Treaty of Bucharest (1812)

For other uses, see Treaty of Bucharest (disambiguation).

Southeast Europe after the treaty, Bessarabia shown in light green

The Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, was signed on 28 May 1812, in Manuc's Inn in Bucharest, and ratified on 5 July 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. The Ottomans had done poorly in the war. The Sublime Porte above all wanted to stay out of the impending conflict between Napoleon's France and Russia. The Russians didn't want a war on two fronts, thus they made peace in order to be free for the upcoming war with France. The Ottomans had extricated themselves from a potentially disastrous war with a slight loss of territory. This treaty became the basis for future Russo-Ottoman relations.

Background

Russo-Turkish war of 1806

The war was fought between the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire beginning in 1806. It happened at the same time as the Napoleonic Wars had been pushing across Europe. Sultan Selim III of the Ottoman empire was encouraged by the French Empire to remove multiple lords from their land in Wallachia and Moldavia. This was due to their Pro-Russian positions held in the Ottoman vassal states. During this, the French also moved into the Balkan Peninsula raising tensions with Russia. To protect their borders from potential French invasion Russia moved thousands of soldiers into Moldavia and Wallachia, which then caused the Sultan to declare war on Russia.

Initially a large Ottoman offensive was sent to Bucharest, Wallachia which was occupied by Russians, but failed. In Armenia a few thousand Russian troops won against 20,000 of Turkish forces, and then Russia had a major naval victory defeating the Ottoman fleet. This naval victory, along with the other early victories led to Selim III being deposed. Russians then destroyed the Ottoman fleet for good to establish naval supremacy. In 1811, Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha gathered 60,000 Turkish soldiers in Ottoman controlled Bulgaria. After a few months they attacked the Russians but were held off long enough for Russians to retreating across the Danube River. The Turkish chased after them but had been led into an ambush and were promptly surrounded. Shortly after these battles Russia decided it was time to make peace.

Negotiations

The negotiations took place in Bucharest and started on January 11, 1812. The Ottoman negotiators were Mehmed Said Galib Efendi, Reis Efendi, Muftuzade Ibrahim Selim Efendi, and Abdulhamid Efendi. The Russian plenipotentiaries were Andre Italinsky, Lieutenant-General Jean Sabaniev, Joseph Fontone and Antoine Fonton. Initially Russia refused to modify the peace terms to give the Ottomans any benefit. They had wanted to gain more land in the Balkans and Caucasus than the Ottomans were willing to give and wanted control of many Turkish ports and fortresses along the Black Sea and Danube River This is when British plenipotentiary, Stratford Canning came to Constantinople to help move the process along. Canning recommended to Russia to be more moderate in their demands of European and Asiatic territories, because if the Ottomans were pushed too far, they may turn to France for an ally. The French, however, were attempting to prevent the settlement from being reached. In early May the Russians modified their end of the demands on the advice of Canning, to make progress on the treaty. Eventually the treaty was signed by both parties in Manuc’s Inn, Bucharest on May 28, 1812 and ratified on 5 July 1812.

Terms

Under its terms, the Budjak and the eastern half of the Principality of Moldavia, between Prut and Dniester Rivers, with an area of 45,630 km² (17,617.8 sq mi) (Bessarabia), was ceded by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal) to Russia. Also, Russia obtained trading rights on the Danube.

In Transcaucasia, the Ottomans renounced their claims to most of western Georgia by accepting the Russian annexation of the Kingdom of Imereti, in 1810. In return they retained control of Akhalkalaki, Poti, and Anapa previously captured by the Russo-Georgian troops in the course of the war

Furthermore a truce was signed (Article 8 of the Treaty) with the rebelling Serbs and autonomy given to Serbia.

The Treaty of Bucharest, signed by the Russian commander Mikhail Kutuzov, was ratified by Alexander I of Russia 13 days before Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

Legacy

In 17 April 2011, Action 2012, a coalition of organizations supporting unification between Moldova and Romania, was founded. This coalition is named after the year 2012, which marked the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Bucharest.

See also

• Bessarabian question

Sources

• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Ismail, F. "The making of the treaty of Bucharest, 1811-1812," Middle Eastern Studies (1979) 15#2 pp 163-192 online.