Romanians and Bulgarians – Incidents at the Danube River Border (1890-1901)

Abstract

On 2/14 September 1829, the Peace Treaty of Adrianople between the Tsarist Empire and the Ottoman Empire was concluded with important effects for the two Romanian countries, Moldavia and Wallachia. Their political development was regulated by a separate document, an integral part of the text of the Treaty. The separate Act confirmed the agreements made by the Tsarist Empire and the Ottoman Empire in the text of the Akkerman (White Citadel) Convention on 25 September/7 October 1826, on the election of the Romanian ruler, following the wish and consent expressed by the Sublime Porte. In addition to these political issues, important for the topic covered in this article were the provisions related to the protection of the borders, especially the right bank of the Danube and the islands close to the left bank of the great river that were in proximity to the Ottoman Empire. According to the Adrianople Treaty of 1829, the thalweg along the Danube was considered the border between Moldova and Wallachia on the entire common sector up to the confluence with the Prut River, agreement protected by the Sublime Porte. In 1830, after the Treaty of Adrianople, a commission composed of the delegates of Wallachia, Moldavia, the Tsarist Empire and the Ottoman Empire proceeded to delimiting the river border between the Ottoman Empire and the Romanian Countries by fixing the existing thalweg at that time. Obviously, natural phenomena contributed over time to its modification, so that, after the Congress of Berlin in 1878, when it was decided to trace the land border between the countries bordering the Danube, a series of incidents at the Romanian-Bulgarian river border occurred. In this context, it is highlighted the strategic and economic importance of the Danube.