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The Congress of Berlin was a gathering of the representatives of the Russian Empire, Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy , and Germany, the great powers in Europe and the Balkan states; Greece, Serbia, Rumania , and Montenegro. and the Ottoman Empire. The Congress was hosted by the German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck. The aim of the Congress was to resolve territorial and other disputes in the Balkans after the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-8. It also sought to ease tensions in Europe, because other great powers feared that Russia was growing too strong and was upsetting the continent’s balance of power. The Congress also sought to restrain Pan-Slavic nationalism. The Congress 's actions ultimately sacrificed long -term stability in favor of a short -term easing of political tensions.

The Ottoman Empire was in terminal decline and since the start of the 19th century , it had been in retreat in the Balkans, which it had once dominated.<ref>Taylor, Alan J. P. (1954). ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198812701/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0198812701&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=c2ae7f82135cff7e46bbe904e05eea4d Struggle for the Mastery of Europe 1848–1918]''. UK: Oxford University Press. p. 241</ref> However, it still retained control over large areas of the southern Balkans. The region was very unstable. The population of the Balkans was made up largely of Slavs and many of these wanted the creation of a single Slavic state in the region, this ideology was known as Pan-Slavism. The nationalist ideology of Pan-Slavism was very hostile to the Ottoman Turks, but generally support Russian influence in the Balkans, as it was considered a Slavic nation. Russia considered itself to be the defender of the Christian Slavs against the Muslim Ottomans.<ref>Taylor, p. 167</ref>

In 1876, the Bulgarians rebelled against Ottoman rule. The Turkish Ottoman forces brutally crushed the revolt with great loss of civilian life. This led to Russian intervening on behalf of their fellow Slavs and Christians, the Bulgarians. From 1877-8, the Russians fought a war against the Ottomans, mainly in the Balkans.<ref>Taylor, p.256.</ref> The Russians, who were supported by Greece, Serbia, Montenegro , and Rumania, inflicted a series of defeats on the Turks. By 1878, the Turks had been forced out of almost all of their Balkan provinces. The Russian and their allies signed a Treaty treaty with the Ottomans, in 1878. The terms of this treaty meant that Russia and its allies had confined the Turks to a narrow band of territory in the Balkans. To many observers , it seemed likely that the Russians would go on to occupy Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.<ref>Glenny, Misha (2000). ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140233776/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0140233776&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=7d718a56ddf01826d0a4c1651ea89a59 The Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers]''. Granta Books, p. 78.</ref>

In particular, they were worried about Russian ambitions in the Bosporus. This is one of the world’s most strategic waterways and it connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. The Russian Tsar Alexander II had ambitions, to capture Constantinople. This would have allowed the Russian navy access to the Mediterranean and this was seen as a threat to French and British interests. Britain in particular, believed that if Russia was to dominate the Bosporus Straits it would threaten its ‘sphere of influence’ in the Mediterranean.<ref>Glenny, 78</ref> The British made clear that they would not allow the Russians access to the Bosporus. London made clear it would go to war with Russian over the issue.<ref>Albertini, Luigi (2002) ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7BUVMW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00C7BUVMW&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=f093fef231322b9f1fb77d2daa94f34e The Origins of the War of 1914: European relations from the Congress of Berlin to the eve of the Sarajevo murder].'' Oxford University Press, p. 119.</ref>

The Congress achieved Bismarck's aim and ensured that the instability in the Balkans would not result in a general war between the great powers in Europe. However, over the long term , it was a disaster for Europe.<ref>Glenny, p. 67.</ref> Prior to the Congress, there had been a level of stability in Europe, even though relations between France and Germany were still tense after the 1870-1 war. Russian was angered by the outcome of the Congress. Eventually , she ended her loose alliance with Germany and Austro-Hungary. While, the Germans and Austrians had succeeded in their objectives at the Congress, but they lost an ally. This forced a reshuffling of alliances in Europe. This did much to establish the alliance system in Europe which directly contributed to the outbreak of the First World War. More importantly, the Congress failed to address the Pan-Slavic nationalists' demands. By failing to address demands, Europe was beset with instability in the Balkans for decades. The Congress' failure to address the claims of the Slavs in the Balkans was to result in wars and terrorism in the region until the First World War and after.

The Congress of Berlin was very important, in that it helped to establish the outline of the modern Balkans and it kept Russian from expanding further into that region and beyond into the Ottoman Empire. However, it led inadvertently to the development of a series of international alliances that was ultimately result resulted in two rival power blocs on the continent. it failed to placate the demands of the Pan-Slavic Nationalists. Indeed, Pan-Slavic nationalism was a contributing factor to the outbreak of the First World War. When a Serbian Pan-Slavic nationalist assassinated Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, this was to prove the catalyst for the First World War. The decisions made at the Congress was were to leave the Balkans fundamentally unstable for several decades to come and even contributed to the wars in the region in the 1990s. <div class="portal" style="width:85%;">==Related DailyHistory.org Articles==*[[How did Mussolini become Prime Minister of Italy?]]*[[Social History of American Medicine Top Ten Booklist]]*[[Gilded Age/Progressive Era History Top Ten Booklist]]*[[How did Vladimir Lenin Rise To Power?]]*[[Origins of World War One - Top Ten Booklist]]</div>{{Mediawiki:British History}}