Nationalism in the Balkan Peninsula
1878-1914

In fact, the word "Balkan" means mountains in the language of the Turks. In 1878, the Treaty of Berlin precipitated the independent states of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania, the creation of Bulgaria as a principality, kept Slovenia and Croatia under the rule of Austria-Hungary, and Bosnia-Herzegovina took control of Austria-Hungary. Figure 1 is a pie graph showing the ethnic groups in present-day Bosnia circa 1879.

Figure 1: Ethnic groups in Bosnia pie graph circa 1879

In the early 1900's, nationalist sentiment arose in the Balkans. Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece drove the Turks out of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Serbia then occupied Kosovo and Macedonia, an action against Bulgaria. An heir to the Austrian-Hungarian emperor, trying to the promote southern Slavs resistance towards Serbian expansionism, was assassinated by a Serb nationalist in 1914. This event prompted World War I. Figure 2 is a map the Balkans circa 1913.

Figure 2: Map of the Balkans circa 1913
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/

Source: BBC Education http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/