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Primary sourceDocument13 July 1878

Treaty of Berlin of 1878

13 July 1878

The 1878 treaty ending the Congress of Berlin, which Bismarck chaired as the 'honest broker' settling the Balkan crisis after the Russo-Turkish War.

Bismarck chaired the Congress of Berlin that produced this treaty, casting himself as Europe's neutral mediator.

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Historical colored map titled 'Eastern Europe, as regulated by the Treaty of Berlin, 13 June-13 July 1878'. It shows Bosnia-Herzegovina in brown, Montenegro in dark green, Serbia in yellow, Romania and Dobrudscha in blue, and the Ottoman Empire in red and white, with the Black Sea at right.
Map of South-Eastern Europe after the Congress of Berlin, 1878.

About this source

What it is

The Treaty of Berlin was signed on 13 July 1878 by Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It was the final act of the Congress of Berlin, chaired by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, and restructured the Balkans after Russia's victory over the Ottoman Empire.

Why it matters

The treaty revised the earlier Treaty of San Stefano, recognising the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and limiting the size of a new Bulgarian state, while Russia regained access to the Black Sea. Bismarck's role as chairman let him present Germany as a neutral 'honest broker' in European affairs, even though the settlement had lasting consequences for Balkan peoples who were not fully consulted.

Look closer

  • Why might Bismarck want Germany to appear as a neutral broker rather than a rival power?
  • What does the map's use of colour tell you about how territory was divided?
  • Whose voices are missing from a treaty negotiated by the great powers about the Balkans?

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