being brought to bear on Alexander II to intervene. He did not want war, declaring that he had no intention or desire to take Constantinople, but felt that Europe ought to put a stop to the Balkan troubles. He also said that he would have to undertake the task singlehanded if the other nations would not join him. Finally, after long delays and fruitless diplomatic negotiations, Russia issued a declaration of war against Turkey on April 24, 1877. After the defeat of Turkey, the treaty of San Stefano was signed in 1878. By this treaty Serbia, Montenegro, and Rumania were declared independent; Bulgaria became an autonomous state with a good deal of territory, Eastern Rumelia and most of Macedonia being given to her; and Turkey retained in Europe "only a narrow broken strip across the peninsula from Constantinople west to the Adriatic."
All of the countries except Russia and Bulgaria were dissatisfied with the treaty. Both Serbia and Greece wanted a part of the Macedonian territory that had been given Bulgaria. But the most effective opposition came from the great powers. Great Britain and Austria-Hungary contended that Russia could not change the Balkan map without the consent of the other powers, and Germany supported this contention. Austria-Hungary had an ambition to expand toward the Ægean, and both she and
