Chapter Summaries

Austria began forcibly repatriating Ottoman residents from the Middle East, alarming Britain as it watched Austria expand its influence. Gladstone’s government considered supporting the Ottoman Empire to check Austria, while debating the costs and risks of intervention.

• Franz ordered Austrian forces to begin repatriating Ottoman residents, and the Sultan Government accepted the move after its protests failed.
• Gladstone asked whether Russia still refused to sign the armistice, and McLean said Russia’s financial weakness would eventually force it to compromise.
• McLean warned that Austria was using its protection of holy sites and land restrictions to expel Ottomans and establish control in the Middle East.
• McLean proposed supporting the Ottoman Empire and joining with France to limit Austria’s expansion, while La Rook Lloyd warned that the investment could be lost.
• Gladstone agreed that Britain could support the Ottomans cautiously, and McLean argued that France and Austria were unlikely to expand aggressively in the short term.

Austria ratified the Near East Treaty, gaining Jerusalem and sovereignty over the Arabian Peninsula while Russia received the Caucasus and modest compensation. Franz arranged for the Holy See to oversee Jerusalem’s reconstruction and considered relocating the peninsula’s population, but the chapter ended before Austria’s plans were carried out.

• Austria, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire signed the Near East Treaty in London on December 18, 1874, ending the war and dividing territory and compensation.
• Franz approved the treaty and accepted the recovery of Jerusalem and the Arabian Peninsula as Austria’s main gains.
• Prime Minister Felix reported that Jerusalem’s palace repairs would be completed before Franz’s planned coronation, while saboteurs remained a security concern.
• Franz entrusted Jerusalem’s reconstruction to the Holy See and ordered environmental restoration work to combat desertification.
• Colonial Minister Stephen proposed controlling the Arabian Peninsula’s water sources, sending able-bodied laborers to Africa, and deporting the remaining population to the Ottoman Empire.

Alexander II approved Russia’s gold-standard reform to address the Tsarist Government’s fiscal crisis, while Napoleon IV struggled to obtain enough gold for France’s reform. Britain and Austria’s control over gold supplies left France and other reforming nations facing shortages and rising prices.

• Kristanval told Alexander II that joining the Pound Sterling-gold system could bring Russia more than 50 million gold Rubles in annual seigniorage, and Alexander approved the reform while warning against British manipulation.
• Russia’s decision to cooperate financially with Britain signaled a break with Austria, whose government feared the risks of further investment in Russia.
• Napoleon IV pursued gold-standard reform to stabilize the Franc and improve French exports, but insisted France needed at least one thousand tons of gold reserves.
• Allen told Napoleon IV that France could not buy enough gold because Britain and Austria controlled major production regions and had restricted gold outflows.
• Gold prices rose as the Nordic Federation, the German Federal Empire, Prussia, and Russia pursued gold-standard reforms, leaving France and other countries short of reserves.

Napoleon IV rejected a plan to destabilize gold prices and instead turned to obtaining reserves from countries that had not adopted the gold standard, while Franz prepared a grand family pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The pilgrimage began on April 3, 1875, but delays and illness on the train left the journey’s greatest challenge still ahead in Venice.

• Napoleon IV proposed driving up gold prices, but Allen and Montero warned that the Franc would be hit hardest and urged him to acquire gold from other countries.
• Napoleon IV accepted their advice, while France planned to obtain its gold reserves abroad.
• Franz worried that Britain’s willingness to share currency hegemony with Austria concealed a plan, but he remained vigilant.
• Franz organized a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his family and several elderly Habsburg relatives, many of whom were eager to plant their banner in the city.
• On April 3, 1875, Franz’s party left Vienna, but Ferdinand I had an episode and Empress Dowager Sophie fainted from motion sickness.
• The train slowed down and reached Venice a day late, where Franz faced the challenge of continuing the trip with elderly, weak, seasick, and young travelers.

Franz traveled with the Habsburg family aboard a borrowed luxury liner, escorted by a powerful Austrian fleet, and discussed Friedrich’s military service with Empress Helen. Helen warned that sending the crown prince to the navy could inflame tensions between the army and navy, so Franz left the choice to Friedrich and planned to handle the consequences.

• Franz and the Habsburg family began their sea journey aboard a borrowed passenger liner, with Austrian warships patrolling and escorting them.
• Franz and Empress Helen watched the younger family members enjoying the sea, and Franz reflected on how much time had passed.
• Franz asked Helen whether Friedrich should serve in the navy, and Helen warned that it could send a damaging political signal and worsen army-navy rivalry.
• Franz decided to let Friedrich choose between the army and navy, saying he would deal with the consequences.
• Franz chose not to make official visits in Greece, Montenegro, or the Ottoman Empire during the journey.

While Franz avoided public appearances ahead of his Jerusalem coronation, Wessenberg informed him that a coup had deposed Abdulaziz I and thrown Ankara into chaos. Franz decided Austria would not help stabilize the Ottoman Empire and ordered contact with its nationalist groups so any breakup would follow Austria’s plans.

• Franz avoided public events in Jerusalem, while Vienna officials and his family gathered for the coronation.
• Wessenberg reported that the Young Ottomans had led a coup in Ankara, killing the Grand Vizier and deposing Abdulaziz I.
• Wessenberg said the Young Ottomans had over one hundred thousand members but were divided by factions and irreconcilable conflicts with conservatives.
• Franz concluded the Ottoman Empire faced a high risk of collapse amid internal power struggles and nationalist movements.
• Franz ordered officials to contact Ottoman nationalist groups and ensure any breakup of the empire occurred within Austria’s framework.

After the Young Ottomans seized power, Britain weighed how to contain the Ottoman crisis while avoiding Austrian intervention. In Ankara, Midhat faced a bankrupt government, destroyed farmland, and a refugee crisis so severe that British proposals to expel or abandon millions left him unable to decide what to do.

• In London, Gladstone learned that Russian forces had devastated Ottoman infrastructure and farmland, leaving agricultural recovery years away.
• McLean proposed a ruthless way to end the refugee crisis, and Gladstone ordered Britain to fund the suppression of rebellions while preventing Austria from interfering.
• In Ankara, Midhat and the Young Ottomans discovered that the treasury could not pay for refugee relief or suppressing rebellions.
• Hadefao reported that France had refused a loan and Britain would lend only for suppressing rebellions, while demanding action on the refugee crisis.
• Midhat said the Ottoman Empire faced a food shortfall exceeding 3.16 million tons and needed at least five million tons of grain to resolve the crisis.
• Hadefao relayed Britain’s suggestions to drive refugees into Persia or confine them in zones where they would be left to fend for themselves, and Midhat could not bring himself to accept them.

William I struggled with Poland’s debts, ineffective bureaucracy, and political resistance as he pursued reforms. With Europe distracted by Franz’s coronation in Jerusalem, Prussian leaders prepared to merge Prussia and Poland, while William insisted that resettling Rhineland immigrants first was essential to managing future ethnic conflict.

• Franz’s arrival brought a flood of pilgrims and monarchs to Jerusalem, where the city management committee struggled to find enough accommodations for the coronation guests.
• William I abolished costly policies in Poland and pursued the sale of failing state-owned enterprises, but bureaucratic resistance and political conflict hindered his reforms.
• Foreign Minister Jeffrey Friedman urged William I to move ahead with the Prusso-Polish merger while European leaders were occupied in Jerusalem.
• Prime Minister Moltke argued that the merger faced little opposition beyond Russia and that giving up the Rhineland had reduced the threat from France.
• William I said the government needed to improve the resettlement of Rhineland immigrants before handing the region to the German Federal Empire, and Moltke explained that a shortage of jobs slowed the effort.

After Franz was crowned King of Jerusalem, he learned that his uncle Ferdinand I was dying and then considered reports that the Ottoman Empire was directing refugees toward its borders. The chapter left Midhat preparing an exodus of more than two million people into Persia, Russia, and Austria to ease the Ottoman food crisis.

• Franz received news that Ferdinand I was critically ill and visited his uncle, reflecting on their close bond.
• Felix reported that the Ottomans were directing refugees toward Persia, conscripting them, and receiving a British loan, prompting fears that they might attack Persia.
• Wessenberg suggested Britain might be encouraging an Ottoman attack to distract Persia, and Franz ordered border monitoring and tighter controls against illegal entry.
• Abdul Hamid II became the new Sultan after a political struggle as the Ottoman refugee crisis worsened.
• Midhat prepared to guide more than two million refugees toward Persia, Russia, and Austria, hoping their departure would resolve the Ottoman food crisis.

As hunger worsened in the Ottoman refugee camps, Akyol decided to flee into Persia, while Major General Shendierke ordered an attack to force refugees across the border. The Ottoman Army’s surprise assault sent more than a million refugees flooding into Persia, and the government continued pushing more across.

• Akyol urged his companions to cross into Persia because food was running out and the Ottoman Government offered no hope of relief.
• Major General Shendierke told his officers that supplies would be exhausted within half a month and demanded that they drive the refugees across the border.
• An officer proposed disguising Ottoman soldiers as refugees and attacking Persian guards to open a path for the fleeing population.
• On May 18, 1875, Ottoman soldiers in disguise attacked Persian guards at several locations, and more than a million refugees crossed into Persia that day.
• The refugees swept through Persia in the wake of the attack, while the Ottoman Government continued forcing more refugees across the border.

Franz responded to the Ottoman refugee crisis by ordering illegal entrants in Austria sentenced to forced labor and supporting an international investigation into Ottoman abuses in Persia. In Saint Petersburg, Alexander II ordered Russian troops to deport refugees and kill anyone who crossed again, while threatening Ottoman intervention.

• Franz learned that more than eighty thousand Ottomans had entered Austria illegally, and Felix reported that seventy-eight thousand had been caught.
• Franz ordered the captured Ottomans sentenced to labor restoring forests and grasslands in the Arabian Peninsula, with deportation after their terms.
• Foreign Minister Wessenberg urged Austria to intervene after Persia requested help, and Franz ordered an International Investigation Commission while leaving Persia’s future to British influence if Britain paid the price.
• Alexander II learned that tens of thousands of Ottoman refugees had entered Russia and asked whether Austria or the Americas would take them.
• Chris Basham explained that Austrian companies would not accept Ottomans and that the Americas would not buy them as slaves.
• Alexander II ordered the Russian garrison to deport the refugees, kill future border crossers, and warn the Ottoman Government that Russia might send troops.

After Ferdinand I’s funeral in Jerusalem, Franz returned to Vienna while Ottoman officials struggled with refugee pressure and Persian massacres. Britain’s Gladstone judged the crisis useful and considered loans for the Ottoman Empire, with France potentially taking over army training.

• Franz held Ferdinand I’s state funeral in Jerusalem, then returned to Vienna with most of his family while Sophie, Maximilian I’s family, and several relatives stayed behind.
• Midhat ordered the Ottoman refugees sent to Persia and learned that Austria had arrested and imprisoned those who crossed its border.
• The Persian Government launched a massacre against the refugees, whose raids and the army’s campaign devastated Persia and reduced its population by 1.5 million.
• Most Europeans reacted coldly to the Persian tragedy, while humanitarian appeals for refugee relief were overwhelmed by public condemnation.
• Gladstone decided Britain could lend money once Ottoman rule appeared stable and directed McLean to discuss French support and Ottoman Army training.

Gladstone sought French participation in supporting the Ottoman Empire, offering financial interests in its currency issuance to secure the French capital needed. Meanwhile, Franz returned to Vienna Palace and struggled to catch a fish for lunch, deciding to use a net instead.

• Gladstone concluded that Britain needed France involved to keep Austria occupied and prevent it from dominating Europe.
• McLean warned Gladstone that French banks distrusted the Ottoman Empire and would not lend without strong incentives or guarantees.
• Gladstone proposed letting French financiers participate in Ottoman currency issuance while Britain retained the tariffs it considered essential.
• Franz returned to Vienna Palace, relaxed by fishing in the artificial lake, and found that his only catch was too small to eat.
• Franz released the tiny fish and decided that if the fish would not bite, he would use a net to provide lunch.

Lieutenant General Shendierke ordered starving refugees to kill one another for a chance to survive, turning their camp into a massacre. After reading the report, Franz rejected an open intervention in favor of secretly supporting Armenian independence and encouraging Britain and France to expend their strength in the Ottoman Empire.

• As refugees returned to the Ottoman border, Shendierke told his officers that only the strong should survive and ordered refugees to bring him five heads to qualify for continued life.
• Shendierke planned to execute the survivors as criminals, believing the massacre would keep refugees out of the Ottoman Empire and eliminate future threats.
• The refugees' camp erupted into violence as most people attacked those around them to claim their chance at survival.
• At Vienna Palace, Franz read the intelligence report, and Prime Minister Felix proposed sending troops to support Armenian independence.
• Franz refused direct intervention and proposed secretly backing the Armenian independence movement while encouraging Britain and France to focus on the Ottoman Empire.

As the West Asian Crisis divided the great powers, William I kept Prussia neutral while dealing with Germany’s demands to complete the Rhineland handover. He ordered faster resettlement and business relocation, but Moltke explained that housing immigrants and persuading firms to move into underdeveloped Poland and Lithuania remained difficult.

• Britain and France backed the Ottoman Empire while Austria and Russia supported Persia, and William I chose to keep Prussia neutral.
• Jeffrey Friedman presented Germany’s diplomatic note urging Prussia to complete the Rhineland handover.
• William I told Germany that Prussia would meet the June 15, 1876 deadline and ordered Moltke to speed up resettlement and business relocation.
• Moltke reported that the government was settling one hundred thousand immigrants a month and creating jobs through public works.
• Moltke explained that capitalists resisted relocating because Poland and Lithuania lacked infrastructure, established markets, and reliable information about local resources.

William I weighed immigration and the gradual integration of Poland against the risks of confronting the Revolutionary Party, while Prussia remained neutral in the coming Jerusalem conference. In Vienna, Britain, France, and Austria secretly negotiated over their competing interests in West Asia, treating the refugee crisis as secondary.

• William I stressed that immigration was essential for Prussian industry and the integration of Poland, where education and technical talent remained scarce.
• Moltke urged William I to postpone a purge of Polish officials until the situation stabilized, and William I agreed to gather evidence before settling accounts later.
• William I’s wartime reorganization of the Polish army had disbanded four division designations and weakened the Revolutionary Party’s armed strength.
• Jeffrey Friedman advised William I to keep Prussia neutral at the Jerusalem conference concerning the West Asian massacre.
• Britain, France, and Austria secretly negotiated in Vienna over the division of interests, while treating the Ottoman-Persian refugee crisis as a secondary issue.

Franz reviewed the British proposal for a tripartite conference to divide global spheres of influence and contain rising powers. After learning the proposed division covered regions important to Austria, he questioned why Britain suddenly wanted to reduce international conflicts.

• The chapter explained that Britain, France, and Austria sought to preserve their shared hegemony and keep Prussia and Russia divided.
• Wessenberg presented Franz with the draft agenda, which proposed treaty-defined spheres of influence and a ranking of potential competitors.
• Franz prioritized negotiating territorial interests over suppressing distant future rivals.
• Wessenberg listed the regions under discussion and identified Austria's main areas of interest.
• Franz asked why the British had suddenly become interested in reducing international conflicts.

Franz concluded that the colonial empires wanted negotiations to reduce the costs of colonial rule, so Austria should join the partition conference rather than oppose it. He accepted that Austria was unlikely to gain new territory and decided to focus on preserving and consolidating its existing holdings.

• Franz reasoned that rising colonial unrest and maintenance costs had made the British and other empires seek a reduction in international conflicts.
• Franz told his advisers that Austria should participate in easing disputes and consider what regions it could obtain.
• Prime Minister Felix explained that Austria had few viable targets and that Britain and France would block its attempt to annex the Ottoman Empire.
• Felix described the remaining options, including Persia, the Far East, Indochina, East Africa, and South America, as too contested, distant, or unprofitable for Austria.
• Franz admitted Austria had already gained enough, and said it should preserve its current interests and treat any new gains as a bonus.

Franz abandoned hopes of using Persia against Britain after Persia failed to gain a decisive advantage over the Ottomans, while the Jerusalem conference remained deadlocked. In the Ottoman Empire, Grand Vizier Midhat responded to signs of a Sultan-backed conspiracy by planning constitutional reforms to strip Abdul Hamid II of power.

• Franz judged Persia too weak to support and considered Afghanistan a more dependable, if limited, ally.
• The Jerusalem conference stalled as Britain, France, and Austria continued bargaining and Ottoman and Persian representatives traded demands for compensation.
• Britain delivered the Ottoman Empire its first three-million-pound war loan, which Grand Vizier Midhat hoped to use to restore order and pursue reforms.
• Mai Hadela warned Midhat that Abdul Hamid II had been meeting secretly with conservatives and religious leaders, while their contacts with military generals increased.
• Midhat called a cabinet meeting to discuss constitutional monarchy reform as a way to reduce Abdul Hamid II to a figurehead.

Franz and his ministers discussed Japan’s victory over Korea and the European powers’ response to Japan’s growing ambitions in East Asia. Franz chose to wait and see whether Russia would turn east after the next Prusso-Russian War.

• Japanese forces defeated Korean resistance at Ganghwa Island, and the Korean Government surrendered after losing about thirty-five soldiers.
• Franz considered how Korea’s weakness could invite colonial expansion and noted that Russia might look east if its conflict with Prussia prevented it from competing in Europe.
• Wessenberg told Franz that Japan posed little immediate threat because it lacked strength and remained constrained by unequal treaties.
• Franz recognized that Japan had exploited the European powers’ distraction to establish an opening for expansion into Korea.
• Franz ordered his ministers to observe events, while Austria hoped the next Prusso-Russian War would leave both powers weakened.