The First Balkan Alliance () was a system of agreements concluded by the Principality of Serbia in the period of 1866–68 to unite the nations of the Balkans in a common struggle against the Ottoman Empire.: "Први балкански савез је систем уговора из 1866–1868, који је закључила Србија ради окупљања балканских народа за борбу против Турске." The plans for forging this alliance were based on the organization of a major general uprising, as opposed to individual uprisings by the various ethnic groups in Ottoman territory. According to the plans, the Albanians would begin the uprising, followed by Serb and Greek volunteers and finally and simultaneously by the regular armies of Serbia and Greece. According to the plans and agreements, after a successful war against the Ottomans, the Balkan nations would establish a united federation.: "..а после успешног рата би се створила велика заједничка држава"
This alliance was conceived as part of one of various proposals for a Balkan federation, planned as a buffer zone between East and West.: "The First Balkan Alliance of 1866–68 was based on a combination of the first and third options: protection from European interference and aggression against the Ottomans." Members of the First Balkan Alliance were Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgarian revolutionary committees, the Croatian People's Party, Greece and Romania. "Савез су чиниле Србија, Црна Гора, бу- гарски револуционарни комитети, хрватска Народна странка, Грчка и Румунија (1866–1868).": "Склапањем уговора са Црном Гором (1866), споразума са хрватском Народном ... Грчком (1867) и војне конвенције (1868), као и уговора о савезу са Румунијом (1868) створен је Први балкански савез." The major role in establishing of the First Balkan Alliance was played by Serbia, under Prince Mihailo Obrenović and Prime Minister Ilija Garašanin.
Background In the middle of the 19th century, most of the territory of Balkans was still part of the Ottoman Empire, with several newly established independent or autonomous entities like Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro. All of them struggled to expand their influence and territory at Ottoman expense. Their intention was strongly opposed by Austria who opposed development of Balkan nations and revolutions in the Ottoman provinces of Europe (Rumelia). Austria's position was based on its own expansionistic plans on the Balkans and on fear that a strong Slavic state would attract Slavic citizens of the Austrian Empire. After defeat in the war against France in 1859 and against Prussia in 1866, the influence of Austria weakened.
Napoleon III was the champion of the idea of Balkan nationalism and fostered Serbia and Greece to build alliances and undermine Ottoman influence in the region. France planned to resolve the Balkan Eastern Question through gathering of all Balkan Slavic people, including Bulgarians, around Serbia as their pillar.: "Француски план за решење источног питања на Балкану узимао је Србију као стожер око кога је требало да се окупе сви балкански словенски народи, дакле и Бугари." This was not only informally suggested by French diplomats since 1861, but also formally proposed in Saint Petersburg in 1867.: "То се види не само индиректно из споменутих наговештених планова њених дипломата из 1861 него и из једног формалног предлога који је она ставила у Петрограду 1867." The establishment of Balkan alliances was supported and aided by Russia because it corresponded with its policy of promoting Balkan unity.: "In line with its policy of promoting Balkan unity, the Russian government encouraged and aided in the formation of these alliances. "
Alliance agreements The establishment of the Balkan alliance was campaigned by Prince Mihailo Obrenović of Serbia. To establish the First Balkan Alliance, the Principality of Serbia signed a series of contracts in the period 1866–68. The first contract was signed with Montenegro in 1866. The next contract was signed in autumn of 1866 with the People's Party in Croatia-Slavonia led by Catholic bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. This contract was followed by contract with Bulgarian Revolutionary Secret Society in 1867, with Greece in 1867 and with Romania in 1868.
Montenegro The agreement between Serbia and Montenegro was signed on 5 October 1866 in Cetinje.: "Уговор између Србије и Црне Горе, први те врсте, потписан је на Цетињу 23. септембра/5. октобра 1866. " According to the agreement, Serbia and Montenegro would act as an unified Serb country.: "Другим речима, Србија и Црна Гора имале су да наступају кзо 1единствена српска држава"
Bulgarian societies
Contemporary Bulgarian leaders maintained friendly relations with the Serbian government and Serbia was regarded as a brother state, which was acting as a protector of its Slavic brethren. However, in the second half of 1866, Serbia failed to contact any serious Bulgarian political party. Nevertheless, in 1867, a Bulgarian society, active in Bucharest took the initiative. That was the so-called "Benevolent Society". This Society was urged on by the Russian diplomats to approach the Serbian state with a draft-agreement. The document was titled "Programme for Serbo-Bulgarian (Bulgaro-Serbian) political relations and the cordial relationships between them". The Bulgarian side proposed the founding of a Serbo-Bulgarian (Bulgaro-Serbian) dual state, headed by the Serbian Prince. This state was to be named Yugoslav Tsardom and was to have a common government, legislation, army etc. The draft defined also the territories that would constitute Bulgaria as follows: Bulgaria (Moesia), Thrace and Macedonia and per the Serbian newspaper, Vidov Dan (No. 38, March 29, 1862), the Bulgarian-Serbian frontier extended from the Danube in North, along the Timok and South Morava Rivers and then along the Black Drin River to the Lake Ohrid.Ethnic Mapping on the Balkans (1840–1925): a Brief Comparative Summary of Concepts and Methods of Visualization, Demeter, Gábor and al. (2015) In: (Re)Discovering the Sources of Bulgarian and Hungarian History. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia; Budapest, p. 85. Garašanin accepted the Bulgarian proposal in a letter from June 1867, but he diplomatically refused to sign the document, fearing how representative this organisation had been.Papadrianos, Ioannis: "The First Balkan Alliance (1860–1868) and the Bulgarians," Balkan Studies, 42 (2001): pp. 15–20. On the other hand, the establishment of the Balkan alliance concerned other Bulgarian organisations, which perceived it as an of implementation Garašanin's twenty-year-old Načertanije.: "...a Balkan alliance, which alarmed both Bulgarians and Turks with its implications of Serbian expansionism as expounded two decades previously, in Garasanin's Nacertanie, the Serbian equivalent of Greek Megali Idea.": "The result of Nacertumje's implementation was the establishment of the first Balkan alliance (1866–1868)..."
Macedonia The Serbian government planned to organize an uprising of the population of Macedonia and for that reason established a network of agents in western Macedonia, Stojan Vezenkov being most notable among these.: "У западној Македонији радило је више агената, али је нај- важнији био Стојан Везенко, из Крушева"
Greece
A military alliance treaty between the Kingdom of Greece and the Principality of Serbia was signed on 26 August 1867. The treaty had been negotiated by Greek minister Zanos and Serbian ministers Ristić, Petronijević and Garašanin.
Romania
At the beginning of February 1868 the last of alliance agreements was signed with Romania. This agreement was mostly about trade relations.: "Уговор између Србије и Румуније потписан је 1868. године, али се углавном односио на трговинске односе." It confirmed that most of the Balkan countries were more ready to negotiate improvement of commercial relations than to accept firmer obligations.: "Последњи споразум постигнут је са Румунијом 1868. и он је показао да је већина балканских земаља била спремнија да преговара о унапређењу трговине него да се везује неким чвршћим обавезама."
Croatia and Slavonia
The government of Serbia maintained close relations with the People's Party in Croatia-Slavonia, a neo-Illyrian party led by Catholic bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer.: "... close relations with the neo-Illyrian, National party (Narodnastranka) in Croatia-Slavonia led by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer." Garašanin struggled for the idea of Yugoslavia (dominated by Serbia) and supported cooperation with Croats.
was in charge of the foreign affairs of the People's Party. In his correspondence with Strossmayer he frequently discussed the contract between Serbian government and People's Party, without explaining its character or its date. This contract was apparently signed in Autumn of 1866. The most important purpose of this contract and its main objective was the capture of Ottoman Bosnia by Serbia, as the first step in the creation of an independent south Slavic state. Mrazović believed that Serbia could not survive as an independent state if Austria-Hungary would capture Bosnia and Herzegovina from Ottomans. The People's Party actively participated in the preparation of Serbian capture of Ottoman Bosnia. On 29 December 1867 Mrazović informed the Government of Serbia that it can count on thousand Croats employed in a factory near Sarajevo.Vera Ciliga, Narodna stranka i južnoslavensko pitanje (1866–70), Historijski zbornik, XVII, Zagreb, 1964, pp. 86, 87
In 1868 Prince Mihailo gave up war against the Ottoman Empire and instead intended to sign a treaty with Austria, despite Garašanin's Yugoslavist ideas. Mrazović could not accept the thought that Serbia gave up its agreed action in Bosnia and saw this as a rejection of an important precondition for survival of Serbia.Vera Ciliga, Narodna stranka i južnoslavensko pitanje (1866–70), Historijski zbornik, XVII, Zagreb, 1964, p. 86
Albanians
Garašanin believed that Albanians would be the biggest obstacle in case of general anti-Ottoman uprising in the Balkans, so he tried to establish cooperation with Albanian leaders. Already in 1844 Garašanin established relations with Catholic Albanians (Mirdita).: "Гарашанин је рачунао на сарадњу са католичким Албанцима и он још 1844. успоставља везу с њима." Thanks to Mirdita's Catholic priest Gaspar Krasniqi, with whom Garašanin began communication in 1846, Garašanin signed an agreement about united activities with Mirdita chieftain Bib Doda in 1849.: "...а од 1846 је у вези са мирдитским опатом Гаспаром Красником, захваљујући коме је дошло и до споразума о заједничкој акцији са мирдитским кнезом Боб Додом 1849. године." Garašanin believed that Albania should be established as an independent state.: Дубље проучавање арбанашких прилика учврстило Гарашанина у мишљењу да је боље створити од Албаније независну државу. The eventual Albanian state was to encompass territories between rivers Drin (Drim) and Aoös (Vojuša).: "У складу са овом оријентацијом, он је 1866/67. године предложив да Грцима припадне Крит, Епир и Тесалија, а Србији — Босна, Херцеговина и Стара Србија до Дрима и Искра, оставивши, сада, могућност стварања албанске државе између Дрима и Војуше."