Key Facts
The Balkans is a range of mountains in SE Europe
It is also a name to cover the countries of Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro and Greece as well as part of Turkey
For 400 years the Turks had control over the Balkans but by the 19th century this was very weak
Russia and Austria-Hungary wanted to replace Turkey as the leading power in the area and from the 18th century they had been slicing off bits of the Empire
The people of the Balkans are SLAVS - Orthodox Christians and speaking similar languages
From the 19th Century Slav nationalism had become an important factor in the Balkans ie the belief that the slav people should have control over their own lands and not the Turks, Austrians or Russians
Some Slavs, especially the Serbs talked about creating a new Kingdom of the South Slavs which would stretch from Slovenia to Greece (see map p 19). This would be the Kingdom of JUGOSLAVIA with the Serbs at its heart.
This idea angered the Austrians who were afraid that if the south slavs got their independence then the other slavs within the empire would rebel - Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and Ruthenes.
If this happened the Empire would collapse.
The Russians were also Slavs and they claimed to be the protector of their fellow slavs in the Balkans. This, they claimed, gave them the right to intervene.
The Balkans were unstable and there were wars in 1912,1913 and ultimately 1914.
Read pages 19-21 and answer these questions-
List the countries of the Balkans. (map p19)
Which country had ruled the Balkans for many years?
Which other countries wanted to control the Balkans?
What did the Balkan nationalists want?
Why did the Austrians strongly oppose this?
What other national groups were there in the Austrian Empire?
In what way did the Austrian takeover of Bosnia worsen the matter?
What did Serbia and Russia think of doing in response?
What made Serbia and Russia back down?
What regrets did the Austrians have after 1908?
Document Exercise-
What point of view is being expressed in Source A on page 19?