The Greek intelligentsia discovers and codifies for the first time the national demands of the Bulgarian people quite late, in the years following the Crimean war, at a time when she dreamed of a Greek national empire, and any territorial claims seemed hostile to him. As Greek nationality was the first to manifest itself in the Balkans, and as the War of Independence in 1821 had attracted several Bulgarians fighters – because of the common religion and the prestige of Greek language and education for four centuries – the Greeks had difficulty grasping the nationalism of their neighbours in the context of new historical conditions. They considered it to be the result of their misconduct: if Greeks had better manipulated their policies, Bulgarian nationalism would not have taken place. The Greeks then tried to remind Bulgarians of the traits between the two breeds. Unsuccessfully; by the end of the century, national antagonisms became even harder: nationalism has never been possible without giving rise to violent conflicts with his neighbourhood, the opponents have never limited their battle to theory or literature.