1901 massacres of Serbs
1901 massacres of Serbs | |
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![]() Map of the Kosovo Vilayet (1881–1912) | |
Location | Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Kosovo) |
Date | 1901 |
Target | Serbs |
Attack type | massacres, rape, blackmail, looting and eviction |
Perpetrators | Albanians |
Motive | Anti-Serb sentiment, anti-orthodox christians, Greater Albania, ottoman stabilization |
The 1901 Massacres of Serbs were multiple massacres of Serbs in the Kosovo Vilayet of Ottoman Empire (modern-day Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia), carried out by Albanians.
Massacres[]
Serbs were maltreated and accused of being Serbian agents.[1] Panic ensued, and Serbs, primarily from the border areas fled to Serbia.[1] Albanians who participated in the Greco-Turkish War (1897) used weapons not turned in to the authorities against the Serbs in Old Serbia.[2] In May 1901, Albanians set Sjenica, Novi Pazar and Pristina on fire.[3] The Albanians went on a rampage massacring Serbs in Pristina.[4] Ibarski Kolašin (now known as North Kosovo), a forested region made up of 40 villages,[5] largely inhabited by Serbs, where Serbian teachers and priests were active, had long irritated the Albanians and Ottoman government; Serbs were continuously maltreated in the region.[6] The Serbian government observed the developments in Kolašin, and did not remain idle.[6] The situation became serious, with Serbs being smuggled arms by Serbia to defend themselves.[2] Albanian atrocities had taken such wide proportions that the government of Vladan Đorđević was forced to begin a wide diplomatical action for the protection Serbs in Old Serbia; when these efforts did not take fruit, and the Albanians were empowered and intensified atrocities against the Serbs, the unprotected Kosovo Serbs began to demand arms to protect themselves.[7] The Ottoman government was made aware of the smuggling, that most arms ended up in Kolašin, by Isa Boletini in early July,[8] Boletini having led the investigation.[7] In the summer of 1901, after the Ottoman investigation,[7] Albanians massacred Serbs in the Kolašin area.[2] Boletini was present while the organised atrocities on Kolašin were carried out,[9] including massacres, rape, blackmail, looting and eviction of local ethnic Serbs.[10] The atrocities prompted the Russian government to intervene at the Porte.[2][11] Violence in Kolašin stopped, however, Albanian atrocities in other regions continued.[11]
Reactions[]
Russia[]
Initially, the Porte did not suppress the Albanian movement nor protect the Serbs.[1] Russia demanded that the Albanians and Turkish gendarmeries be punished and the Serbs be allowed to keep the arms for protection.[3] The Porte answered by mass arrests and criminalizing the Albanian language.[4] The governor (vali) was dismissed, and several other anti-Serb officials, and Albanian chieftains who had been especially cruel, were removed from their posts.[12]
Austria-Hungary[]
Austria-Hungary, supported the Albanians,[11] and tried to downplay the massacre.[3] The events were instrumental in the "Kolašin affair" (Serbian Cyrillic: Колашинска афера), a diplomatic conflict between Austria-Hungary, which supported the Albanians/Islamists/Ottomans, and Serbia, which was supported by Russia.[13][11] With time, the diplomatic conflict grew into an open confrontation between the two sides.[11]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b c Stojančević 1990, p. 113.
- ^ a b c d Skendi 2015, p. 293.
- ^ a b c Skendi 2015, p. 201.
- ^ a b Iain King; Whit Mason (2006). Peace at Any Price: How the World Failed Kosovo. Cornell University Press. p. 30. ISBN 0-8014-4539-6.
- ^ Samardžić 1989, p. 261.
- ^ a b Stojančević 1990, p. 114.
- ^ a b c Bataković 1988, p. 309.
- ^ Samardžić 1989, p. 262.
- ^ Mihailović, Kosta (March 16–18, 2006). Kosovo and Metohija: Past, present, future. Belgrade: SANU. p. 35. ISBN 9788670254299.
- ^ Kosovsko-Metohijski zbornik. Vol. 3. SANU. 2005. p. 191. ISBN 9788670251052.
- ^ a b c d e Bataković 1988, p. 310.
- ^ Stojančević 1990, p. 115.
- ^ Институт за српску културу (Лепосавић) (2006). Duhovnost pisane kulture Srba u kontekstu kulture balkanskih Slovena: naučni skup, Leposavić 25. decembar 2006. Institut za srpsku kulturu. pp. 188–193. ISBN 9788682797715.
Sources[]
- Bataković, Dušan T. (1988) [1987]. "Погибија руског конзула Г. С. Шчербине у Митровици 1903. године". Историјски институт. XXXIV: 309–325.
- Bataković, Dušan T. (1992). "Anarchy and genocide upon the Serbs". The Kosovo Chronicles.
- Božić, Sofija (2014). Istorija i geografija: susreti i prožimanja [History and geography: meetings and permeations]. SANU. pp. 289–290. ISBN 978-86-7005-125-6.
- Stojančević, Vladimir (1990). Srbija i Albanci u XIX i početkom XX veka: ciklus predavanja 10-25. novembar 1987. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. ISBN 9788670250949. (in English)
- Samardžić, Radovan (1989). Kosovo i Metohija u srpskoj istoriji. Srpska književna zadruga. ISBN 9788637901044.
- Skendi, Stavro (2015). The Albanian National Awakening. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4776-1.
Further reading[]
- Zarković, Vesna (2008). Афера у Ибарском Колашину 1901-1902. године. Institut za Srpsku Kulturu. ISBN 978-86-82797-81-4.
- 1901 in Kosovo
- 1901 in the Ottoman Empire
- 1901 in Serbia
- Conflicts in 1901
- Anti-Serbian sentiment
- Mass murder in 1901
- Massacres in the 1900s
- Massacres in the Ottoman Empire
- Kosovo Serbs
- Kosovo vilayet
- Ottoman Serbia
- Massacres of Serbs
- Russia–Serbia relations
- Austria-Hungary–Serbia relations
- North Kosovo
- Ottoman Albania
- Serbian–Albanian conflict
- Persecution of Serbs
- Persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire