The Unwanted War

Due to its limited historical impact, the§Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 is almost a forgotten§incident today. Yet, although the war hardly changed§anything with its outcomes, the crisis that led to it§had been among the most critical issues of§international politics. This monograph, pertaining to§the origins of the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897, focuses§on the political and diplomatic proceedings that took§place between the Greek occupation of Crete on 13§February and the declaration of war by the Ottoman§Empire on 17 April. Using a multi-sided bibliography,§including a sizeable set of unpublished Ottoman§documents, Ekinci explores how the crisis was handled§in stanbul, Athens, and European capitals, and why§the efforts of the Great Powers and the Ottomans to§prevent war fell short in the end. Due to its limited historical impact, the§Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 is almost a forgotten§incident today. Yet, although the war hardly changed§anything with its outcomes, the crisis that led to it§had been among the most critical issues of§international politics. This monograph, pertaining to§the origins of the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897, focuses§on the political and diplomatic proceedings that took§place between the Greek occupation of Crete on 13§February and the declaration of war by the Ottoman§Empire on 17 April. Using a multi-sided bibliography,§including a sizeable set of unpublished Ottoman§documents, Ekinci explores how the crisis was handled§in stanbul, Athens, and European capitals, and why§the efforts of the Great Powers and the Ottomans to§prevent war fell short in the end.