This thesis explores the multi-faceted and complex negotiations that took place between Bulgaria and Europe’s major alliance systems at the start of World War I as both groups attempted to convince Bulgaria to enter the conflict on their side.

In 1890, Germany and Great Britain concluded the Treaty of Helgoland-Zanzibar, which settled many of their numerous and complex colonial issues in Africa. The territorial exchange of British-held Helgoland and German-held Zanzibar, which was part of this agreement, had a major impact in its finalization. Indeed, without the Helgoland- Zanzibar swap, such a treaty most likely would never have occurred. Many hoped that the Helgoland-Zanzibar agreement would usher in a new era in Anglo-German friendship and, perhaps, lead to a formal alliance.