Eastern Question
Topic: The Rise of Nationalism in Europe · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Eastern Question was a big diplomatic problem of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The question was this: what would happen to the lands of the Ottoman Empire as it grew weaker? Its subject peoples in the Balkans broke away one by one and claimed to be recovering their "long-lost independence". At the same time, the great powers, mainly Russia, Austria-Hungary and Britain, competed for influence in the region. This rivalry made the Balkans the most dangerous trouble spot in Europe and helped cause the First World War.
Example
The Crimean War (1853–1856) and the Congress of Berlin (1878) were both attempts to settle the Eastern Question. Russia wanted access to the sea through Ottoman waters. Britain wanted to stop Russia.
Don't confuse with
- Sick man of Europe: this is only the nickname for the weak Ottoman Empire. The Eastern Question is the problem of what to do with its lands.
Related concepts
- Imperialism
- Balkan problem
- Ottoman Empire
- Sick man of Europe
- Crimean War
- Congress of Berlin 1878
- Pan-Slavism
- Austria-Hungary
- Young Turks
- Balkan Wars 1912-1913