The "Eastern Question", in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire. The expression does not apply to any one particular problem, but instead includes a variety of issues raised during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including instability in the European territories ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
The Eastern Question is normally dated to 1774, when the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) ended in defeat for the Ottomans. As the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire was believed to be imminent, the European powers engaged in a power struggle to safeguard their military, strategic and commercial interests in the Ottoman domains. Imperial Russia stood to benefit from the decline of the Ottoman Empire; on the other hand, Austria-Hungary and the United Kingdom deemed the preservation of the Empire to be in their best interests. The Eastern Question was put to rest after World War I, one of whose outcomes was the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Read more about Eastern Question: Background, Napoleonic Era, Serbian Revolution, Greek Revolt, Mehmet Ali, Revolutions of 1848, Crimean War, Great Eastern Crisis, Germany and The Ottoman Empire, Young Turk Revolution, Bosnian Crisis
Famous quotes containing the words eastern and/or question:
“Midway the lake we took on board two manly-looking middle-aged men.... I talked with one of them, telling him that I had come all this distance partly to see where the white pine, the Eastern stuff of which our houses are built, grew, but that on this and a previous excursion into another part of Maine I had found it a scarce tree; and I asked him where I must look for it. With a smile, he answered that he could hardly tell me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“O.J. Berman: Well, answer the question now. Is she or isn’t she?
Paul: Is she or isn’t she what?
O.J. Berman: A phony.
Paul. I don’t know. I don’t think so.
O.J. Berman: You don’t think so, huh? Well, you’re wrong. She is. But on the other hand, you’re right. Because she’s a real phony.”
—George Axelrod (b. 1922)