The expulsion of the Karadak is the expulsion of Catholic Albanians between 1846 and 1847 by the Ottoman authorities in the region of
Karadak. The Christian Albanians of the Karadak region were crypto-Catholics (
Laramans). In 1846, they declared themselves openly to be Catholics. Sopi describes the suffering and the exile of Catholic Albanians in
Karadak (modern day Letnicë in
Vitina
Viti ( sq-definite, Vitia) or Vitina ( sr-Cyrl, Витина), is a town and municipality located in the District of Gjilan in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Viti has 4,924 inhabitants, while the municipality has 46,987 inhabita ...
) who in the years of 1845 publicly declared their Christian faith. The Albanian Maliq Beg of Gjilani then ordered for their arrest where 30 members were sent to Skopje and then to Istanbul where they remained in prisons for months. Later they were deported to a swamp region in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, Turkey, where half of them died. In 1848, survivors returned where they once again were persecuted. Before leaving they made an oath in front of the statue of the Black Madonna in the church of St. George in Viti. The highlanders of Karadak were from Stublla, Binca, Terziaj and Vernakolla. Today there is a monument dedicated to the martyrs in courtyard of the church.
In total, 150 Catholic Albanians and their priest were expelled to Anatolia. 20 of them died during the journey to their place of exile and another 70 died in the harsh conditions of Anatolia before being allowed to return to their homeland in 1848.
Marko Sopi (1938-2006) wrote the first historical monograph about the events of the expulsion.
References
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Catholic Church in Albania
Catholic Church in Kosovo