In Terms of Armenian Committee Activities as an Important Planning and Action Center Varna (1878-1908)

Abstract

Varna is located in the northeast of Bulgaria, as the most sheltered port on the western shores of the Black Sea, with a suitable location for transportation. Due to the functionality of its port and the extent of its hinterland, Varna had an important place in maritime transport. It has become an even more important center in terms of communication and transportation with the establishment of telegraph and railway lines during the Crimean War and in the following years. Being an important center-in terms of communication and transportation-has prepared the forming of a very active commercial life and a deversifed social structure that includes various ethnic groups in Varna. In 1878, those who promised to make reforms in the place where they were made in the 61st precedent of the Berlin Treaty, aimed to build an Armenia, which was not done in favor of the "Bulgarian Awakening" followed by the Bulgarians with an autonomous status. As a requirement of this purpose, gangs and committees were established both within the Ottoman lands and outside of the country. During this period, Armenian committees managed to establish a wide network of interconnected ones in the big cities of Europe and in countries such as Romania and Bulgaria. Ports in the west of the Black Sea, such as Constanta, Varna, and Burgas, played an important role in establishing connections between Armenian committees and branches and their members in these cities and countries in Istanbul and Anatolia. Varna, which is the subject of this study, was of great importance before the committees outside the Ottoman lands due to the Armenians, who had an important place in terms of influence and effectiveness and monopolized trade, although it was proportionally small among its population. During this period, Varna had a vital position in the eyes of the Armenian committee, as it was one of the leading centers of its time in terms of communication and transportation. In this study, considering on this background, the initiatives planned and tried to be put into action in Varna in the period from the signing of the Berlin Treaty in 1878 to the date when Bulgaria gained its independence in October 1908 has been examined in the axis of the measures tried to take. © 2022, Osman Kose. All rights reserved.