Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/738

 560 General History oj Europe deal naturally depended on the position taken by England, which was in alliance with Turkey. Gladstone, then leader of the Lib- erals, urged his countrymen to break the unholy alliance between England and "the unspeakable Turk." But the party in power was fearful that the Slavic rebels in the Sultan's dominions, if they gained independence, might ally themselves with England's enemy, Russia, and that in the interest of English trade any movement should be resisted which might destroy the power of the Sultan, who was less likely than Russia to interfere with England's Eastern commerce. 1016. Russia defeats the Turks. The negotiations of the powers having come to nothing, Russia determined, in 1877, to act alone. Although the Turks fought well, Russia was victorious, and in 1878 a Russian army entered Adrianople. The Sultan was forced to sign a treaty with the Tsar and to recognize the inde- pendence of Serbia, Montenegro, Rumania, and Bulgaria. 1017. The Berlin Congress in 1878. England and Austria had naturally serious objections to this treaty which increased the influence of Russia in the Balkan Peninsula. They accord- ingly forced Tsar Alexander II to submit the whole matter to the consideration of a general European congress at Berlin. After prolonged and stormy sessions the Congress of Berlin agreed that Serbia, Rumania, and little Montenegro should be regarded as entirely independent of Turkey, and that Bulgaria should also be independent, except for the payment of a tribute to the Sultan. Bosnia, where the insurrection had begun, and the small province of Herzegovina were practically taken from the Sultan and turned over to Austria to be occupied and administered by her. Russia was given a tract east of the Black Sea. A few years after the congress Bulgaria quietly annexed the neighbor- ing province of Eastern Rumelia, thus adding to her own im- portance and further decreasing what little remained of Turkey in Europe. 1018. Accession of Alexander III. The reign of Alexan- der III (1881-1894), son and successor of Alexander II, was a period of quiet, during which little progress seemed to be made.