Explanation: As the power of the Muslim-ruled Ottoman Empire waned, more and more European powers suddenly took it upon themselves to declare themselves the 'protector' of Christians in Ottoman lands. While the (recent) development of religious toleration in modern Europe meant that Ottoman standards of treatment of religious minorities were sometimes comparatively lacking, the core motivation would seem to be more the ability to use the wedge issue as an excuse to extort concessions from a weakened great power which held more land and 'economic opportunity' than it could defend anymore.