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| 1878, Jan. 9 |
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| The Ottomans appealed to the Russians for an armistice. | 1 |
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| Jan 31 |
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| Armistice concluded; the Russians were to occupy the lines just outside Constantinople. War fever surged in Britain (“We don't want to fight but by jingo, if we do, we've got the men, we've got the ships, we've got the money too”). | 2 |
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| March 3 |
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| The TREATY OF SAN STEFANO between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (ratified on March 23): Montenegro was to be enlarged and given the port of Antivari; both Montenegro and Serbia were to be independent, the latter also receiving some territory; Romania was to be independent, Russia reserving the right to give Romania the Dobrudja in return for Bessarabia; Bosnia and Herzegovina were to be granted reforms; Bulgaria was to be an autonomous state under an elected prince and to be occupied for two years by Russian troops, and it was to include most of Macedonia and to have a seaboard on the Aegean; Russia was to receive Ardahan, Kars, Batum, and Bayazid on the Asiatic front; the Ottomans had to pay a huge indemnity. | 3 |
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| March 6 |
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| Andrássy issued invitations to a congress of the powers to meet at Berlin. Britain and Russia disputed what subjects might be discussed at the congress. | 4 |
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| May 8 |
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| Mission of Count Peter Shuvalov, Russian ambassador to London, to St. Petersburg. He there imposed a policy of agreement with Britain. He returned on May 23 with the offer to push Bulgaria back from the Aegean, pare it down in the west, and divide it into north and south parts. | 5 |
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| May 30 |
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| Secret Anglo-Russian agreement, as arranged by Shuvalov. | 6 |
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| June 4 |
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| Secret Anglo-Ottoman agreement, reluctantly accepted by the sultan. To meet the Russian advance in Asia Minor, the British promised to defend the Ottomans against any further attack on the sultan's Asiatic possessions. In return they were to be allowed to occupy Cyprus. The sultan promised to introduce reforms in his Asiatic territories. | 7 |
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| June 6 |
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| Anglo-Austrian Agreement. The agreement dealt with the future organization of Bulgaria and the length of Russian occupation. | 8 |
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| June 13–July 13 |
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| The BERLIN CONGRESS (See July 13): Bismarck, the “honest broker”; Gorchakov and Shuvalov for Russia; Andrássy for Austria; Disraeli and Salisbury for Britain; Waddington for France; Count Corti for Italy; Caratheodory (a Greek) for the Ottomans. The main decisions had been made in the preceding secret agreements, but there was much trouble and friction about details, especially after the Anglo-Russian agreement leaked out. Bulgaria was divided into three parts: (1) Bulgaria proper, north of the Balkan Mountains, was to be tributary and autonomous; (2) Eastern Rumelia, south of the mountains, was to have a special organization under the Ottoman government; (3) Macedonia, which was to have certain reforms. Austria was given a mandate (June 28) to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina and to garrison the Sanjak of Novi Bazar, a strip lying between Serbia and Montenegro. The territory given to Serbia and Montenegro was reduced. The Greeks were put off with promises for the future (See 1878, Jan. 28). Romania was given the Dobrudja, but had to hand over southern Bessarabia to Russia. Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro became independent states. Russia received Batum, Kars, and Ardahan. Reforms were promised for the sultan's Asiatic provinces. The British occupied Cyprus under the Cyprus convention. Objections of the French were met by promising them permission to occupy Tunis. The Italians were put off with suggestions of expansion in Albania. The upshot of the treaty was that it left Russian nationalists and Pan-Slavs profoundly dissatisfied and left the aspirations of Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece unfulfilled. The Ottoman Empire, wholly at the mercy of the powers, was left with a few fragments of territory in Europe, which were a constant bait for covetous neighbors. The promise of reforms in Macedonia and Asia Minor led to far-reaching agitation and trouble on the part of the Macedonians and Armenians. | 9 |
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| Nov. 20 |
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| Outbreak of war between Britain and Afghanistan, the result of the Russian advance in central Asia and the determination of the British to secure their frontier in India. The British drove out the emir, Sher Ali, and put Yakub Khan on the throne. In Sept. 1879, the British agent, Maj. Sir Pierre Cavagnari, was murdered, and the war flared up anew. Abd ar-Rahman entered Afghanistan with Russian support, but made an agreement with the British (July 20, 1880): the British recognized him and gave him a pension. | 10 |
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