Gyula Andrassy and Ottoman-Hungarian Relationships Based on Hungarian Sources (1875-1878)

Abstract

The President of Hungary and Minister of Defense (1867-1871), Count Gyula Andrassy was then assigned as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1871. In the period when he served as the Foreign Affairs Minister, the events regarded as eastern issues by Austrian-Hungarian Empire started with Hersek revolt against Ottoman State in 1875 and continued with the declaration of war against Ottoman State by Serbia and Montenegro. Russia signed an impartiality treaty with Austrian-Hungarian Empire in Budapest and then attacked Ottoman State. At the end of this war, Ayastefanos treaty was signed and Russian domination was expanded in the region and Andrassy started to follow an anti-Russian policy in Balkans and he took an important role in the organization of a congress to revise the treaty in Berlin. With the organization of Berlin Congress, the invasion of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Australian-Hungarian Empire started. Hungarian public, on the other hand, supported the land unity of the Turks throughout the period of eastern issues. The present study aims to reveal the causes and consequences of the policies followed by Gyula Andrassy in 1875-1878 within the framework of Ottoman-Hungarian relationships based on the information obtained from Hungarian sources.