The Origins of Bulgarian Independence and Knyaz Alexander I

Author: Eumène Queillé

Translation from French: Georgi Peev

Following the publication of the travelogues of the French financial inspector Eumène Queillé (In Bulgaria and Rumelia, 2006), the publishing house offers its readers his diary, kept during the last months of his three-year stay (from November 1881 to August 1884) in the Principality of Bulgaria as a personal advisor to Knyaz Alexander I. He was one of the foreign specialists drawn to the country to introduce European institutional models in various areas of state administration, and his stay coincided with a dramatic period in the history of post-Liberation Bulgaria. In addition to being a witness, the Frenchman was also an active, though remaining behind the scenes of overt politics, participant in a number of important events during the Regime of Credentials and the restoration of the Tarnovo Constitution. The close relations that Queillé established with a number of politicians and public figures contributed to his being well informed even about some seemingly hidden processes taking place in the capital of the principality. The fact that at least once a week he was received at the palace, where he discussed various issues with the knyaz, also contributed to his accurate assessments of the political situation in the country. His great common knowledge as well as his discretion also made him a frequent guest of foreign diplomatic agencies in the capital.

The diaries and travelogues that Eumène Queillé left behind are a valuable source for the difficult and painful process of modernizing our society. They offer an interesting outside view of Bulgarian social and political life in the early 1880s of the 19th century.

ISBN 978-954-796-054-1

Published: 2014 

Page Count: 212 pp.