1901 massacres of Serbs

1901 massacres of Serbs
1901 massacres of Serbs
	Map of the Kosovo Vilayet (1881–1912)
Location	Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Kosovo)
Date	1901
Target	Serbs
Attack type	Massacres
Perpetrators	Albanians
Motive	Serbophobia

The 1901 massacres of Serbs were multiple massacres of Serbs in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia), committed by Albanians.

Massacres[edit]

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, 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.^[5] The Serbian government observed the developments in Kolašin, and did not remain idle.^[5] The situation became serious, with Serbs being smuggled arms by Serbia to defend themselves.^[2] In the summer of 1901, Albanians massacred Serbs in the Kolašin area.^[2] The atrocities prompted the Russian government to intervene at the Porte.^[2]

Reactions[edit]

Russia[edit]

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.^[6]

Austria-Hungary[edit]

Austria-Hungary, supported the Albanians, and tried to downplay the massacres.^[3] The events were instrumental in the "Kolašin affair" (Serbian Cyrillic: Колашинска афера), a diplomatic conflict between Austria-Hungary, which supported the Albanians, and Serbia, which was supported by Russia.^[7]

References[edit]

^ ^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.
^ ^a ^b Stojančević 1990, p. 114.
^ 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[edit]

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)
Skendi, Stavro (2015). The Albanian National Awakening. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4776-1.