
April Uprising
The April Uprising was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, which indirectly resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an autonomous nation in 1878...
in April 1876, the Great Powers agreed on a project for political reforms both in Bosnia and in the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
territories with a majority Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
population.
Participants
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
:
- Lord Salisbury and Sir Henry ElliotHenry ElliotSir Henry George Elliot was a British diplomat. He was the second son of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto. He was most noted for his period as ambassador at Constantinople, and his participation in the 1876-77 Constantinople Conference. Elliot took a pro-Turkish line despite the...
;- Russian EmpireRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
:
- Russian Empire
- Count Nikolay Ignatyev (historical spelling Nicolai Ignatieff);
- French EmpireSecond French EmpireThe Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
:
- French Empire
- Count Jean-Baptiste de Chaudordy and Count François de Bourgoing;
- German EmpireGerman EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
:
- German Empire
- Baron Karl von Werther;
- Austro-Hungarian Empire:
- Baron Heinrich von Calice and Count Ferenc Zichy;
- Kingdom of ItalyKingdom of Italy (1861–1946)The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
:
- Kingdom of Italy
- Count Luigi (Lodovico) CortiLodovico, count CortiLodovico, Count Corti , Italian diplomat, was born at Gambarano.Early involved with Benedetto Cairoli in anti-Austrian conspiracies, he was exiled to Turin, where he entered the Piedmontese foreign office...
.
Of these, Lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
Salisbury, Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
de Chaudordy and Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
von Calice were Ambassadors Plenipotentiary
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the conference, while Count Ignatyev, Sir Henry Elliot, Count de Bourgoing, Baron von Werther, Count Zichy and Count Corti were the resident Ambassadors of their countries in Constantinople.
The US Consul General
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in Constantinople, Eugene Schuyler
Eugene Schuyler
Eugene Schuyler was a nineteenth-century American scholar, writer, explorer and diplomat. Schuyler was of the first three Americans to earn a Ph.D. from an American university; and the first American translator of Ivan Turgenev and Lev Tolstoi...
also took an active part in drafting the conference decisions.
The Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was represented at the conference by:
- Midhat Pasha, Saffet Pasha and Edhem PashaIbrahim Edhem PashaIbrahim Edhem Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who held the office of Grand Vizier in the beginning of Abdulhamid II's reign between 5 February 1877 and 11 January 1878. He served numerous administrative positions in the Ottoman Empire including Ottoman minister of foreign affairs in 1856, Ottoman...
.
Midhat Pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
was the Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
(First Minister), and Saffet Pasha the Foreign Minister of the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottoman representatives participated in the plenaries of the conference, they were not invited to the preceding working sessions at which the Great Powers negotiated their agreement.
Lord Salisbury and Count Ignatyev played a leading role in the process. Ignatyev was trying to dispel British misgivings about Russia’s assumed role of a protector of the Orthodox Slavs
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
being but a disguise of its drive to take over the Black Sea Straits
Turkish Straits
The term Turkish Straits refers to the two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, that connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. They are conventionally considered the boundary between the...
and Constantinople itself and thus – as Prime Minister Disraeli feared – potentially threaten the vital Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
routes to British India. On his part, Salisbury saw the conference as a promising opportunity for mapping out a comprehensive deal with Russia over their conflicting territorial ambitions in Central Asia.
Decisions
Bosnia
The conference envisaged the creation of an autonomousAutonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
province including Bosnia
Bosnia Province, Ottoman Empire
The Bosnia Vilayet was an Ottoman vilayet, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as most of Slavonia, Lika and Dalmatia in present-day Croatia. It bordered Kosovo Vilayet to the south. Before the administrative reform in 1864, it was called the...
and most of Herzegovina
Herzegovina Province, Ottoman Empire
The Eyalet of Herzegovina was an Ottoman eyalet from 1833 to 1851. Its last capital was Mostar.-History:In 1831, Bosnian kapudan Husein Gradaščević occupied Travnik, demanding autonomy and the end of military reforms in Bosnia...
, while a southern part of the latter was to be ceded to the Principality of Montenegro
Principality of Montenegro
The Principality of Montenegro was a former realm in Southeastern Europe. It existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Knjaz Nikola, who then became king....
.
Bulgaria
The Great Powers agreed on a substantial Bulgarian autonomy to take the form of two new Ottoman provinces (vilayets) established for the purpose: Eastern, with capital TarnovoVeliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
, and Western, with capital Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
.
The conference determined that, as of the late 19th century, the Bulgarian ethnic territories within the Ottoman Empire extended to Tulcea
Tulcea
Tulcea is a city in Dobrogea, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea county, and has a population of 92,379 as of 2007. One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.- History :...
and the Danube Delta
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
in the northeast, Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
and Kastoria
Kastoria
Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
in the southwest, Kirklareli
Kirklareli
Kırklareli is the capital of Kırklareli Province in Eastern Thrace, on the European part of Turkey. The province has a coastline on the Black Sea. There is a Jewish community.-Name:It is not clearly known when the city was founded, nor under what name...
and Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
in the southeast, and Leskovac
Leskovac
Leskovac is a city and municipality in southern Serbia. It is the administrative center of the Jablanica District of Serbia...
and Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
in the northwest. These territories were to be incorporated into the two Bulgarian autonomous provinces as follows:
- Eastern Bulgarian autonomous province, including the Ottoman sandjaks – second level administrative divisions – of TırnovaVeliko TarnovoVeliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
, Rusçuk, TulçaTulceaTulcea is a city in Dobrogea, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea county, and has a population of 92,379 as of 2007. One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.- History :...
, VarnaVarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, SlivenSlivenSliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
, FilibePlovdivPlovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
(bar the kazas – third level administrative divisions – of SultaneriArdinoArdino is a town in Southern Bulgaria, in the Rhodope Mountains. It is located in Kurdzhali oblast and is close to the town of Madan.It is famous for its textile industry. It has a machine-building factory and a tobacco manufacturing industry. Tourist attractions include the Eagle rocks and the...
and AhıçelebiSmolyanSmolyan is a town and ski resort in the very south of Bulgaria not far from the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Smolyan Province...
), and part of the EdirneEdirneEdirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
sandjak including the kazas of KırkkiliseKirklareliKırklareli is the capital of Kırklareli Province in Eastern Thrace, on the European part of Turkey. The province has a coastline on the Black Sea. There is a Jewish community.-Name:It is not clearly known when the city was founded, nor under what name...
, MustafapaşaSvilengradSvilengrad is a town in Haskovo Province, South-central Bulgaria, situated at the border of Turkey and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svilengrad Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,132 inhabitants....
and KızılağaçElhovoElhovo is a Bulgarian town in Yambol Province, located on the left bank of Tundzha river, between Strandzha and Sakar mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Elhovo Municipality...
. - Western Bulgarian autonomous province, including the sandjaks of SofyaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, VidinVidinVidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
, NişNišNiš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
, ÜsküpSkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, ManastırBitolaBitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
(bar the kazas of DebreDebarDebar is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, near the border with Albania, on the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality.-Geography:...
and KorçaKorçëKorçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
), the NevrokopGotse Delchev (town)Gotse Delchev , is a town in Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria with a population of 23,573.In 1951 the town was renamed after the Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Nikolov Delchev. It had hitherto been called Nevrokop ....
, MenlikMelnik, BulgariaMelnik is a town in Blagoevgrad Province, southwestern Bulgaria, in the southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level. The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments...
and DemirhisarSidirokastroSidirokastro is a town and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is built near the fertile valley of the river Strymonas, on the bank of the...
kazas of the SerezSerresSerres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
sandjak, and the kazas of UstrumcaStrumicaStrumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...
, KöprülüVeles (city)Veles is a city in the center of the Republic of Macedonia on the Vardar river. The city of Veles is the seat of Veles Municipality.-Name:The city's name was Vylosa in Ancient Greek and before the Balkan Wars, it was a township with the name Köprülü in the Üsküp sandjak, Ottoman empire for 600...
, TikveşTikvešTikveš is a plain situated in central Republic of Macedonia which is known for an artificial lake. It is home to the towns of Kavadarci and Negotino. Famous for its wine, Tikveš is the center of the Macedonian wine production which has been cultivated for more than 120 years...
and KesriyeKastoriaKastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
.
The Great Powers elaborated in detail the constitutional, legislative
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
, executive, defense
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
and law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
arrangements, cantonal administrative
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
system, taxation, international supervision etc. for the proposed autonomous provinces.
Conclusion
The agreed decisions of the six Great Powers were formally handed over to the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Government on 23 December 1876, dismissing the opening Ottoman suggestions that the Conference's mission might have been obviated by a new Ottoman Constitution approved by Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
that same day. In the subsequent conference plenary sessions the Ottoman empire submitted objections and alternative reform proposals that were rejected by the Great Powers, and attempts to bridge the gap did not succeed. Eventually, on 18 January 1877 Grand Vizier Midhat Pasha announced the definitive refusal of the Ottoman Empire to accept the conference decisions.
Legacy
The failure of the Ottoman Government to implement the decisions of the Constantinople Conference triggered the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, depriving at the same time the Ottoman Empire – in contrast to the preceding 1853–1856 Crimean WarCrimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
– from Western support.
Tsarigrad Peak
Tsarigrad Peak
Tsarigrad Peak is sharp ice-covered peak rising to 1760 m in Imeon Range, Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Overlooking Armira Glacier to the southeast....
in Imeon Range
Imeon Range
Imeon Range is a mountain range occupying the interior of Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending 30 km in southwest-northeast direction between Cape James and Cape Smith, and 6.8 km wide...
on Smith Island
Smith Island (South Shetland Islands)
Smith Island is long and wide, lying west of Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands of the British Antarctic Territory. Surface area ....
in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
, Antarctica is named after the conference (‘Tsarigrad’ being the old Bulgarian name for Constantinople).
See also
- Herzegovina UprisingHerzegovina UprisingSeveral uprisings were led by Serbs and Croats in the region of Herzegovina, then under Ottoman rule:*1852-1878 Uprising*1875-1878 Uprising*1882 Uprising...
- April UprisingApril UprisingThe April Uprising was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, which indirectly resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an autonomous nation in 1878...
- Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Maps
- Bulgaria in the borders after the Treaties of Constantinople, San-Stephano, Berlin, London, Bucharest and Neuilly. Scale 1:1600000 map. (in German)
