Postcard commemorating the centenary of the Bulgarian uprising of April 1876 against Ottoman rule (colour...

Postcard commemorating the centenary of the Bulgarian uprising of April 1876 against Ottoman rule. The uprising aimed to achieve independence from the Ottoman empire and to create a sovereign Bulgarian state. The stamp shows a group of Bulgarian rebels firing a wooden cannon. Such weapons were made, as Bulgarians lacked all kinds of modern war equipment. The woman in the front is Rayna Futekova, who took part in the uprising and also sewed its flag, which she is shown holding. It is green with a golden lion and bears the inscription “Freedom or Death”. The April Uprising was unsuccessful and was put down quickly by the Ottoman empire. The Ottomans committed numerous atrocities upon the Bulgarian population, which caused outrage among western powers. William Gladstone wrote of the Turkish atrocities. The violent crushing of the uprising served as cause for Russia to start the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which ultimately led to the creation of a Bulgarian state in 1879.