The First Balkan Alliance ( sr, Први балкански савез/Prvi balkanski savez) was a system of agreements concluded by the
Principality of Serbia
The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was ...
in the period of 1866–68 to unite the nations of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
in a common struggle against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The plans for forging this alliance were based on the organization of a major general uprising, as opposed to individual uprisings by the various ethnic groups in Ottoman territory. According to the plans, the Albanians would begin the uprising, followed by Serb and Greek volunteers and finally and simultaneously by the regular armies of Serbia and Greece. According to the plans and agreements, after a successful war against the Ottomans, the Balkan nations would establish a united federation.
This alliance was conceived as part of one of various proposals for a
Balkan federation
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century from ...
, planned as a
buffer zone
A buffer zone is a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them.
Common types of buffer zones are demil ...
between East and West. Members of the First Balkan Alliance were Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgarian revolutionary committees, the
Croatian People's Party
Croatian may refer to:
*Croatia
*Croatian language
*Croatian people
*Croatians (demonym)
See also
*
*
* Croatan (disambiguation)
* Croatia (disambiguation)
* Croatoan (disambiguation)
* Hrvatski (disambiguation)
* Hrvatsko (disambiguation)
* Se ...
, Greece and Romania. The major role in establishing of the First Balkan Alliance was played by Serbia, under Prince
Mihailo Obrenović
Prince Mihailo Obrenović III of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Обреновић, Mihailo Obrenović; 16 September 1823 – 10 June 1868) was the ruling Principality of Serbia, Prince of Serbia from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1860 to 1868. ...
and Prime Minister
Ilija Garašanin
Ilija Garašanin ( sr-cyr, Илија Гарашанин; 28 January 1812 – 22 June 1874) was a Serbian statesman who served as the prime minister of Serbia between 1852 and 1853 and again from 1861 to 1867.
Ilija Garašanin was conservati ...
.
Background
![Map of the Serb population, 1862, H](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Map_of_the_Serb_population%2C_1862%2C_H._Thiers.png)
In the middle of the 19th century, most of the territory of Balkans was still part of the Ottoman Empire, with several newly established independent or autonomous entities like
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
. All of them struggled to expand their influence and territory at Ottoman expense. Their intention was strongly opposed by Austria who opposed development of Balkan nations and revolutions in the Ottoman provinces of Europe (''
Rumelia
Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...
''). Austria's position was based on its own expansionistic plans on the Balkans and on fear that a strong Slavic state would attract Slavic citizens of the Austrian Empire. After defeat in the war against France
in 1859 and against Prussia
in 1866, the influence of Austria weakened.
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
was the champion of the idea of Balkan nationalism and fostered Serbia and Greece to build alliances and undermine Ottoman influence in the region. France planned to resolve the Balkan
Eastern Question through gathering of all Balkan Slavic people, including Bulgarians, around Serbia as their pillar. This was not only informally suggested by French diplomats since 1861, but also formally proposed in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1867. The establishment of Balkan alliances was supported and aided by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
because it corresponded with its policy of promoting Balkan unity.
Alliance agreements
The establishment of the Balkan alliance was campaigned by Prince
Mihailo Obrenović
Prince Mihailo Obrenović III of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Михаило Обреновић, Mihailo Obrenović; 16 September 1823 – 10 June 1868) was the ruling Principality of Serbia, Prince of Serbia from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1860 to 1868. ...
of Serbia. To establish the First Balkan Alliance, the
Principality of Serbia
The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was ...
signed a series of contracts in the period 1866–68. The first contract was signed with Montenegro in 1866. The next contract was signed in autumn of 1866 with the
People's Party in
Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...
led by Catholic bishop
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop, and benefactor (law), benefactor.
Early life an ...
. This contract was followed by contract with Bulgarian Revolutionary Secret Society in 1867, with
Greece in 1867 and with Romania in 1868.
Montenegro
The agreement between Serbia and Montenegro was signed on 5 October 1866 in
Cetinje
Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...
. According to the agreement, Serbia and Montenegro would act as an unified Serb country.
Bulgarian societies
Contemporary Bulgarian leaders maintained friendly relations with the Serbian government and Serbia was regarded as a brother state, which was acting as a protector of its Slavic brethren. However, in the second half of 1866, Serbia failed to contact any serious Bulgarian political party. Nevertheless, in 1867, a Bulgarian society, active in Bucharest took the initiative. That was the so-called "''Benevolent Society''". This Society was urged on by the Russian diplomats to approach the Serbian state with a draft-agreement. The document was titled "Programme for Serbo-Bulgarian (Bulgaro-Serbian) political relations and the cordial relationships between them". The Bulgarian side proposed the founding of a Serbo-Bulgarian (Bulgaro-Serbian) dual state, headed by the Serbian Prince. This state was to be named ''Yugoslav Tsardom'' and was to have a common government, legislation, army etc. The draft defined also the territories that would constitute Bulgaria as follows: Bulgaria (
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
), Thrace and Macedonia and per the Serbian newspaper, Vidov Dan (No. 38, March 29, 1862), the Bulgarian-Serbian frontier extended from the Danube in North, along the
Timok
The Timok ( Serbian and Bulgarian: Тимок; ro, Timoc), sometimes also known as Great Timok ( sr, Велики Тимок, Veliki Timok; ro, Timocul Mare), is a river in eastern Serbia, a right tributary of the Danube. For the last 15 k ...
and
South Morava
The South Morava ( Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ; sq, Lumi Morava) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is 295 km lon ...
Rivers and then along the
Black Drin
The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After ab ...
River to the
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Eu ...
. Garašanin accepted the Bulgarian proposal in a letter from June 1867, but he diplomatically refused to sign the document, fearing how representative this organisation had been. On the other hand, the establishment of the Balkan alliance concerned other Bulgarian organisations, which perceived it as an of implementation
Garašanin's twenty-year-old ''
Načertanije
The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia ( sr, Велика Србија, Velika Srbija) describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to S ...
''.
Macedonia
The Serbian government planned to organize an uprising of the population of Macedonia and for that reason established a network of agents in western Macedonia,
Stojan Vezenkov being most notable among these.
Greece
A military alliance treaty between the Kingdom of Greece and the Principality of Serbia was signed on 26 August 1867. The treaty had been negotiated by Greek minister
Zanos and Serbian ministers
Ristić,
Petronijević and
Garašanin.
Romania
At the beginning of February 1868 the last of alliance agreements was signed with
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. This agreement was mostly about trade relations. It confirmed that most of the Balkan countries were more ready to negotiate improvement of commercial relations than to accept firmer obligations.
Croatia and Slavonia
The government of Serbia maintained close relations with the
People's Party in
Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...
, a neo-
Illyrian party led by Catholic bishop
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop, and benefactor (law), benefactor.
Early life an ...
. Garašanin struggled for the
idea of Yugoslavia (dominated by Serbia) and supported cooperation with
Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
.
Matija Mrazović was in charge of the foreign affairs of the People's Party. In his correspondence with Strossmayer he frequently discussed the contract between Serbian government and People's Party, without explaining its character or its date. This contract was apparently signed in Autumn of 1866. The most important purpose of this contract and its main objective was the capture of
Ottoman Bosnia
The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (first as a ''sanjak'', then as an ''eyalet'') and Herzegovina (also as a ''sanjak'', then ''eyalet'') lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 ''de facto'', and until 1908 ''de jure''.
Ottoman ...
by Serbia, as the first step in the creation of an independent south Slavic state. Mrazović believed that Serbia could not survive as an independent state if Austria-Hungary would capture Bosnia and Herzegovina from Ottomans. The People's Party actively participated in the preparation of Serbian capture of Ottoman Bosnia. On 29 December 1867 Mrazović informed the
Government of Serbia
The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, ...
that it can count on thousand Croats employed in a factory near
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
.
In 1868 Prince Mihailo gave up war against the Ottoman Empire and instead intended to sign a treaty with Austria, despite Garašanin's Yugoslavist ideas. Mrazović could not accept the thought that Serbia gave up its agreed action in Bosnia and saw this as a rejection of an important precondition for survival of Serbia.
Albanians
Garašanin believed that
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
would be the biggest obstacle in case of general anti-Ottoman uprising in the Balkans, so he tried to establish cooperation with Albanian leaders. Already in 1844 Garašanin established relations with Catholic Albanians (Mirdita). Thanks to Mirdita's Catholic priest Gaspar Krasniqi, with whom Garašanin began communication in 1846, Garašanin signed an agreement about united activities with Mirdita chieftain
Bib Doda
Bib Doda Pasha (1820–1868) was the ruler of Mirdita. He held the Ottoman rank of ''kapedan'' (captain) and the honorific ''pasha'' (governor).
Family
Bib Doda belonged to the Gjonmarkaj clan which had led Mirdita for a long period. He started ...
in 1849. Garašanin believed that Albania should be established as an independent state. The eventual Albanian state was to encompass territories between rivers
Drin (''Drim'') and
Aoös
The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...
(''Vojuša'').
![Changes in Turkey-in-Europe 1856 to 1878](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Changes_in_Turkey-in-Europe_1856_to_1878.png)
In 1864 Garašanin sent captain Ljubomir Ivanović to northern Albania. Ivanović closely cooperated with Gaspar Krasniqi until the middle of 1865 when Krasniqi was expelled to
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
(the Ottoman capital) by the Ottomans, because of his participation in the unrests aimed against Mirdita chieftain Bib Doda. Ivanović had to send his reports to Garašanin through another Catholic priest, Jozef (Franc) Mauri, a
Slovene Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
. Garašanin believed that it would be easier to establish cooperation with the Catholics in Albania (than Muslims), thus appointed Mauri as his envoy to the leaders of
Mirdita tribe
Mirdita is a region of northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name.
Etymology
The name Mirdita derives from a legendary ancestor named Mir Diti from whom the tribe claims descent. Other ...
. Mauri explained to Mirdita chieftains that Serbia had no intention to forcefully convert Mirdita to
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...
, but instead to help them to enjoy all rights they would have i.e. in
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. Besides Mauri who was active in Albania, the Serbian government engaged another envoy, Naum Sido, to actively work on gaining Albanian support for the Alliance. Sido was an Orthodox Albanian merchant from
Debar
Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ...
(in western Macedonia) who frequently travelled to Istanbul. In 1866 an uprising erupted in the Čemernik region near
Elbasan
Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central Al ...
, when Albanians refused to pay taxes and attacked Ottoman officials.
Xhelal Pasha, a member of the
Albanian noble Zogu family planned to organize an anti-Ottoman uprising in Albania and through Sido he informed the Russian ambassador in Istanbul about his plans. Sido worked for
Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev
Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev (historical spelling: ''Nicolai Ignatieff''; russian: Граф Никола́й Па́влович Игна́тьев; – ), a Russian statesman and diplomat, became best known for his aggressive expansion ...
, Russian ambassador in Istanbul who helped Garašanin to establish cooperation with Xhelal Pasha. Xhelal Pasha had great hopes to forge alliance with Serbia and refused the position of governor of
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
offered to him by the Ottomans. Being under the pressure of the Ottoman police and facing substantial personal debts, Xhelal Pasha had to accept offered position in Anatolia and his task to suppress some revolt of highlander tribes. Because of this transfer the Serbian government lost contact with him.
The repressive policy of Ismail Pasha, Ottoman ''
vali'' of the
Sanjak of Scutari
The Sanjak of Scutari or Sanjak of Shkodra ( sq, Sanxhaku i Shkodrës; sr, Скадарски санџак; tr, İskenderiye Sancağı or ''İşkodra Sancağı'') was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Otto ...
, additionally inspired northern Albanian tribes to participate in Serbia's anti-Ottoman activities. He imprisoned Miraši-Asi and Prek Staku, the chieftains of
Hoti and
Kelmendi
Kelmendi is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia ( Kelmend municipality) and eastern Montenegro (parts of Gusinje Municipality). It is located in the upper valley of the Cem river and its tributaries in the Accursed Moun ...
tribes, who decided to cooperate with Serbia and accepted Mauri's idea as soon as they were released from the prison of Skadar. The chieftains of the northern Albanian tribes were so impatient to revolt against Ottomans that a sole visit of Serbian agent Vezenković sparked premature revolts. When Vezenković returned to Belgrade he urged the Serbian government to begin with the Albanian insurrection explaining that 10,000 Albanian rebels were prepared to revolt. At the end of 1867 a large Albanian revolt aimed against introduction of new taxes erupted in the regions of
Peć
Peja (Definiteness, Indefinite Albanian language, Albanian Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest List of cities and towns in Kosovo, city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipali ...
,
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
and
Đakovica
Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants.
Geographicall ...
.
Collapse and aftermath
After the murder of Prince Mihailo Obrenović in 1868, he was succeeded by his 13-year-old grandnephew
Milan Obrenović. Without Mihailo's strong direction, the Balkan alliance network collapsed. In the following years only Montenegro was ready to renew already agreed measures, which resulted with a new alliance agreement in 1876.
Although this alliance was not successful, it was an indicator of a more aggressive period of Balkan nationalisms after the
Berlin Congress
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...
(1878).
[: The First Balkan Alliance of 1866–68, although unsuccessful, could be taken as an indicator. After Berlin, Balkan nationalisms entered a more aggressive phase of ...]
References
Sources
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Further reading
* Stavrianos, L. S. "The First Balkan Alliance System, 1860–1876," Journal of Central European Affairs, II (October 1942), 267-290
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balkan Alliance, First
1866 treaties
1867 treaties
1868 treaties
19th-century military alliances
Treaties of the Kingdom of Greece
Treaties of the Principality of Serbia
Military alliances involving Greece
Military alliances involving Serbia
19th century in Greece
19th century in Serbia
Greece–Serbia relations
1866 in the Ottoman Empire
1867 in the Ottoman Empire
1868 in the Ottoman Empire