# 19
History of Servia
(It is called Serbia using the Cyrillic script and Servia when using the Latin script. Since English derived from Latin. Hence the use of Servia in the English language until the below mentioned time.
The Cyrillic script is official under the 2006 Constitution of Serbia, but the Latin script continues to gain ground as a result of its popularity among the business community and urban population. Before 1945 Serbs in Serbia did not officially use the Latin alphabet.
According to a printed source (Paul Fussel's The Great War and Modern Memory, London 1975, p. 175 ) the name Servia was changed by British journalists into Serbia at some time between August 1914 and April 1915 .
Servia smacked too much of servility, reminded the English readers of "serfs" and was disrespectful for a valiant ally. Alas I find no internet source to confirm this.)
The Serbian realms disappeared by the mid-16th century, torn by domestic feuds, and Ottoman conquest.
The success of the Serbian revolution against Ottoman rule in 1817 marked the birth of the Principality of Serbia, which achieved de facto independence in 1867 and finally gained recognition by the Great Powers in the Berlin Congress of 1878.
Revolution and independence
Principality and Habsburg Serbia in 1848
The Serbian Revolution for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815. The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire that eventually evolved towards full independence (1835–1867).
During the First Serbian Uprising, led by Duke Karađorđe Petrović, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country.
Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began.
Led by Miloš Obrenović, it ended in 1815 with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities.
Likewise, Serbia was one of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish feudalism.
The Convention of Ackerman in 1826, the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 and finally, the Hatt-i Sharif, recognized the suzerainty of Serbia.
The first Serbian Constitution was adopted on 15 February 1835.
Following the clashes between the Ottoman army and Serbs in Belgrade in 1862, and under pressure from the Great Powers, by 1867 the last Turkish soldiers left the Principality. By enacting a new constitution without consulting the Porte, Serbian diplomats confirmed the de facto independence of the country.
In 1876, Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, proclaiming its unification with Bosnia.
The formal independence of the country was internationally recognized at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, which formally ended the Russo-Turkish War; this treaty, however, prohibited Serbia from uniting with Bosnia by placing it under Austro-Hungarian occupation, alongside the occupation of Raška (Sandžak).
From 1815 to 1903, the Principality of Serbia was ruled by the House of Obrenović, except from 1842 to 1858, when it was led by Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević.
The 1848 revolution in Austria lead to the establishment of the autonomous territory of Serbian Vojvodina.
By 1849, the region was transformed into the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar.
In 1882, Serbia became a Kingdom, ruled by King Milan I.
Ottoman rule
A Serbian principality was restored a few years after the fall of the Serbian despotate by the Brankovics and existed as a Hungarian dependency situated in what is now Vojvodina and the northern Hungary/Romania.
It was ruled by exiled Serbian nobles and existed until 1540 when it fell to the Ottomans.
From the 14th century onward an increasing number of Serbs began migrating to the north to the region today known as Vojvodina, which was under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary in that time.
The Hungarian kings encouraged the immigration of Serbs to the kingdom, and hired many of them as soldiers and border guards.
During the struggle between the Ottoman Empire and Hungary, this Serb population performed an attempt of the restoration of the Serbian state.
In the Battle of Mohács on 29 August 1526, Ottoman Empire destroyed the army of Hungarian–Czech king Louis Jagellion, who was killed on the battlefield.
After this battle Hungary ceased to be independent state and much of its former territory became part of the Ottoman Empire.
Soon after the Battle of Mohács, leader of Serbian mercenaries in Hungary, Jovan Nenad established his rule in Bačka, northern Banat and a small part of Srem (These three regions are now parts of Vojvodina).
He created an ephemeral independent state, with city of Subotica as its capital.
At the peak of his career, Jovan Nenad crowned himself in Subotica for Serb emperor.
King John of Hungary forces defeated his rebellion in the summer of 1527. Jovan Nenad was killed and his 'state' collapsed.
European powers, and Austria in particular, fought many wars against the Ottoman Empire, sometimes with assistance from Serbs.
During the Austrian–Ottoman War (1593–1606), in 1594, some Serbs participated an uprising in Banat—the Pannonian part of the Ottoman Empire, and Sultan Murad III retaliated by burning the relics of St. Sava.
Austria established troops in Herzegovina but when peace was signed by Ottoman Empire and Austria, Austria abandoned to Ottoman vengeance.
This sequence of events became customary for the centuries that followed.
During the Great War (1683–90) between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League—created with the sponsorship of the Pope and including Austria, Poland and Venice—these three powers as means of divide and conquer strategy, incited including Serbs to rebel against the Ottoman authorities and soon uprisings and terrorism spread throughout the western Balkans: from Montenegro and the Dalmatian Coast to the Danube basin and Old Serbia (Macedonia, Raška, Kosovo and Metohija).
However, when the Austrians started to pull out of the Ottoman region, they invited Austrian-loyal people to come north with them into Hungarian territories. Having to choose between Ottoman reprisal or living in Hungary, some Serbs abandoned their homesteads and headed north led by patriarch Arsenije Čarnojević.
Another important episode in the history of the region took place in 1716–18, when the territories ranging from Dalmatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Belgrade and the Danube basin became the battleground for a new Austria-Ottoman war launched by Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Some Serbs sided once again with Austria.
After a peace treaty was signed in Požarevac, the Ottomans lost all its possessions in the Danube basin, as well as today's northern Serbia and northern Bosnia, parts of Dalmatia and the Peloponnesus.
The last Austrian-Ottoman war was the so-called Dubica war (1788–91), when the Austrians urged the Christians in Bosnia to rebel.
No wars were fought afterwards until the 20th century that marked the fall of both Austrian and Ottoman empires, staged together by the European powers/imperialism just after World War I.
Modern history of Serbia
Serbian Revolution and Autonomous Principality (1804–1878)
Serbia gained its autonomy from the Ottoman Empire in two uprisings in 1804 (led by Đorđe Petrović – Karađorđe) and 1815 (led by Miloš Obrenović), although Turkish troops continued to garrison the capital, Belgrade, until 1867.
The Turkish Empire was already faced with a deep internal crisis without any hope of recuperating. This had a particularly hard effect on the orthodox nations living under its rule. The Serbs launched not only a national revolution but a social one as well.
In 1817 Principality of Serbia was granted de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Principality/Kingdom of Serbia (1878–1918)
The Autonomous Principality became an internationally recognized independent country following the Russo-Turkish War in 1878.
Serbia remained a principality or kneževina (knjaževina), until 1882 when it became a Kingdom, during which the internal politics revolved largely around dynastic rivalry between the Obrenović and Karađorđević families.
This period was marked by the alternation of two dynasties descending from Đorđe Petrović—Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising and Miloš Obrenović, leader of the Second Serbian Uprising.
Further development of Serbia was characterized by general progress in economy, culture and arts, primarily due to a wise state policy of sending young people to European capitals to get an education. They all brought back a new spirit and a new system of values.
One of the external manifestations of the transformation that the former Turkish province was going through was the proclamation of the Province of Serbia in 1882.
During the Revolutions of 1848, the Serbs in the Austrian Empire proclaimed Serbian autonomous province known as Serbian Vojvodina.
By a decision of the Austrian emperor, in November 1849, this province was transformed into the Austrian crown land known as the Vojvodina of Serbia and Tamiš Banat (Dukedom of Serbia and Tamiš Banat).
Against the will of the Serbs, the province was abolished in 1860, but the Serbs from the region gained another opportunity to achieve their political demands in 1918. Today, this region is known as Vojvodina.
In 1885, Serbia was against the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia and attacked Bulgaria. This is also known as Serbo-Bulgarian war.
Despite better weapons and skilled commanders, Serbia lost the war.
In the second half of 19th century, Serbia gained statehood as the Kingdom of Serbia.
It thus became part of the constellation of European states and the first political parties were founded, thus giving new momentum to political life.
The May Overthrow in 1903, bringing Karađorđe's grandson to the throne with the title of King Petar I, opened the way for parliamentary democracy in Serbia.
Having received a European education, this liberal king translated "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill and gave his country a democratic constitution. It initiated a period of parliamentary government and political freedom interrupted by the outbreak of the liberation wars.
The Balkan wars 1912–13, terminated the Turkish domination in the Balkans. Turkey was pushed back towards the Bosporus, and national Balkan states were created in the territories it withdrew from.
Even though Serbia at the beginning was part of a united alliance of Balkan powers against the Ottomans the initial victory led to squabbles about the division of the spoils and in the second of the two wars it was Bulgaria who was Serbia's main enemy.
19th century Timeline of Servian/Serbian History
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1804 | Napoleon annexes the Bay of Kotor to the First French Empire as a part of the Illyrian provinces. The Venetian Republic collapses after almost 1000 years of existence. | |
| 1808 | The country's Narodni Zbor (Revolutionary Parliament) adopts the first constitutional act in this part of Europe defining Serbia as a constitutional monarchy under Karađorđe's supreme rule. | |
| 1813 | The Revolutionary Serbia is crushed facing the Ottomans as they invade the country with 200,000 soldiers. The lack of support from Napoleon and Imperial Russia, who were at war at the time, also contributed to the Serbian defeat. Wide spread revenge attacks upon civilians, nobles and "Intelligentsia" trigger a second insurrection. | |
| 1816 | The Ottoman governor, Marashli Ali Pasha, approves partial autonomy for the rebel province pressured by Imperial Russia and the Habsburg Empire– the supervisors and protectors of the Serbian people in the Sultanate. | |
| 1848 | The Spring of Nations erupts in Europe. The Serbs of Habsburg Empire demand self-rule according to the 1691 charter of Leopold I, Emperor of Austria. The Serbs proclaimed the creation of autonomous Serbian Vojvodina in Sremski Karlovci as the Serb army in the Habsburg Monarchy clashes with the Hungarians. | |
| 1850 | In Vienna Serbian and Croatian linguists agree to create a unified literary language based on the Shtokavian dialect. It becomes known as Serbo-Croatian for the next 150 years. The aim is to establish closer cultural ties between the two closest nations and boost local Serbian support for the Croatian cause. Croats accept Serbian grammar based on Vuk Stefanović Karadžić's reform. | |
| 1860 | Franz Joseph of Austria abolishes the Serbian crownland of Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat igniting a revolt among Serbs without any success. | |
| 1867 | The Habsburg Empire is replaced by the Dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Serbian lands are split between the two. | |
| Southwards, in the Principality of Serbia, Serbs rebel against the Ottoman authorities following the bombardment of Belgrade. Great Britain and France urge the Ottomans to withdraw their troops from Serbia. The Principality of Serbia is now de facto independent— 50 years after the Second Serbian Uprising. | ||
| 1869 | Subotica, one of the biggest Serbian settlements, is connected to the West by railway. | |
| 1873 | Banat Krajina is abolished and included into Transleithania; despite the wishes of the majority Serbs and Germans. This is the first step towards the destruction of the Serb-populated Military Frontier inherited from the Habsburg Empire. By 1883 the Military Frontier is entirely abolished and incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, save for the Bay of Kotor (Austria). | |
| 1877 | The Russo-Turkish War begins. The majority peoples, the Bosnian Serbs, launch an uprising against the Ottomans in Nevesinje declaring their unification with the Principality of Serbia. Nikola Pašić and Nicholas I of Montenegro proclaim the formal independence of Serbia and Montenegro. The Ottoman Empire declares war on Serbia and Montenegro. | |
| 1878 | Christian troops besiege Istanbul. Western interference stops the collapse of Ottoman Turkey by acknowledging de jure independence of Montenegro, Serbia and Romania with the Treaty of Berlin: all of whom have already been sovereign for some time prior to the Congress. | |
| 1882 | The Kingdom of Serbia (5th Serbian Realm) is proclaimed under austrophile King Milan Obrenović following a corruption scandal he was involved in. | |
| 1885 | The Serbo-Bulgarian War results in the country's humiliation following the Unification of Bulgaria increasing hostility toward the House of Obrenović. | |
| 1889 | King Milan Obrenović abdicates the throne in favour of his minor (age) son Aleksandar Obrenović. Austrophile policy continues. | |
| 1893 | Aleksandar Obrenović assumes power following a coup d'état. |
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