The major goal of the Balkan national liberation movements was largely obtained by the end of the nineteenth century. Much of the peninsula was under the control of native governments (see Map 1). Ottoman rule was limited to Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and Albania. Although Bosnia, Hercegovina, and Bulgaria were still theoretically Ottoman possessions, the Ottoman Empire had no voice in their administration. The conclusion of the revolutionary era and the establishment of the national regimes in the peninsula, however, in no sense decreased the problems of Balkan social and economic life. Indeed, in some areas the difficulties of national freedom overshadowed those of Ottoman dependency. A major question concerned finances. The independent states had to bear the full burden of the costs of defense, internal administration, and foreign representation, at least some of which had previously been carried by the Porte. Equally important, as the century progressed and the industrial revolution brought a radical change in European standards of living, the Balkan leadership too revised its goals. With the most technologically advanced sections of the world as their model, successive Balkan governments and the wealthier members of their societies sought to introduce into these backward lands the most modern of European achievements. For this period, the building of railroads and the acquisition of military equipment was to have the first priority in most of the countries.

Unfortunately, none of the states had the economic base for the accomplishment of their aims.