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READING 1
In 1877 the Russian Tsar, Alexander II, declared war on Turkey. After a year of heavy fighting, the Turks were beaten. According to the peace treaty of 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano, the new state of Bulgaria was created. It incorporated the majority of the Balkan states.
The High Chancellor of Germany, Bismarck, was a peacekeeper who worked tirelessly to create peace treaties between world powers. His Dreikaiserbund (treaty between three kaisers) between Germany (Wilhelm I), Austria-Hungary (Franz Josef) and Russia (Alexander II) of 1872 was in danger because Austria-Hungary was upset about the power Russia gained in the Balkans after the Treaty of San Stefano. These countries still followed an autocratic system of government, like the Turks. Note that the Russians were ruled by a tsar and the Turks by a sultan.
Bismarck requested that the super powers come to Berlin to make their claims to the Balkans, hoping that a peaceful solution could be found. Germany itself was not involved in the Balkans and could thus preside as arbitator. At the Congress of Berlin it was decided that Bulgaria would be recognized as a smaller, independent state. Bulgaria would pay tax to the Sultan of Turkey. Two of its former provinces, Bosnia and Herzegovina, were now ruled by Austria-Hungary. Bessarabia was given to Russia to appease it.
The British Prime Minister, Disraeli, referred to the results of the Berlin Congress as “freedom with honour”, but this freedom did not last long. Although Austro-Hungarian power was firmly
established in the Balkans by this treaty, it also led to resistance by Serbian Nationalists. The Russians were also upset, as their territorial expansion had been halted.
As a political force, Nationalism not only hastened the First World War, but also caused the autocratic governments of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Russia to crumble.
SOURCE A Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English - A S Hornby
tax : sum of money to be paid by citizens (according to income, value of purchases, etc.) to the government for public purposes
civic duties : official life and public affairs of a town or citizen for the (good) benefit of the country
1. We call Source A a __________ source. /1/
2. I can motivate my answer to question 1: ___________________ /2/
3. Examples of service to ones country are _______________________/2/
4. My parent/guardian’s opinion concerning tax is that it is: essential / unnecessary,
because /2/
5. I think the Bulgarians refused to pay tax to the _____________________________/1/
Because __________________________________________/2/
/ 10 /
1. For what REASON did Bismarck try so hard to organize the Congress of Berlin? /2/
2. The POSITIVE RESULTS that were initially (at the beginning) achieved by the Congress of Berlin, were ____________________________________________________ /2/
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