irredentist foreign policy that lasted through World War II. Because the
West, particularly Great Britain, played a significant role in carving
up the Balkans, and Bulgaria in particular, in hopes of curbing Russian
power, many historians speculate that Bulgaria's alliances with Germany
in both World War I and World War II were products of irredentist
sentiment that grew out of the Treaty of Berlin.

Bulgaria moved to recapture its lost territory only seven years after
the Treaty of Berlin. In 1885 it annexed eastern Rumelia--or southern
Bulgaria--by means of a military coup. The British were in favor of the
annexation as it represented an obstacle to Russian ambitions in the
Balkans; the Russians quite naturally were disturbed by the act. This
was the first in a series of Bulgarian moves designed to reestablish
earlier boundaries.

The establishment of a Bulgarian government in 1878 was relatively
easily accomplished, and that government achieved a certain degree of
stability in the aftermath of Turkish rule. The Turnovo Constitution
(1879)--originally drafted by the Russians but rewritten by
Bulgarians--established an essentially advanced and democratic system.
It set up a unicameral parliament, which was to be elected on the basis
of universal suffrage; the parliament was to control the executive. The
monarchy, which lasted from the 1880s until World War II, was
established at this time under a Germany dynasty that was acceptable to
the European powers. Although the first prince was forced to abdicate by
the Russians, his successor established firm and advanced economic and
administrative institutions in the country. Eventually, because of a
crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country was able to declare itself
an independent kingdom in 1908.

One historian has described the postliberation period as the "only
prolonged period of peaceful development" for Bulgaria. After the
liberation, land rose in value. Peasants were able to purchase land from
the Turks, and agricultural production rose markedly. Modern industry
grew up at a relatively rapid pace, although the country remained
primarily agrarian. The state began to take steps in education and
culture. All levels of education were expanded; students of higher
education studied both in Bulgaria and abroad; and illiteracy, which was
overwhelming at the period of liberation, was reduced to 76 percent by
1900 and to 54 percent by 1920. Science and the arts were ac