Diplomatic History of Europe 1500 - 2000 | Eastern and Western Questions (Lecture 15)

Lecture 15: This lecture examines the fascinating problems posed by events and dynamics seemingly at the margins of the European arena from 1815 to 1848. As a result, we observe the expansion of the European state system. The famous Eastern Question (a precursor to the recent turmoil in the Middle East and the Balkans) concerned the ultimate fate of a once-mighty Ottoman Empire now apparently in decline and disintegration, receding slowly in the Balkans and provoking a crisis year in 1840. To the west, across the Atlantic, the United States opposed an extension of the balance of power system to the western hemisphere through the Monroe Doctrine. Our lecture concludes by examining the beginnings of a growing wave of European Imperialism overseas.

Essential Reading:
René Albrecht-Carrié, A Diplomatic History of Europe Since the Congress of Vienna, pp. 29–64.

Supplementary Reading:
A. L. Macfie, The Eastern Question 1774–1923, 2nd ed.