AP European History

## Learning Outcomes

- Explain why the Balkans became a major source of diplomatic tension in Europe
- Understand how Ottoman decline encouraged nationalist movements in southeastern Europe
- Identify the significance of the Greek War of Independence, the Crimean War, and the Congress of Berlin
- Distinguish between local nationalism in the Balkans and great-power use of nationalism for strategic aims
- Trace the path from the Bosnian Crisis and Balkan Wars to the July Crisis of 1914
- Use specific evidence and dates in AP European History essays and short-answer responses

## AP European History Syllabus

For the AP European History, you are expected to understand how Balkan nationalism and the weakening Ottoman Empire increased tensions among European states, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that the **Eastern Question** referred to the diplomatic problem created by Ottoman decline in Europe
- Identify how the **Greek War of Independence** began in **1821** and how Britain, France, and Russia intervened
- Understand why the **Crimean War (1853–1856)** broke out over Russian influence and Ottoman weakness
- Explain the difference between the **Treaty of San Stefano (1878)** and the **Congress of Berlin (1878)**
- Know that Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina after **1878** and annexed it in **1908**
- Understand how **Pan-Slavism**, Serbian nationalism, and Austro-Hungarian fears clashed in the Balkans
- Identify the significance of the **Balkan Wars (1912–1913)** in strengthening Serbia and weakening the Ottomans
- Explain why the **Sarajevo assassination on June 28, 1914** became the immediate trigger of World War I rather than just a local crisis

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What was the Eastern Question, and why did it matter to the great powers?
2. How did the Greek War of Independence show both nationalism and great-power intervention?
3. What is the difference between the Treaty of San Stefano and the Congress of Berlin?
4. Why did Austria-Hungary and Russia become rivals in the Balkans?
5. Why is the Sarajevo assassination described as an immediate trigger rather than the only cause of World War I?

## Introduction

In **Period 3: c. 1815 to c. 1914**, the Balkans became one of Europe’s most dangerous regions. This happened because nationalism grew among peoples ruled by weakening empires, especially the Ottoman Empire, while outside powers tried to shape the outcome for their own benefit. That mixture of local ambition and international rivalry made the region unstable for decades.

![Ottoman decline, Balkan nationalism, and great-power intervention culminating in the Balkan crises and the July Crisis of 1914.](https://static.pastpaperhero.com/images/ap-european-history-national-unification-and-diplomatic-tensions-balkan-nationalism-drew-in-great-powers_00.png)

_The Eastern Question linked nationalist movements in southeastern Europe to rival interventions by Russia, Austria-Hungary, Britain, and other powers._

For AP European History, this topic matters because it connects several major themes at once: **national and European identity**, **states and other institutions of power**, and **international conflict**. It also tests core historical thinking skills, especially **causation**, **continuity and change over time**, and **contextualization**.

> **Key Term: Eastern Question**
> The diplomatic problem created by the weakening Ottoman Empire, especially the question of who would control its territories and influence in the Balkans.

### Why Ottoman decline made the Balkans explosive

The Balkans did not become dangerous simply because nationalism existed. Nationalism existed in many parts of Europe. The Balkans became explosive because nationalist movements developed in a region controlled by a weakening empire and surrounded by ambitious great powers.

The Ottoman Empire had ruled much of southeastern Europe for centuries. As it weakened in the 19th century, peoples such as Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, and Romanians pushed for independence or expansion. But these groups did not all want the same borders. Their claims often overlapped. That meant Balkan nationalism was not a single united movement. It was a set of competing movements.

At the same time, the great powers saw opportunity.

- **Russia** wanted influence over Orthodox and Slavic peoples and greater access toward the Mediterranean
- **Austria-Hungary** feared that Slavic nationalism would spread to its own multinational empire
- **Britain** wanted to block Russian expansion and protect routes to India
- **France** intervened when it suited the balance of power
- **Germany** later backed Austria-Hungary, especially after Bismarck’s alliance system shifted

This is the key causal chain students must grasp:

Ottoman decline -> local nationalist movements -> great-power intervention -> repeated crises -> rising alliance tension -> 1914 war

> **Key Term: Balkan nationalism**
> Nationalist movements in southeastern Europe in which ethnic groups sought independence, self-government, or territorial expansion as Ottoman control weakened.
>
> **Key Term: Pan-Slavism**
> The idea that Slavic peoples shared common interests and should support one another, often promoted by Russia to increase its influence in the Balkans.

A common mistake is to treat **Pan-Slavism** and **Serbian nationalism** as the same thing. They overlapped, but they were not identical. Pan-Slavism was broader and often served Russian foreign-policy aims. Serbian nationalism focused more directly on Serbian or South Slav state-building.

> **Test Tip:** In SAQs and LEQs, do not say “nationalism caused World War I” and stop there. Show the mechanism: weakening Ottoman control created opportunities, and great powers turned local disputes into international crises.

### From Greek independence to the Crimean War

The first major example of Balkan nationalism drawing in the great powers was the **Greek War of Independence**, which began in **1821**. Greek rebels fought against Ottoman rule, and the revolt gained support from liberals across Europe. Greece was admired as the ancient birthplace of democracy, so the struggle had emotional force far beyond the Balkans.

But the great powers did not intervene only out of admiration for Greek liberty. **Britain, France, and Russia** also saw a chance to weaken the Ottomans. Their decisive intervention came at the **Battle of Navarino in 1827**, when they destroyed the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet. Greek independence was recognized in **1832**.

This episode is important because it shows both continuity and change.

- The continuity: Ottoman weakness kept inviting intervention
- The change: nationalism in the Balkans could now succeed with outside backing

It also reveals an AP-level distinction. Great-power support for a nationalist movement did not mean great-power commitment to liberalism. Greece became independent, but the new state became a monarchy, not a model liberal democracy.

By mid-century, the same Eastern Question led to direct war among the powers in the **Crimean War (1853–1856)**. Britain and France fought on the Ottoman side against Russia because they feared that Russia would gain too much influence from Ottoman weakness. This showed that the Balkans were not just a local issue. They could pull the powers into open conflict.

So the Greek revolt and the Crimean War should be compared carefully:

- In Greece, powers intervened to help break Ottoman control
- In the Crimean War, powers intervened to stop another power, Russia, from benefiting too much from Ottoman decline

That comparison is strong evidence in an LEQ because it shows that Balkan crises were shaped not just by self-determination but by balance-of-power politics.

### Why 1878 was a turning point: San Stefano and Berlin

The next major turning point came after the **Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878**. Russia defeated the Ottomans and imposed the **Treaty of San Stefano** on **March 3, 1878**. This treaty created a **large Bulgaria** under strong Russian influence.

That alarmed both **Britain** and **Austria-Hungary**. A large Russian-aligned Bulgaria would have greatly increased Russian power in the Balkans. So the settlement was revised at the **Congress of Berlin**, held from **June to July 1878**, with **Otto von Bismarck** presenting himself as an “honest broker.”

> **Key Term: Treaty of San Stefano**
> The 1878 settlement after the Russo-Turkish War that created a large Bulgaria and greatly increased Russian influence in the Balkans.
>
> **Key Term: Congress of Berlin**
> The 1878 international meeting that revised the Treaty of San Stefano, reduced Russian gains, and rearranged control in the Balkans.

The Congress of Berlin produced several key outcomes:

- **Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania** were recognized as independent
- **Bulgaria** was reduced in size
- **Eastern Rumelia** became autonomous under Ottoman authority
- **Macedonia** returned to Ottoman control
- **Austria-Hungary** gained the right to occupy and administer **Bosnia-Herzegovina**
- **Britain** gained **Cyprus**

Why does this matter so much for AP Euro? Because Berlin was a short-term diplomatic success but a long-term political failure.

In the short run, it checked Russian gains and prevented a wider war. In the long run, it left almost everyone dissatisfied.

- Russia resented the reduction of its victory
- Serbs disliked Austrian influence in Bosnia
- Bulgarians disliked the shrinking of Bulgaria
- contested regions such as Macedonia remained unresolved
- Austria-Hungary now had deeper involvement in a dangerous region

This is exactly the sort of point that earns analysis marks: a settlement can preserve peace temporarily while storing up future conflict.

> **Test Tip:** Be precise with 1878. **San Stefano expanded Russian influence; Berlin reduced it.** Students often blur these together and lose accuracy.

### Bosnia, the Balkan Wars, and the road to Sarajevo

After **1878**, the Balkans grew more unstable because nationalism and diplomacy kept feeding each other. Austria-Hungary feared Serbian success because its own empire included many Slavic peoples. Serbia, meanwhile, hoped to expand and unite South Slavs. Russia increasingly backed Serbia, partly from Pan-Slavism and partly from strategy.

The tension sharpened in the **Bosnian Crisis of 1908**. Austria-Hungary had administered Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1878, but in **1908** it formally annexed the territory. This angered **Serbia**, which wanted Bosnia because of its large South Slav population, and it humiliated **Russia**, which was too weak after the **Russo-Japanese War** and the **1905 Revolution** to resist effectively.

> **Key Term: Bosnian Crisis**
> The 1908–1909 diplomatic crisis caused by Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which angered Serbia and Russia.

The result was not war in 1908, but the crisis made a future war more likely. Serbia became more hostile to Austria-Hungary, and Russia became less willing to back down again.

Then came the **Balkan Wars**.

In the **First Balkan War (1912–1913)**, the **Balkan League**—Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro—attacked the Ottoman Empire and stripped it of most of its remaining European territory. In the **Second Balkan War (1913)**, Bulgaria fought its former allies over disputed land, especially in **Macedonia**, and lost.

These wars mattered because they changed the balance in the Balkans again:

- the Ottoman Empire was pushed almost entirely out of Europe
- Serbia gained territory and prestige
- Bulgaria became resentful
- Austria-Hungary grew more alarmed by Serbian strength
- Albania’s creation blocked Serbian access to the Adriatic, increasing Serbian frustration

By **1913**, the Balkans had earned the label **“powder keg of Europe.”** That phrase matters because it captures the overlap of ethnic rivalry, state-building, imperial decline, and alliance politics.

The immediate spark came on **June 28, 1914**, in **Sarajevo**, when **Gavrilo Princip**, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, assassinated **Archduke Franz Ferdinand**, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

> **Key Term: Sarajevo assassination**
> The killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, which triggered the July Crisis.

Austria-Hungary used the assassination to move against Serbia. Russia backed Serbia. Germany backed Austria-Hungary. France was tied to Russia. Britain entered after the crisis widened. That is why the assassination mattered so much: not because one murder automatically caused world war, but because decades of Balkan tension had already made the powers ready to escalate.

This is the essential AP causation argument: Balkan nationalism did not automatically produce a continental war. It became catastrophic because alliance systems and repeated intervention turned local crises into European ones.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- The **Eastern Question** was the diplomatic problem created by Ottoman decline in the Balkans
- Balkan nationalism involved several competing peoples, not one united movement
- The **Greek War of Independence** began in **1821** and gained decisive outside help at **Navarino in 1827**
- The **Crimean War (1853–1856)** showed that Ottoman decline could produce direct war among great powers
- The **Treaty of San Stefano (1878)** increased Russian influence through a large Bulgaria
- The **Congress of Berlin (1878)** reduced Russian gains and recognized the independence of Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania
- Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia-Herzegovina after **1878** and annexed it in **1908**
- **Pan-Slavism** and Serbian nationalism overlapped but were not identical
- The **Balkan Wars (1912–1913)** weakened the Ottomans and strengthened Serbia
- The Balkans were called the **“powder keg of Europe”** because nationalism and great-power rivalry overlapped there
- The **Sarajevo assassination on June 28, 1914** was the immediate trigger of World War I
- The deeper cause was the way great-power alliances turned a Balkan crisis into a continental war

## Key Terms and Concepts

- Eastern Question
- Balkan nationalism
- Pan-Slavism
- Treaty of San Stefano
- Congress of Berlin
- Bosnian Crisis
- Sarajevo assassination


National Unification and Diplomatic Tensions - Balkan nationalism drew in great powers