Question

How  can  we  say  that  the  Balkan  problem  led  to  the  first  world  war.

TNSCERT Class 10 History Ch 2 First World War -League of Nations

Answer 1

The Balkan countries like Serbia,Bulgaria,Albania,Greece and Montenegro proclaimed their independence from the Ottoman Empire due to its weakness.In 1912 the Balkan countries declared war on Turkey.This is called the first Balkan war.Turkey was defeated.The war came to an end by the treaty of London.Dispute arose between Serbia and Bulgaria in sharing the spoils of the war.in 1913, the other Balkan countries declared war on Bulgaria.Bulgaria was defeated and Serbia gained more territories.Turkey and Bulgaria approached Germany to gain their territories.It resulted in the war.

Answer 2

Answer:

A. Balkans was a region of geographical and ethical variations comprising modern day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose inhabitants were known as slaves.

B. A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism in the Balkan together with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made this region very explosive.

C. As the different Slavic nationalism struggled to define their identity and independence, the Balkan area became as area of intense conflict.

D. The Balkan states were jealous of each other and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of other. Balkans also became as area of big power rivalry.

E. Each European power such as Russia, Germany, England, Austria-Hungry was keen on countering the hold of other powers over Balkans and this led to a series of wars eventually the First World War.