The Eastern Question was not an Adventist term. It was a political term, with was widely used in the secular press at that time. Simply put, the Eastern Question was, what happens to Europe when the Ottoman Empire collapses? During the 1870’s through World War I, the secular news papers were filled with references to the eastern question and the military build up in Europe that resulted from tensions related to it. It is important to understand that the Ottoman Empire has not existed since 1922. Turkey, today, is not the Ottoman Empire. But in Uriah Smith’s day the Ottoman Empire was commonly known as Turkey, a name derived from the Turk, the ethnic group from which the Ottoman Empire arose. This empire extended from Greece to Iran, and down to Egypt. It controlled Palestine and parts of Saudi Arabia.
A number of wars were fought over the Eastern Question during the 19th century. Among them were the Crimean war of the 1850’s and Russo-Turkish war of the 1870’s. It was also the primary cause of World War I. Keep this in mind.