As the last fighters of the April Uprising meet their sad fates, news of its horrors spreads throughout the world and begins to shift the geopolitical scales of Europe. Meanwhile the Ottoman Empire itself experiences a rush of changes as the Great Powers meet to decide what should happen as the Serbs finally decide it's time for war.
Major Characters in this Episode
Sultan Abdulazis
Sultan Murad V
Sultan Abdul Hamid II
Prince Milan of Serbia
General Mikhail Gregoorovich
Nikola Obrenetov
Stefan Peshev
Tsar Alexander II
Emperor Franz Joseph
Kiriak Tsankov
Sider Gruncharov
Stefan Stambolov
Timeline for this Episode
30th May 1876, Sultan Abdulazis was deposed by his own ministers, on June 4th he committed suicide in one of his palaces after asking for scissors to cut his beard and using themm to slit his arms on the inside of his elbows. His nephew Murad V then reigned for just 93 days.
May 1876, the Russian general Mikhail Gregoorovich arrives in Serbia with 500 Russian volunteers. This along with assurances from the Russian consul in Belgrade that Serbia had ussian support for war finally convinces Prince Milan.
5th June 1876, a newspaper is founded in Brailla to write about the Bulgarian uprising as well as more general anti-Ottoman activity in the Balkans
17th June 1876, Nikola Obrenetov and the remaining members of Botev’s cheta are captured
18th June 1876, war between Serbia, Montenegro, and Turkey erupts. Prince Milan attempted to secure an alliance with Romania and admitted that he felt he faced either war with the Ottomans or internal revolution.
7th July 1876, Stefan Peshev is hanged in Sevlievo
8th July 1876, In Czechia, a meeting between Alexander II and Franz Joseph occurs. The two Emperors come to an agreement on how to act in case they need to interfere in the Eastern Crisis.
12th July 1876, By initiative of Ekatarina Tsenovic, a Bulgarian women’s society is formed in Bucharest.
Early July 1876, the Russian consul in Adrianople, the correspondent of the French newspaper Figaro, and the German newspaper Kölnische Zeitung, tour villages affected by the uprising.
22nd July 1876, the Bulgarian central charitable society is founded in Bucharest. The organization’s goal is to help people who suffered during the aftermath of the Uprising and to raise awareness of the Bulgarian cause in Europe. Kiriak Tsankov is the chairman.
12th July 1876, A group of 50 volunteers headed Sider Gruncharov separated from the Cheta of Filip Totyu and heads into Bulgaria intending to assist in an eventual uprising
31st July 1876, Sider Gruncharov dies in fighting with Ottoman troops. This marks the final armed action connected to the April uprising.
July/August 1876, A survey committee formed by the British vice consul in Adrianople and second secretary of the British Embassy in Constantinople tour the areas affected by the uprising.
7th August 1876, The political newspaper Stara Planina edited by Stefan Bopchev begins publication in Bucharest
August 1876, an armistice temporarily ends fighting between the Ottomans and Serbia
20th August 1876, The leadership of the central charitable society in Bucharest sends a letter to the Petersburg Slavic Committee informing them that the society has decided to use all its resources to group all Bulgarian volunteers in the Serbian-Ottoman war under one flag to form a Bulgarian squadron. They also ask for financial support for this endeavor.
31st August 1876, Murad V is overthrown (mention his nerves, illness)
1st September 1876, The Serbs lose a key battle and the Ottomans begin to advance towards Belgrade.
8th September 1876, Bulgarian volunteers in the Serbian-Ottoman war are sworn in.
16th September 1876, An 80,000 man Ottoman army commanded by Abdul Kerim Pasha attacks the positions of the Bulgarian and Russian volunteers around Krevet-Grenadine along the Morava river
10th October 1876, Guissepi Garibaldi sends a letter of support to the central charitable society in Bucharest
12th October 1876, Representatives of the central charitable society (Kiriak Tsankov and Pantaley Nabodkov) meet with the Slavic committee in Petersburg and proclaim their readiness to prepare cheti to attack Northern Bulgaria to disrupt Ottoman supply lines.
19th October 1876, Russia issues an ultimatum to the Ottomans in which they demand a peace treaty with Serbia within 48 hours
18th November 1876, Unofficial talks between Russian and British diplomats begin in Constantinople concerning the upcoming Constantinople Conference
18-22 November 1876, A national assembly is held in Bucharest called by the Bulgarian Central Charitable Committee. They accept a program for the final solving of the Bulgarian political question with a military occupation of the Ottoman Empire. It’s signed by Kiriak Tsankov, Ivan Vazov, Stefan Stambolov, Olimpi Panov, and others.
29th November 1876, Preliminary debates between the representatives of the Great Powers begin in Constantinople.
1st December 1876, The Bulgarian Central Charitable Society submits an action plan to the Constantinople Conference
December 13th 1876, New Ottoman Constitution puts the final nail in the coffin of the Tanzimat. The Porte then refuses to enforce the decisions of the Constantinople Conference based on this new constitution.
1876, Bulgaria's earliest commercial brewery was established in Plovdiv by the German Swiss Rudolf Frick and Friedrich Sulzer in 1876
