83,402
edits
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
In 1876 a Bulgarian liberation movement was savagely suppressed by the Ottomans. Russia intervened and defeated the Turks in 1878. Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under Ottoman control. Eastern Rumelia, the southeastern portion of Bulgaria, was added to the country in 1885. Taking advantage of the Young Turk revolution in the Ottoman Empire, Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria proclaimed the full independence of Bulgaria in 1908 and assumed the title of czar. | In 1876 a Bulgarian liberation movement was savagely suppressed by the Ottomans. Russia intervened and defeated the Turks in 1878. Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under Ottoman control. Eastern Rumelia, the southeastern portion of Bulgaria, was added to the country in 1885. Taking advantage of the Young Turk revolution in the Ottoman Empire, Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria proclaimed the full independence of Bulgaria in 1908 and assumed the title of czar. | ||
Bulgaria participated in the victorious coalition against Turkey in the First Balkan War (1912). | Bulgaria participated in the victorious coalition against Turkey in the First Balkan War (1912). The coalition dissolved over territorial disputes, however, and in the Second Balkan War (1913) Bulgaria was quickly defeated by Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and Turkey. It allied itself with Germany in World Wars I and II and twice more suffered defeats. Bulgaria’s involvement in these wars was partly due to its ambitions to regain territory lost in the Second Balkan War. Boris III ruled Bulgaria between the world wars. In 1944 the Red Army entered Bulgaria and installed a communist satellite regime. Under the presidency of Georgi Dimitrov, farms were collectivized and industry nationalized. The communist regime lasted until 1990 when Bulgaria re-emerged as an independent nation. | ||
The ethnic minority of Turks was subjected to forced cultural assimilation beginning in 1984. | The ethnic minority of Turks was subjected to forced cultural assimilation beginning in 1984. In May 1989 Turkey announced its willingness to accept ethnic Turks from Bulgaria. Before August 1989 when Turkey closed the border, 310,000 Bulgarian Turks had fled to Turkey. More than 50,000 returned following the adoption of democratic reforms by a new leadership in late 1989. | ||
'''Population''' | |||
The Bulgarian population grew slowly until the 18th century. It stood at 3 million in 1885 when it was augmented by the territory of Eastern Rumelia. There were 8.5 million Bulgarians by 1994. The distribution of the population by ethnic group was 86% Bulgarians, 9% Turks, and 5% Gypsies, Macedonians, Armenians, and Russians. | The Bulgarian population grew slowly until the 18th century. It stood at 3 million in 1885 when it was augmented by the territory of Eastern Rumelia. There were 8.5 million Bulgarians by 1994. The distribution of the population by ethnic group was 86% Bulgarians, 9% Turks, and 5% Gypsies, Macedonians, Armenians, and Russians. | ||