The Whites ( sr, Бјелаши, Bjelaši) was the name given to

pan-Serbian Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...

and

Yugoslavist Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes, but also Bulgarians, belong to a single Yugoslav nation ...

activists in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

during and after the declaration of the

Podgorica Assembly The Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro ( sr, Велика народна скупштина српског народа у Црној Гори, Velika narodna skupština srpskog naroda u Crnoj Gori), commonly known as the Po ...

in November 1918. The Podgorica Assembly allowed the Montenegrin people to vote on the fate of the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro ( sr, Краљевина Црна Горa, Kraljevina Crna Gora) was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World ...

. The two options were for the Kingdom of Montenegro to join the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

through an

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

-based unification or through a

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

-based unification. The name of the Whites derived from the "White List", as opposed to the "Green List", from where the

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

took their name from. The Assembly ended with overwhelming support for annexation-based unification. The movement was led by

Marko Daković Marko Daković (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Даковић; Grahovo, 20 February 1880 – Athens, 16 April 1941) was a Montenegrin and Serbian politician and lawyer, independent MP in the National Assembly of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and min ...

Andrija Radović Andrija Radović ( sr-cyr, Андрија Радовић; 1872–1947) was a Montenegrin and Yugoslav politician and statesmen, former Prime Minister and leader of the People's and then Democratic Party, fighter for parliamentary democracy and ...

and

Ljubomir Vuksanović Ljubomir "Ljubo" Vuksanović was a Montenegrin lawyer who was the chairman of the National Administrative Council ( sr, Народна управа, german: Nationaler Verwaltungsausschuss) established by Germany in October 1943 in the German occu ...

.: „Bjelaše” je vodio advokat Ljubomir Vuksanović, iz Andrijevice. To je bio čovek džinovskog rasta, snažan kao konj. Njegov uži zavičaj je slavno pleme Vasojevići. The two opposing sides clashed in the short-lived Christmas Uprising of 1919.

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book, last=Neubacher, first=Hermann, editor=Nikola Živković, title=Specijalni zadatak Balkan, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRcsAQAAMAAJ, year=2008, publisher=More, isbn=9788690616923 Serbian nationalism in Montenegro Political history of Montenegro Montenegro–Serbia relations Defunct political parties in Montenegro 20th century in Montenegro Serb political parties in Montenegro