Infrastructure of the Balkans in the 19th century and its influence on the fate of the Bulgarians

Анотація

The infrastructure, or the combination of topography and of technology, plays significant role in the economic and cultural development of every nation. Beside, the favorable political environment influences the development, as well. However, there were no such favorable conditions in the Bulgarian lands in the 19th centuries since from the 14th century onwards they were included in the domains and the public structures of the Ottoman Empire, a kind of rule or an alien yoke which was based on the sharia law. Economically underdeveloped, the Ottoman Empire prevented the headway of the Bulgarians for centuries long. In contrast to the industrial progress of the free European countries the Bulgarian lands of the 19th century were prevailed by different handcrafts and workshops which were poorly equipped. Just 15 years after 1878, or after the reestablishment of the Bulgaria on the world map, the country reached the economical status of the neighbor states and even surpassed them in some branches. At the beginning of 20th century the economic development of Bulgaria rapidly went on, but it was stopped by the Balkan wars of 1912-1913 and the First World War of 1914-1918.