#头条创作挑战赛 #
In 1885, Bulgaria achieved the unification of the North and South in the national democratic movement, merging the Bulgarian state. After 1887, Bulgaria entered the period of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, and under the rule of the first state leader of the dynasty, Ferdinand I, the country officially declared its independence in 1908, and Bulgarian history entered a new era!
Bulgaria is unified from north to south
In 1878 the Bulgarians freed themselves from the Ottoman Turkish Empire; Bulgaria was declared unified in 1885. But even so, Bulgaria, as a small Balkan country, was still under the control of European powers, and Bulgaria was still a principality at the beginning of the 20th century, not an independent kingdom.
Principality of Bulgaria
To this end, the Bulgarians persisted in their struggle for independent statehood and opened up a new situation in Bulgaria's political development from 1886 to 1905. Finally, in 1908, the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence was issued, marking the restoration of Bulgaria to its status as an independent kingdom.
In this issue, let's take a look at how the Bulgarians struggled hard in 1886-1905; Talk about what happened before and after Bulgaria's independence; Tell us about the beginning and end of Archduke Ferdinand's proclamation of Bulgarian independence.
Stambolov government
Since the reunification of Bulgaria between the North and the South, the entire Bulgarian political system and political party process have developed tremendously. In the 20 years from 1886 to 1905, there were 14 governments in Bulgaria, with an average of only 1 year and 7 months for each prime minister.
Such a situation naturally brought "chaos" in the country's political life, but it also greatly developed the fledgling Bulgarian multi-party parliamentary democracy, and the entire Bulgarian politics matured in such a stumbling. Although the overall achievements of these 14 governments have been modest, there are still two that are remarkable: the Stambolov government and the Stoileov government.
In July 1887, Bulgarian statesman Stefan Stambolov came to power, a strong prime minister whose ascension marked the beginning of the Stampov government, which ruled the country for seven years until May 1894.
Stefan Stamborov memorial
The historical Stefan Stambolov and Stambolov government is quite controversial, because Stefan Stambolov is a strong prime minister, known as the "Bismarck of Bulgaria", so the government is also quite strong, and even once called the "Stambolov dictatorship"!
Stefan Nikolov Stambolov (Стефан Николов Стамболов), born in the main house of the innkeeper, participated in the underground revolutionary movement against Turkish rule in Bulgaria in his early years and promoted the Bulgarian national liberation movement.
Stambolov during the revolution
After Bulgaria gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, Stambolov was elected to the newly formed parliament and became its speaker in 1884. After the abdication of Grand Duke Alexander I of the Buttenburg dynasty of Bulgaria in 1886, he crushed the Russian intervention and installed Prince Ferdinand of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha as Grand Duke of Bulgaria.
Grand Duke Alexander I of the House of Battenberg
So when the new Grand Duke Ferdinand came to the throne, he asked Stampov to form a cabinet, the Stampov's government. During his reign, he continued to oppose Russia, made peace with Turkey, and expanded Bulgaria's sphere of influence in Macedonia, greatly developing the nascent Bulgarian state.
However, as an extremist Liberal and speaker of the National Assembly, Stambolov carried out a pro-Western and anti-Russian line that was strongly opposed by the pro-Russian faction in the country, and in order to stabilize the regime, he used the police to implement a reign of terror, exile and massacre of legal and illegal opposition leaders, and strictly controlled public opinion and news reports, which later generations described as the "Stampov dictatorship".
Stamborov
Since 1890, the Stambolov government has conducted three large-scale political trials for three consecutive years, during which many political enemies and opposition figures, especially a large number of pro-Russian figures in the country, have been brutally implicated and suffered a huge blow. So when Stampolov was assassinated a year after his ouster ...
It can be said that Stambolov suppressed anti-government conspiracies and mutiny by terrorist means, but on the other hand, his policy in the country's economy was quite effective: at that time, the government greatly stimulated the development of the country's industry by issuing licenses for mining rights, the right to use land and mineral resources, and providing interest-free loans and assistance to enterprises!
Stambolov on a coin
In 1892 the Stampov government also enacted a law to help the national industry; Five State loans were signed with British and Austrian banks for the purchase of foreign railways built in Bulgaria before 1878, the construction of new railways and roads, and the construction of two Black Sea ports in Varna and Burgas.
It also concluded economic agreements with Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland and Belgium; Even in 1892 the first Bulgarian Economic Fair was held. In short, the economic policy of the Stambolov government gave impetus to the development of Bulgarian industry and trade, opening the way for the development of Bulgarian capitalism!
Stambolov on the coin (middle 20 levas)
Therefore, historians have always had mixed reviews of the Stambolov government: some praised Smbolov as "the savior of the nation"; Some people denounced him as "the scum of the nation" and "the maker of national disasters"; History books also refer to him as a "dictator." But it is undeniable that Stambolov and his government laid the foundation for Bulgarian legislation and law enforcement activities, and contributed to the country's modernization.
Stambolov memorial
On May 31, 1894, Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Bulgaria regained monarchical power, and Stambolov was forced to resign as Prime Minister. On July 3 of the following year, Stambolov was assassinated on his way home in a carriage with bodyguards and friends, the assassin attacked with a revolver and a dagger, he was carried home after killing an assassin, and died three days later on July 6...
Stoilov government
In May 1894, after Archduke Ferdinand I regained monarchical power, Stambolov was forced to resign, and then the head of the Bulgarian People's Party, Konstantin Stoilov, formed a new government, known as the "Stoylov Government".
Bulgaria location
Drawing lessons from the authoritarian government of Stampov, the new Stoilov government broke the one-party monopoly and formed a coalition government with representatives of the Liberal Party (Radoslavov faction), the former Conservative Party and the former Eastern Rumelia Party.
In terms of economic policy, the correct path of the Stambolov government was continued, on the basis of which a decree on the promotion of local industry was adopted in 1894, which promoted Bulgarian industrial production in terms of reducing import taxes on machinery and equipment and encouraging the employment of hired workers.
The Stoylov government also signed new loan and trade agreements with foreign countries, relaxed the conditions for free trade, and accelerated the construction of railways and roads; and in agriculture, the tithes left over from the Ottoman Empire were abolished and replaced by land taxes; More importantly, the new government also corrected the wrongful convictions of the previous Stambolov authoritarian government and rehabilitated some politicians.
All this went on to develop the Bulgarian state. In particular, the new government also changed the anti-Russophobic policy of the Stampbolov government in foreign policy, restored diplomatic relations between the two countries, and sought the understanding of the Russian government. Eventually, the two countries resumed diplomatic relations that had been interrupted for 10 years.
In general, during the five years of the new Stoilov government, Bulgaria's overall strength continued to develop: infrastructure construction reached a certain scale, trade developed, factories increased, agriculture showed a bumper harvest, and the pace of capitalist development accelerated. Bulgaria is steadily advancing along the path of an independent and sovereign state!
Bulgarian Constitution
It can be said that the Stoilov government made great efforts to modernize Bulgaria and win recognition from the international community, but at the same time it also established the decision-making position of the new Grand Duke of Bulgaria in political life, and finally led the Bulgarian state to a monarchical "dictatorship" ...
Bulgaria declares independence
In Bulgarian politics in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, the Grand Duke played the role of head of state, but the Bulgarians did not have the power to elect the Grand Duke themselves, and could only be negotiated by the European powers, and then forced by the Bulgarians to recognize it. Even so, the Grand Duke of Bulgaria was not valued and recognized by the European powers for a long time.
Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria
In 1887, Prince Ferdinand, born in the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty, was elected Grand Duke of Bulgaria by the great powers, but due to the interests of the great powers, Ferdinand's grand duke was not recognized by the great powers until ten years later, in 1896.
In other words, Prince Ferdinand himself became Grand Duke of Bulgaria thanks to his complex nepotism: he was a German nobleman, a French prince, an Austrian officer, and a secret "friend" of Russia. This combination of left and right and "rain and dew" made him the best person to balance the interests of the European powers in the Balkans.
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha royal network
But judging from Ferdinand's performance in Bulgaria, this man loved power, temperament was violent and reckless, and eventually led Bulgaria to a "national disaster". So at the beginning of his reign, Ferdinand's distant cousin in England, Queen Victoria, commented: "He is completely unsuitable... Fragile, eccentric and effeminate... should stop immediately".
Queen Victoria
In July 1887, Prince Ferdinand was elected interim regent of Bulgaria and set about establishing an autocratic rule. In order to consolidate his power, Ferdinand, a Catholic, resolutely converted to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and amended the constitution to stipulate: "The Grand Duke of Bulgaria may not profess any religion other than the Orthodox Church." "In this way, we can get the new appointment and support of the Bulgarians.
But Ferdinand was still a foreign monarch after all, and he was always uneasy in completely strange Bulgaria, especially the autocratic rule of the Stampov government, which made Ferdinand I always feel that someone around him wanted to assassinate him. To this end, he can only step up his seizure of power: frequently changing governments and arbitrarily interfering in cabinet affairs.
Early years Ferdinand
In 1904, Ferdinand I enacted the Law on the Protection of Kings and Their Families from the Press, which prohibited media writers and editors from attacking the royal family. During his reign from 1887 to 1918, he frequently removed 22 governments as a means of establishing personal autocracy, known in history as the "one-man regime".
In the summer of 1908, the Young Turks Revolution broke out in the Ottoman Empire, and regions such as Macedonia and Thrace that had not yet freed themselves from Ottoman rule demanded autonomy. The Bulgarian bourgeois government decided to take advantage of this new situation to pre-emptively declare independence and completely separate Bulgaria from its vassal relations with the Ottoman Empire (at this time Bulgaria was still subject to the Treaty of Berlin and legally belonged to the Ottoman Empire).
The Berlin Conference and the Treaty of Berlin
Therefore, Archduke Ferdinand personally went to Austria-Hungary for secret negotiations, hoping that the two countries would take joint action to abandon the relevant provisions of the Treaty of Berlin. Austria-Hungary secretly supported Bulgaria's claim for independence in order to maintain control of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Treaty of Berlin stipulated that the two regions would be returned to the Ottoman Empire by the end of 1908).
Archduke Ferdinand
In this way, Archduke Ferdinand had a deep heart, and immediately returned to his country and solemnly announced at the National Assembly on September 22, 1908: Bulgaria has become independent and is no longer subject to the Ottoman Empire! Sure enough, the next day, Austria-Hungary announced the formal annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina
Archduke Ferdinand then stated in the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence: "For the good of the nation and the wishes of my subjects, and in defense of the holy Bulgaria of September 6, 1885, which was declared unified, I declare Bulgaria an independent kingdom." Together with my people, I am convinced that this righteous act of ours will command the approval of the great powers and the sympathy of the entire progressive world. Long live free and independent Bulgaria! "
On October 5, 1908, Archduke Ferdinand declared in a special message to the Bulgarian people: Bulgaria is no longer a "principality", but a "kingdom"! And he himself is no longer a "grand duke", but "king of all Bulgarians"! Since then, Ferdinand I has revived the traditional title of "Tsar" in Bulgarian history.
It can be said that the declaration of Bulgaria's independence is a major turning point in modern Bulgarian history, marking that Bulgaria has officially become independent from the Ottomans and restored Bulgaria's international status, which is an inevitable result of the historical development after the reunification of Bulgaria in the north and south!
Tsar Ferdinand I
Of course, this move also greatly increased the personal prestige of Tsar Ferdinand I, created conditions for his dictatorship, inevitably led the Bulgarians to another "disaster", and Bulgarian history entered a crossroads of choice...
So what happened after Bulgaria declared independence? What kind of complex ruler was Ferdinand I? What role will Bulgaria play in modern European wars?
Stay tuned to this series, and stay tuned for the next installment!