HISTORY 



167 



the middle of the Eighteenth Century the Otto- 

 man Empire still embraced a large part of 

 Southern Russia. The victories of Catharine II. 's 

 general Romanzoff in the war between 1768 

 and 1774 determined the political superiority 

 of Russia, and at the Peace of Kutchuk-Kain- 

 arji, in 1771, Abdul-Hamid was obliged to re- 

 nounce his sovereignty over the Crimea, to yield 

 to Russia the country between the Bog and the 

 Dnieper, with Kinburn and Azov, and to open 

 his seas to the Russian merchant ships. By the 

 Peace of Jassy, 1792, which closed the war of 

 1787-91, Russia retained Taurida and the coun- 

 try between the Bog and the Dniester, together 

 with Otchakov, ana gained some accessions in 

 the Caucasus. In the long series of wars which 

 followed the French revolution the Ottoman 

 Empire first found herself opposed to France, 

 in consequence of Bonaparte's campaign in 

 Egypt, and finally to Russia, who demanded 

 a more distinct recognition of her protectorate 

 over the Christians, and to whom, by the Peace 

 of Bucharest, May 28, 1812, she ceded that part 

 of Moldavia and Bessarabia which lies beynd 

 the Pruth. In 1817, Mahmud II. was obliged 

 to give up the principal mouth of the Danube 

 to Russia. Further disputes ended in the Porte 

 making further concessions, which tended 

 towards loosening the connection of Servia, 

 Moldavia, and Wallachia with Turkey. In 1821, 

 broke out the war of Greek independence. The 

 remonstrances of Britain, France, and Russia, 

 airainst the cruelties with which the war against 

 the Greeks was carried on, proving of no avail, 

 those powers attacked and destroyed the fleet 



.mud at Navarino (1827). In 1826, the 

 massacre of the Janizaries took place at Con- 

 stantinople, after a revolt. In 1828-29, the 

 Russians crossed the Balkans and took Adrian- 

 ople. the war being terminated by the Peace of 

 Adrianople (1829). In that year Turkey had 

 to recognize the independence of Greece. In 



;:*, Mehemet Ali, nominally Pasha of Egypt, 

 but real ruler both of that and Syria, levied 

 war against his sovereign in 1833, and threatened 

 Constantinople; when the Russians, who had 

 been called on for their aid by the sultan, forced 

 the invaders to desist. In 1840 Mehemet Ali 

 airain rose against his sovereign; but through 

 the active intervention of Great Britain, Austria, 

 ami Russia, was compelled to evacuate Syria, 

 though he was, in recompense, recognized as 

 hereditary viceroy of Egypt. 



The next important event in the history of 

 the Ottoman Empire was the war with Russia, 

 in which Turkey pecame involved in 1853, and 

 in which she was joined by England and France 

 in the following year. This war. known as the 

 i \Var, speedily terminated with tin- 

 defeat of Russia, and the conclusion of a treaty 



is on the 30th of March, 1856, by which 

 the influence of Russia in Turkey was greatly 



d. The principal articles were the aboh- 

 t!i" Russian protectorate over the Dan- 

 ul'ian principalities (.Moldavia and Wallachia. 

 urntc<l in 1X61 as the principality of Rou mania), 

 the rectification of the frontier between Ku^ia 

 and Turkey and the cession of part of Bessarabia 



latter power. 

 In 1875 the people of i ma, unable 



to endure any longer the misgovernment of the 

 Turks, broke into rebellion. A year later the 

 Servians and Montenegrins likewise took up 

 arms, and though the former were unsuccessful 

 and obliged to abandon the war, the Montene- 

 grins still held out. Meantime the greatpowers 



I of Europe were pressing reforms on Turkey, 

 and at the end of 1876 a conference met at Con- 

 stantinople, with the view of making a fresh 



' settlement of the relations between her and her 

 Christian provinces. All the recommendations 

 of the conference were, however, rejected by 

 Turkey; and in April following, Russia, who 

 had been coming more and more prominently 

 forward as the champion of the oppressed prov- 

 inces, and had for months been massing troops 



i on both the Asiatic and the European frontier 

 of Turkey, issued a warlike manifesto and com- 

 menced hostile operations in both parts of the 

 Turkish Empire. She was immediately joined 

 by Ron ma nia, who on the 22d of May (1877) 

 declared her independence. The progress of the 

 Russians was at first rapid; but the Turks of- 

 fered an obstinate resistance. After the fall of 

 Kars, however, November 18th, and the fall of 

 Plevna, December 10th, the Turkish resistance 

 completely collapsed, and on the 3d of March. 



i 1878, Turkey was compelled to agree to the 



, Treaty of San Stefano, in which she accepted 



I the terms of Russia. The provisions of this 

 treaty were, however, considerably modified 



I by the Treaty of Berlin, concluded on the 13th 

 of July following, by which Roumania, Servia. 



I and Montenegro were declared independent; 



i Roumanian Bessarabia was ceded to Russia; 



| Austria was empowered to occupy Bosnia and 



j Herzegovina; and Bulgaria was erected into 



; a principality. 



The main events in the history of the Otto- 

 man Empire since the conclusion of the Treaty 

 ot' Berlin are the French invasion of Tunis in 

 isM. which soon after was formally placed 

 under the protectorate of the French; the 

 treaty with Greece, executed under pressure of 

 the great powers in 1881, by which Turkey 

 ceded to Greece almost the whole of Thessaly 

 and a strip of Epirus; the occupation of Egypt 

 by Great Britain in 1882; and the revolution 

 at Philippopolis in 1885, when the government 

 of Eastern Roumelia was overthrown, and the 

 union of that province with Bulgaria proclaimed 

 The results of the revolution were reeonni/.ol 



I by an imperial firman in 1886, and Eastern 

 Koiimelia has since for all practical purposes 

 formed part of Bulgaria. 



In 1M)3. serious revolts broke out in Bulgaria 

 and Albania, attended with massacres ami 

 atrocities. A Macedonian revolution was also 

 threatened 



Tuscany (Italian, Toscana). formerly a 

 grand-duchy, now a (bptrtmenl of Italy; area, 

 9,289 square miles; population. -J.iuo.iw. 

 chain of the Northern .\nemiiiies forms a 

 considerable jx.rtion of its northern boundary, 

 the sea being its boundary on the west. The 

 river is the Arno. Cereals cover a 

 a, and vineyard*, olive-yards, and 

 are numerous. The maiur 

 silk i^ considerable. The marble of Tuscany, 

 especially that of Siena, is well known. Tuscany 



