KING CONSTANTINE
Fortune in an extraordinary degree has favored the King of the Hellenes—Fortune and his own wise head and valiant arm and the loyal support of his people. When before has a Prince taken supreme command of a nation's army and in the few months preceding and succeeding his accession to the throne by successful generalship doubled the area and population of his country?
Map: The Balkan Peninsula after the Wars of 1912-1913.
COST OF THE WAR
The Balkan wars have been bloody and costly. We shall never know of the thousands of men, women, and children who died from privation, disease, and massacre. But the losses of the dead and wounded in the armies were for Montenegro 11,200, for Greece 68,000, for Servia 71,000, for Bulgaria 156,000, and for Turkey about the same as for Bulgaria. The losses in treasure were as colossal as in blood. Only rough computations are possible. But the direct military expenditures are estimated at figures varying from a billion and a quarter to a billion and a half of dollars. This of course takes no account of the paralysis of productive industry, trade, and commerce or of the destruction of existing economic values.
Yet great and momentous results have been achieved. Although seated again in his ancient capital of Adrianople, the Moslem has been expelled from Europe, or at any rate is no longer a European Power. For the first time in more than five centuries, therefore, conditions of stable equilibrium are now possible for the Christian nations of the Balkans. Whether the present alignment of those states toward one another and towards the Great Powers is destined to continue it would be foolhardy to attempt to predict.
THE FUTURE OF THE BALKANS
But without pretending to cast a horoscope, certain significant facts may be mentioned in a concluding word. If the Balkan states are left to themselves, if they are permitted to settle their own affairs without the intervention of the Great Powers, there is no reason why the existing relations between Greece, Servia, Montenegro, and Roumania, founded as they are on mutual interest, should not continue; and if they continue, peace will be assured in spite of Bulgaria's cry for revenge and readjustment. The danger lies in the influence of the Great Powers with their varying attractions and repulsions. France, Germany, and Great Britain, disconnected with the Balkans and remote from them, are not likely to exert much direct individual influence. But their connections with the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente would not leave them altogether free to take isolated action. And two other members of those European groups—Russia and Austria-Hungary—have long been vitally interested in the Balkan question; while the opposition to Servian annexation on the Adriatic littoral and of Greek annexation in Epirus now for the first time reveals the deep concern of Italy in the same question.
The Serbs are Slavs. And the unhappy relations between Servia and Austria-Hungary have always intensified their pro-Russian proclivities. The Roumanians are a Romance people, like the French and Italians, and they have hitherto been regarded as a Balkan extension of the Triple Alliance. The attitude of Austria-Hungary, however, during the Balkan wars has caused a cooling of Roumanian friendship, so that its transference to Russia is no longer inconceivable or even improbable. Greece desires to be independent of both groups of the European system, but the action of Italy in regard to Northern Epirus and in regard to Rhodes and the Dodecanese has produced a feeling of irritation and resentment among the Greeks which nothing is likely to allay or even greatly alleviate. Bulgaria in the past has carried her desire to live an independent national life to the point of hostility to Russia, but since Stambuloff's time she has shown more natural sentiments towards her great Slav sister and liberator. Whether the desire of revenge against Servia (and Greece) will once more draw her toward Austria-Hungary only time can disclose.
In any event it will take a long time for all the Balkan states to recover from the terrible exhaustion of the two wars of 1912 and 1913. Their financial resources have been depleted; their male population has been decimated. Necessity, therefore, is likely to co-operate with the community of interest established by the Treaty of Bukarest in the maintenance of conditions of stable equilibrium in the Balkans. Of course the peace-compelling forces operative in the Balkan states themselves might be counter-acted by hostile activities on the part of some of the Great Powers. And there is one danger-point for which the Great Powers themselves are solely responsible. This, as I have already explained, is Albania. An artificial creation with unnatural boundaries, it is a grave question whether this so-called state can either manage its own affairs or live in peace with its Serb and Greek neighbors. At this moment the Greeks of Epirus (whom the Great Powers have transferred to Albania) are resisting to the death incorporation in a state which outrages their deepest and holiest sentiments of religion, race, nationality, and humane civilization. On the other hand the Hoti and Gruda tribes on the north fiercely resent annexation to Montenegro (which the Great Powers have decreed) and threaten to summon to their support other Malissori tribes with whom they have had a defensive alliance for several centuries. If Prince William of Wied is unable to cope with these difficulties, Italy and Austria-Hungary may think it necessary to intervene in Albania. But the intervention of either would almost certainly provoke compensatory action on the part of other European Powers, especially Russia.
One can only hope that the Great Powers may have wisdom granted to them to find a peaceful solution of the embarrassing problem which they have created in setting up the new state of Albania. That the Albanians themselves will have an opportunity to develop their own national independence I find it impossible to believe. Yet I heard in the summer of 1913 at Valona from the lips of Ismail Kemal Bey, the head of the provisional government, a most impressive statement of his hopes and aspirations for an independent Albania and his faith and confidence in its future, in which he claimed to voice the sentiments of the Albanian people. But, as I have already explained, I think it doubtful whether under the most favorable external circumstances the Albanians are at present qualified to establish and maintain an independent state. And their destiny is so inextricably entangled with the ambitions of some of the Great Powers that the experiment stands no chance of getting a fair trial. I heartily wish the circumstances were other than they are. For as an American I sympathize with the aspirations of all struggling nationalities to be free and independent. And my interest in Albania is deepened, as the interest of all Americans must be deepened, by the fact that a large number of Albanians have now found a home in the United States.
INDEX
Abdul Hamid II, misgovernment, 32.
Adrianople, capture by Murad I, 4; left to Turkey, 9, 25; holds out against Bulgaria, 56; sine qua non at Peace Conference, 57; captured, 57; question of retention of, 58; reoccupied by Turkish army, 109; ceded back to Turkey, 111.
Adriatic, question of supremacy over, 68.
Aegean Islands, Greece takes, 52; left to decision of Powers, 59; given to Greece, 122.
Albania, Montenegrins, 53; to be left to Powers, 59; cause of friction, 67; problem of, 118; given a ruler, 120; danger-point of the Balkans, 129; northern tribes oppose absorption by Montenegro, 130; future of, 131.
Alexander, Prince, of Bulgaria, 27.
Area, see under countries.
Asen brothers, free Bulgaria, 10.
Athens, recaptured, 22.
Austria, discusses division of Turkey, 7; given Bosnia and Herzegovina, 27; intervenes in Macedonia, 33; demands independent Albania, 67, 118; opposes Servia, 68; dislikes Slav hegemony, 97; interests in Balkans, 127.
Balkan Alliance, see Balkan states.
Balkan states, quarrel, 11; peninsula under Moslems, 13; massacres in, 25; large part of peninsula lost to Turkey, 27; dissensions among, 60; alliance, 34; rival ambitions among, 64; treaty restrictions, 72; causes of war between, 75; previous fighting between, 108; make peace, 110; future, 126.
Balkan wars, cause of first war, 30; cause of second war, 64; division of fighting, 54; cost, 125. (For progress, see under countries.)
Basil II, conquers Bulgaria, 10.
Belgrade, conquered by Dushan, 12.
Berane, massacre at, 36.
Berlin, Treaty of, 21; Congress of, 78.
Blockade, Greek, of Turkey, 51.
Boris, accepts Christianity, 9.
Bosnia, conquered by Dushan, 12; delegated to Austria, 27.
Bosphorus, Turks on, 3.
Brusa, surrendered, 3.
Bukarest, see Treaty of, and Peace Conference.
Bulgaria, independent, 8; suffers most, 8; church, progress, area, 9; under Moslem despotism, 11; ravaged by Turks, decline, 14; educational movement, 23; exarchate established, 24; revolt against Turkey, 25; "Big Bulgaria," 25; proclaimed independent, 26; astounding progress, 27; area and population, 29; declares war against Turkey, 34; alliance with Greece, 35; with Servia, 35; decide to mobilize, 36; enters Thrace, 54; success at Kirk Kilisse, Lule Burgas, and Chorlu, 55; capture Adrianople, 57; disagreement with Servia, 65; rivalry with Greece, 65; as to division of Macedonia, 72; demands that Servia observe treaty, 76; claims of, 77; exarchate in Macedonia, 81; alleged majority in Macedonia, 88; jingoism in, 96; position of, as to arbitration of Czar, 99; uncompromising policy, 101; her mistake, 102; opens war, 107; defeat by Allies, 109; makes peace, 110; present attitude, 127.
Byron, Lord, volunteer in Greece, 21.
Byzantine Empire, falling before Turks, 4; annihilates Bulgaria under Samuel, 10.
Chataldja, now border of Turkey, 8; Bulgarians at, 55.
Chorlu, Bulgarians victorious at, 55.
Christians, defeated by Moslems, 5; races quarrel, 11; In Macedonia, 31; oppressed, 13.
Constantine, King, 20; as Crown Prince, commanding general, 48; success, 50; captures Janina, 57; ability and achievements, 124.
Constantinople, seat of Byzantine Empire, 4; captured by Mohammed II, 5; left to Turkey, 8; Russia at gates of, 25.
Crete, question of, 42; captured by Venetians, 43; present condition, 43, 44; becomes autonomous, 44; elects members to Greek parliament, 45; process of annexation to Greece, 45, 124; Turkish sovereignty withdrawn, 59.
Czar, arbiter of Treaty of Partition, 95; summons Servia and Bulgaria to submit their disputes, 97.
Daneff, Dr., prime minister of Bulgaria, 98; tries to stop war, 107; rejects Roumanian claim, 112; resigns, 109.
Dushan, Stephen, rules Servia, 12.
Eastern Roumelia, see Roumelia.
Elassona, Greeks win at, 50.
England, fleet at Navarino, 22; joins Russia to reform Macedonia, 33; influence, 127.
Enver Bey, heads Young Turk revolt, 58.
"Eothen," does not mention Bulgaria, 15.
Epinus holds out, 56; Greeks of, resist incorporation in Albania, 129.
European, aid for Greece, 21.
Evans, Sir Arthur, excavations in Crete, 43.
Exarchate, Bulgarian, 19; Sultan's firman, 24; in Macedonia, 81.
Ferdinand, Prince, of Bulgaria, 27; King, 55, 108.
France, fleet at Navarino, 22; influence, 127.
Gabrovo, school of, 23.
Gallipoli, entry of Turks into, 4.
George, King of Greece, assassinated, 22; experienced ruler, 36; Prince, Commissioner of Crete, 44.
Germany, influence, 127.
Gibbon, quoted as to Czar Simeon, 9.
Gladstone, denunciation of Turkish atrocities, 25.
Great Britain, see England.
Greece, becomes independent, 7; ecclesiastical domination of Slavs, 16; Greek millet, 17; ascendancy in Bulgaria, 18; influence in Turkish Empire, 19; war of independence, 21; Powers make her independent, 22; boundaries, 28; area and population, 29; causes of war with Turkey, 32; declares war, 34; alliance with Bulgaria, 35; reorganizes army, 37; near alliance with Turkey, 40; Cretan question, 42; mobilization, 48; enters Macedonia, 49; conquers at Sarandaporon, Serfidje, Elassona, Veria, and Jenitsa, 50; blockades Turkey, 51; captures Janina, 57; rivalry with Bulgaria, 65; favors Servian egress to Aegean, 71; question of division of Macedonia, 74; propaganda in Macedonia, 83; position of division of territory, 104; conciliatory methods, 105; alliance against Bulgaria, 108; treaty of peace and extension of territory, 110; annexation of Crete, 124; attitude toward Italy, 128.
Gueshoff, agrees to conference of Allies, 95; statesman, 96; resigns, 97.
Hellenism, cause of, 36.
Hellespont, Turks cross, 4.
Herzegovina, conquered by Stephen Nemanyo, 11; delegated to Austria, 27.
"Internal Organization" in Macedonia, 32.
Ipek, Archbishop of, 12.
Islam, millet of, 16.
Ismail Kemal Bey on Albania's future, 130.
Italy holds Rhodes, 52; demands independent Albania, 67, 118; desires control of Adriatic, 69; protests against Greece at Corfu, 120.
Janina, holds out, 56; falls, 57.
Jenitsa, Turks defeated at, 50.
Kara-George, leads Servians, 20; dynasty, 21.
Kiamil Pasha, Grand Vizier, 48; driven out, 58.
Kilkis, battle of, 109.
Kirk Kilisse, Bulgarian victory, 55.
Kossovo, field of, 4; avenged, 53.
Kochana, massacre at, 36.
Kumanovo, Servians defeat Turks at, 53.
Lazar, the Serb, 4.
Literary revival in Bulgaria, 23.
London, see Treaty of, and Peace Conference.
Lule Burgas, Bulgarian victory, 55.
Macedonia, ruled by Murad I, 4; cause of first Balkan war, 30; question of its division, 72; racial problem, 79, 89; religion in, 81; alleged Bulgarian majority in, 88; claims to central portion of, 89.
Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Grand Vizier, 58.
Massacre, in 1876, 25; at Kochana and Berane, 36; inflames Slavs, 47.
Mehemet Ali, fights against Greece, 22.
Meluna Pass, Greeks enter, 49.
Millet, a Turkish term, 16.
Mohammed II, conquers Constantinople, 5.
Mohammedan, intolerance, 8; Balkan peninsula under, 13; incapacity, 31.
Monastir, captured by Serbs, 53.
Montenegro, remembers Kossovo, 5; conquered by Nemanyo, 11; independent by Treaty of Berlin, 27; area and population, 29; declares war against Turkey, 34; fires first shot of war, 53; captures Scutari, 57; work and reward, 116; inclination toward Servia, 118.
Moslem, see Mohammedan.
Murad I, captures Adrianople, 4.