First Balkan Alliance

First Balkan Alliance
TypeMilitary alliance
ContextAnti-Ottoman Empire
Drafted1866
Signed
NegotiatorsIlija Garašanin
Parties

The First Balkan Alliance (Serbian: Први балкански савез/Prvi balkanski savez) was a system of agreements concluded by the Principality of Serbia in the period of 1866–68 to unite the nations of the Balkans in a common struggle against the Ottoman Empire.[1] The plans for forging this alliance were based on the organization of a major general uprising, as opposed to individual uprisings by the various ethnic groups in Ottoman territory. According to the plans, the Albanians would begin the uprising, followed by Serb and Greek volunteers and finally and simultaneously by the regular armies of Serbia and Greece.[2] According to the plans and agreements, after a successful war against the Ottomans, the Balkan nations would establish a united federation.[3]

This alliance was conceived as part of one of various proposals for a Balkan federation, planned as a buffer zone between East and West.[4] Members of the First Balkan Alliance were Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgarian revolutionary committees, the Croatian People's Party, Greece and Romania.[5][6] The major role in establishing of the First Balkan Alliance was played by Serbia, under Prince Mihailo Obrenović and Prime Minister Ilija Garašanin.

  1. ^ Petković 1996, p. 43: "Први балкански савез је систем уговора из 1866–1868, који је закључила Србија ради окупљања балканских народа за борбу против Турске."
  2. ^ Istorijski institut u Beogradu (1992). Posebna izdanja. Vol. 27. Izdanje Istorijskog Instituta. p. 133. .. треба предупрећивати појединачне устанке и заједнички договорити дан ошцтег устанка; устанак ће почети Арнаути, за њима ће кренути Српски и Грчки добровољци, а затим истовремено Србија и Грчка.
  3. ^ Srejović, Gavrilović & Ćirković 1981, p. 439: "..а после успешног рата би се створила велика заједничка држава"
  4. ^ Király & Rothenberg 1979, p. 207: "The First Balkan Alliance of 1866–68 was based on a combination of the first and third options: protection from European interference and aggression against the Ottomans."
  5. ^ Ljušić 2005, p. 1862 "Савез су чиниле Србија, Црна Гора, бу- гарски револуционарни комитети, хрватска Народна странка, Грчка и Румунија (1866–1868)."
  6. ^ Popov 2000, p. 138: "Склапањем уговора са Црном Гором (1866), споразума са хрватском Народном ... Грчком (1867) и војне конвенције (1868), као и уговора о савезу са Румунијом (1868) створен је Први балкански савез."