The Eastern Question 1774 1923

A clear and concise guide to the Eastern Question - the problem facing the European states of how to react to the decline of the Ottoman Empire. A L MacFie's study shows how the question was a major factor in shaping the policies of all the major powers from the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-74 down to the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

"For generations the great powers and their leaders struggled with the problems created by the weakness and slow disintegration of the ottoman empire and with the rivalries among the states of Europe to which it gave rise; then strategic and economic factors - seen, for example, in the building of the suez canal in Baghdad Railway scheme -- combined with the growing nationalism of the small Balkan peoples and the development of Panslavism in Russia to complicate the picture. In a masterly clarification the author surveys the development over a period of a century and a half of one of the greatest issues, or series of issues, in international relations in Europe. This book is based on an extremely wide range of printed materials, including many in russian as well as in west European languages, and thus brings together in a convenient and coherent form a great deal of important information, much of which would otherwise be inaccessible. No work in English of comparable scope and purpose has appeared since the publication in 1917 of J. A. R. Marriot's The Eastern Question; An Historical Study in European Diplomacy. -- Publisher.

Each book in this series aims to provide a concise analysis of complex issues and problems in A level modern history topics. Using supporting documentation, the books give students an account of historical facts and an understanding of the central themes and differing interpretations. conception in the late 18th century until its resolution in the peace settlement following World War I. Accompanying documents provide an insight into the thinking of European statesmen during this period.