on a friendly feeling between the Northern Albanians and the Serbs of Serbia and Montenegro.
Conditions were thus favorable for a union of the Balkan states against Turkey. Such an alliance was entered into in February, 1912. It comprised Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Bulgaria, and the object of it was the liberation of the Balkan Christians from Ottoman misrule and the expulsion of Turkey from Europe. The formation of this alliance did not mean an immediate break with the Porte, and it was not until October 17 that the three larger Balkan states formally declared war on Turkey.
In the meantime, the powers had made an effort to prevent war. They agreed to act in concert and announced (October 8) to the Balkan allies that they would not approve of a war with Turkey at that time. They promised that reforms in the government of European Turkey should be made, but were unwilling that anything should be done to affect the integrity or independence of the Ottoman Empire. In case the allies should go to war with the protégé of the powers, they would be restrained by the latter from taking any territory in European Turkey. If the powers had been in a position to back up these strong words with concerted action, the threat would have silenced the allies and peace would have been maintained. But
