Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878) - Aftermath

Aftermath

The unrest rapidly spread among the Christian populations of the other Ottoman provinces in the Balkans (notably the April Uprising in Bulgaria) setting off what would becomne known as the Great Eastern Crisis. The atrocities of the Ottoman Empire in suppressing unrest in the Balkan provinces eventually led to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, which ended in Turkish defeat, and the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano in March 1878, followed in July of the same year by the Treaty of Berlin, severely reducing Ottoman territories and power in Europe. The Congress of Berlin decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina, while remaining nominally under Turkish sovereignty, would be governed by Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was also given the right to occupy those provinces, but did not do so until 1908. That occupation enraged Serbian nationalists and was a catalyst for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip.