History of Montenegro
Encyclopedia
The History of Montenegro begins in the early Middle Ages
, into the former Roman province
of Dalmatia
that forms present-day Montenegro
.
Before the arrival of the Slavonic peoples in the Balkans
during the 6th century AD, the area now known as Montenegro was inhabited principally by the Illyrians
.
During the Bronze Age, the Illirii, probably the southernmost Illyrian tribe of that time, that gave their name to the entire group were living near Skadar lake on the border of Albania and Montenegro and neighboring with the Greek
tribes south. Along the seaboard of the Adriatic
, the movement of peoples that was typical of the ancient Mediterranean world ensured the settlement of a mixture of colonists, traders, and those in search of territorial conquest. Substantial Greek colonies were established on the coast during the 6th and 7th centuries BC and Celts are known to have settled there in the 4th century BC. During the 3rd century BC, an indigenous Illyrian kingdom emerged with its capital at Scutari
. The Romans
mounted several punitive expeditions against local pirates and finally conquered this Illyrian kingdom in the 2nd century BC, annexing it to the province of Illyricum
.
The division of the Roman Empire
between Roman
and Byzantine
rule – and subsequently between the Latin
and Greek churches – was marked by a line that ran northward from Skadar through modern Montenegro, symbolizing the status of this region as a perpetual marginal zone between the economic, cultural, and political worlds of the Mediterranean peoples. As Roman power declined, this part of the Dalmatian coast
suffered from intermittent ravages by various semi-nomadic invaders, especially the Goths
in the late 5th century and the Avars
during the 6th century. These soon were supplanted by the Slavs, who became widely established in Dalmatia
by the middle of the 7th century. Because the terrain was extremely rugged and lacked any major sources of wealth such as mineral riches, the area that is now Montenegro became a haven for residual groups of earlier settlers, including some tribes who had escaped Romanisation.
In the second half of the 6th century, Slavs migrated from the Bay of Kotor
to the River of Bojana
, an area of land given to them by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. They formed the Principality
of Doclea
. Under the following missions of Cyril
and Methodus, the population was Christianised
. The Slavic tribes organised into a semi-independent dukedom of Duklja
(Doclea) by the 9th century.
domination, the people were split as the Doclean brother-archonts split the lands among each other after 900. Prince Časlav Klonimirović
of the Serbian House of Vlastimirović
extended his influence over Doclea in the 10th century. After the fall of the Serbian Realm
in 960, the Docleans faced a renewed Byzantine occupation through to the 11th century. The local ruler, Jovan Vladimir
Dukljanski, whose cult still remains in the Orthodox Christian tradition, was at the time struggling to ensure independence.
Stefan Vojislav started an uprising against the Byzantine domination and gained a huge victory against the army of several Byzantine strategs in Tudjemili (Bar) in 1042, which put to an end the Byzantine influence over the Doclea. In the 1054 Great Schism, the Doclea fell on the side of the Catholic Church. Bar became a Bishopric in 1067. In 1077, Pope Gregory VII
recognised Duklja as an independent state, acknowledging its King Mihailo (Michael, of the House of Vojislavljević founded by nobleman Stefan Vojislav) as Rex Doclea (King of Duklja). Later on Mihailo sent his troops, led by his son Bodin, in 1072 to assist the uprising of Slavs in Macedonia. In 1082, after numerous pleas the Bar Bishopric of Bar was upgraded to an Archbishopric.
The expansions of the Kings of the House of Vojislavljević led to the control over the other Slavic lands, including Zahumlje
, Bosnia
and Rascia
. The might of the Doclea declined and they generally became subjected to the Grand Princes of Rascia in the 12th century. Stefan Nemanja
was born in 1117 in Ribnica
(today Podgorica
). In 1168, as the Serbian Grand Zhupan, Stefan Nemanja took Doclea.
The Principality of Zeta
was ruled by the houses of Balšić
(1356–1435) and Crnojević
(1435–1498).
.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
(476), the romanised Illyrians
of the coast of Dalmatia survived the barbarian invasions of the Avars
in the 6th century and were only nominally under the influence of the Slavs in the 7th and 8th centuries. In the last centuries of the first millennium, these Romanised Illyrians started to develop their own neo-Latin language, called Dalmatian language
, around their small coastal villages that were growing with maritime commerce.
Venice
started to take control of the southern Dalmatia around the 10th century, quickly assimilating the Dalmatian language with Venetian
. By the 14th century the Republic of Venice
was able to create a territorial continuity around the Bay of Kotor
(Cattaro).
control from 1498 to 1699, while coastal Montenegro
was under Venetian
control and central Montenegro (Upper Zeta) was independent.
Half of today's Montenegro was part of the Ottoman Sanjak of Scutari, while the other was part of the Sanjak of Bosnia, but central Montenegro, also known as Upper Zeta, was independent.
In 1514, the Ottoman-controlled territory of Montenegro was proclaimed as a separate Sanjak, by the order of Sultan Beyazid II. The first Sanjak-beg (governor) who was chosen was Ivan Crnojević's son Staniša (Skenderbeg Crnojević), who converted to Islam
, and governed until 1528. Despite Skenderbeg's emphasized cruelty, Ottomans did not have real power in Montenegro. After Skenderbeg's death, the Sanjak of Montenegro was annexed to the Sanjak of Scutari. However, Montenegro was, for a time being, in the Sanjak of Dukagjin
and the Sanjak of Herzegovina, but then being annexed back to the Sanjak of Scutari.
Montenegrins used the Great Turkish War
of 1683-1699 (Also known as War of the Holy League
) to expel Ottomans and their rule from Montenegro, which didn't quite work. The Montenegrins then declared war on the Turks in 1876 after a rebellion in Herzegovina
, starting their liberation from the Ottoman Empire. Montenegrins won the war in 1878 and increased its territory to about four times its original territory.
By the end of the 17th century the romance speaking population was already a minority. But still in 1880 there were in the city of Cattaro, according to the Austrian census, 930 ethnic Italians (or 32% of a total population of 2910 people).
In 1516, the secular prince Đurađ V Crnojević abdicated in favor of the Archbishop Vavil, who then formed Montenegro into a theocratic
state under the rule of the prince-bishop (vladika) of Cetinje
, a position transmitted from 1697 by the Petrović-Njegoš family of the Riđani clan, from uncle to nephew as the bishops were not allowed to marry.
Petar Petrović Njegoš perhaps the most influential vladika, reigned in the first half of the 19th century. In 1851 Danilo Petrović Njegoš became vladika, but in 1852 he married, threw off his ecclesiastical character, assuming the title of knjaz (Prince) Danilo I, and transformed his land into a secular principality.
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Following the assassination of Danilo by Todor Kadić in Kotor
, in 1860, the Montenegrins proclaimed Nicholas I
as his successor on August 14 of that year. In 1861 – 1862, Nicholas engaged in an unsuccessful war against Turkey, Montenegro holding onto its independence only by the skin of its teeth.
He was much more successful in 1875. Following the Herzegovinian Uprising, partly initiated by his clandestine activities, he yet again declared war on Turkey. Serbia
joined Montenegro, but it was defeated by Turkish forces in 1876 only to try again the following year after Russia
decisively routed the Turks. Montenegro was victorious throughout, though. The results were decisive; 1900 square miles (4,921 km²) were added to Montenegro's territory by the Treaty of Berlin
; that the port of Bar
and all the waters of Montenegro were closed to the ships of war of all nations; and that the administration of the maritime and sanitary police on the coast was placed in the hands of Austria.
The reign of Nikola I
(1860 – 1918) saw the doubling of Montenegro's territory and international recognition of her independence (1878).
Montenegro was an ally of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war
. Volunteers from Montenegro were fighting in the Russian Army. In 1906 Japan recognized Montenegrin independence and declared the war being over. A peace treaty was signed.
Nicholas I also granted the country's first constitution (1905) and was elevated to the rank of King
(1910).
In the Balkan Wars
(1912–1913), Montenegro did make further territorial gains by splitting Sanjak
with Serbia.
In addition, the newly-captured city of Skadar had to be given up to the new state of Albania
at the insistence of the Great Powers despite the Montenegrins having invested 10,000 lives for the conquest of the town from the Ottoman]-Albanian forces of Esad Pasha.
Montenegro suffered severely in World War I
. At the first invasion of Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian armies, Montenegro lost no time in declaring war against the Central Powers
. Austria-Hungary despatched a separate army to invade Montenegro and to prevent a junction of the Serbian and Montenegrin armies. This force, however, was repulsed, and from the top of the strongly fortified Mount Lovćen
, the Montenegrins carried on the bombardment of Kotor
held by the enemy. On August 10, 1914, the Montenegrin infantry delivered a strong attack against the Austrian garrisons, but they did not succeed in making good the advantage they first gained. They successfully resisted the Austrians in the second invasion of Serbia and almost succeeded in liberating Sarajevo
. With the beginning of the third Austro-Hungarian invasion, however, the Montenegrin army had to retire before greatly superior numbers, and Austro-Hungarian and German armies finally overran Serbia. However, Serbian army survived and led by King Peter I of Serbia started retreating across Albania. In order to support Serbian retreat, Montenegrin army, led by Janko Vukotic
, engaged in Battle of Mojkovac
. Montenegro also suffered invasion (January 1916) and for the remainder of the war remained in the possession of the Central Powers
. See Serbian Campaign (World War I)
for details. Military governor of Montenegro between 1916 and 1917 was Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau
. Afterwards Heinrich Clam-Martinic filled this position.
King Nicholas fled to Italy
and then to France
; the government transferred its operations to Bordeaux
. Eventually the allies liberated Montenegro from the Austrians. A newly-convened National Assembly of Podgorica (Podgorička skupština, Подгоричка скупштина)
, accused the Кing of seeking a separate peace with the enemy and because of that deposed him, followed by a ban on his return and decided that Montenegro should join the Kingdom of Serbia
on December 1, 1918. A large part of the Montenegrin population started a rebellion, which is known as the Christmas Uprising
.
s, Nikola's grandson, King Alexander Karageorgevich
dominated the Yugoslav
government. In 1922 Montenegro became part of Zeta area and later Zeta Banate.The administrative seat of banate became former Montenegrin capital Cetinje
. During this period, Montenegrin people were still divided between politics of Greens and Whites.
occupied Montenegro in 1941 and annexed to the Kingdom of Italy
the area of Kotor (Cattaro), where there was a small Venetian
speaking population. (The Queen of Italy - Elena of Montenegro
- was daughter of the former king of Montenegro and was born in Cetinje
.)
The English historian Denis Mack Smith
wrote that the Queen of Italy (considered the most influential Montenegrin woman in history) convinced her husband the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III to impose on Mussolini the creation of an independent Montenegro, against the wishes of the fascist Croats and Albanians (who wanted to enlarge their countries with the Montenegrin territories). Her nephew Prince Michael of Montenegro
never accepted the offered crown, pledging loyalty to his nephew King Peter II of Yugoslavia
.
The puppet Kingdom of Montenegro was created under fascist control while Krsto Zrnov Popović
returned from his exile in Rome
in 1941 to attempt to lead the Zelenaši
("Green" party), who supported the reinstatement of the Montenegrin monarchy. This militia was called the Lovćen Brigade
. Montenegro was ravaged by a terrible guerrilla war, mainly after Nazi Germany
replaced the defeated Italians in September 1943.
During World War II, as was the case in many other parts of Yugoslavia, Montenegro was involved in some sort of Civil war. Besides Montenegrin Greens,two main fractions were Yugoslav army in fatherland
,who swore allegiance to government in exile and were consisted mainly by Montenegrins who declared themselves as Serbs (many of its members were Montenegrin Whites) and Yugoslav partisans, whose aim was the creation of Socialist Yugoslavia after the war. Since both fractions were sharing some similarities in their goal-unified Yugoslavia and anti-Axis resistance, the two sides joined hands and in 1941 started the 13th July uprising, the first organised uprising in occupied Europe, just two moths after Yugoslavia capitulated, liberating most of Montenegrin territory, but still unable to regain control of major towns and cities. After the failed attempts to liberate the towns of Pljevlja
and Kolasin
, Italians were reinforced by Germans and all the gained territories were recaptured. At the top of all, disagreement regarding state policy (Centralist monarchy-Federal Socialist republic) eventually led to split between two sides who from then on became the bloodiest enemies. Constantly, both fractions were trying to gain support within population. Chetniks among their members had influent and educated people, such as Blazo Djukanovic, Zaharije Ostojic, Radojica Perisic, Petar Bacovic, Mirko Lalatovic, Bajo Stanisic, the hero of uprising, etc. But eventually they lost the support as did other Chetnik fractions within Yugoslavia. De facto leader of Chetniks in Montenegro, Pavle Djurisic, along with other prominent figures of movement like Dusan Arsovic and Djordjije Lasic, was held responsible for massacres of Muslim population in eastern Bosnia and Sandzak
during 1944. Their ideology about homogeneous Serbia within Yugoslavia proved to be a major obstacle in recruiting minorities as well as Montenegrins who regarded themselves as nation with its own identity. All this contributed to the fact that some small fractions were negotiating with the Axis
, and finally in 1943 Yugoslav army in fatherland lost support among the Allies
. The same year Italy who was until then in charge of occupied zone capitulated and was replaced by Germany
, and fights continued.
Podgorica
was liberated by partisans on 19 December 1944. Josip Broz Tito
's partisans won the war of liberation and acknowledged Montenegro's massive contribution to the war against the Axis powers by establishing it as one of the six republics of Yugoslavia
.
. Montenegro became economically stronger than ever, since it gained help from federal funds as an under-developed Republic, and it became a tourist destination as well. After war years proved turbulent and were marked by political eliminations. Krsto Zrnov Popović
, the leader of Greens was assassinated in 1947, and 10 years later, in 1957, the last Montenegrin Chetnik Vladimir Šipčić
was also murdered. During this period Montenegrin Communists such as Veljko Vlahović
, Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo
, Vladimir Popović
and Jovo Kapicić emerged as a important factor in whole Yugoslavia and went on holding major positions in federal government. In 1948 Yugoslavia faced Tito-Stalin split
and the resolution of Informbiro
. Political turmoils started inside communist party itself as well as between nation itself. Pro-Soviet fractions faced prosecution,charges and imprisonment in various prisons across Yugoslavia, the most notable one being Goli Otok
. Many Montenegrins, due to their traditional allegiance with Russia declared themselves as Soviet-orientated. Political split in communist party saw the downfall of many important communist leaders,the ones from Montenegro including Arso Jovanović
, Vlado Dapčević
and others. Many of the people imprisoned during this period, regardless of nationality, were innocent and their innocence was later admitted by government. 1954 saw the prominent Yugoslav Montenegrin Communist Milovan Đilas expelled from the party along with Peko Dapčević
. Montenegro was the Yugoslav smallest republic and had the lowest population.
Trough the second half of the 1940s and the whole 1950s, the country was rebuilt. Montenegro's historic capital Cetinje
was replaced by Podgorica
, which in inter-war period emerged as the biggest city in country, but was in ruins due to hard bombing in the last stages of war. Podgorica had much favorable position and in 1947 the seat of republic was moved to the city, now named Titograd in honor to Marshal Tito. Instead Cetinje received a title of hero city within Yugoslavia. Youth work actions
built a railway between the two biggest cities of Titograd and Nikšić
, and embankment over Skadar lake linking the capital with the major port of Bar
. The port of Bar was also rebuilt after being mined during German retreat in 1944. Other ports include the ones in Kotor
, Risan
and Tivat
. In 1947 Jugopetrol Kotor
was founded. Electronic company Obod was founded in Cetinje, steel mill and Trebjesa brewery
in Nikšić, and finally the crown of Montenegrin industrialization Podgorica Aluminium Plant
was completed in 1969.
In effect three men ran the republic: Milo Đukanović, Momir Bulatović
and Svetozar Marović
; all swept into power during the so-called "anti-bureaucratic revolution
"—an administrative coup of sorts within the Yugoslav Communist party, orchestrated by younger party members close to Slobodan Milošević
.
All three appeared devout communists on the surface, but they also had sufficient skills and adaptability to understand the dangers of clinging to traditional rigid old-guard tactics in new and changing times. So when the old Yugoslavia effectively ceased to exist and the multi-party political system replaced it, they quickly repackaged the Montenegrin branch of the old Communist party and renamed it the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
(DPS).
Inheriting the entire infrastructure, resources and membership of the old Communist party gave the DPS a sizable head start on their opponents in the newly-formed parties. It allowed them to win the first multi-party parliamentary election held on 9 and 16 December 1990, and presidential elections held on 9 and 23 December 1990. The party has ruled Montenegro (either alone or as a leading member of different ruling coalitions).
During the early-to-mid 1990s Montenegro's leadership gave considerable support to Milošević's war-effort. Montenegrin reservists fought on the Dubrovnik front line, where Prime Minister Milo Đukanović visited them frequently.
In April 1992, following a referendum
, Montenegro decided to join Serbia in forming the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which officially put the Second Yugoslavia to rest.
During the 1991–1995 Bosnian War
and Croatian War, Montenegro participated with its police and military forces in the attacks on Dubrovnik
, Croatia
and Bosnian towns along with Serbian troops, aggressive acts aimed at acquiring more territories by force,
characterized by a consistent pattern of gross and systematic violations of
human rights. Montenegrin General Pavle Strugar
has since been convicted for his part in the bombing of Dubrovnik.
Bosnian refugees were arrested by Montenegrin police and transported to Serb camps in Foča
, where they were subjected to systematic torture and executed.
In May 1992, the United Nations
imposed an embargo on FRY: this affected many aspects of life in the country.
Due to its favourable geographical location (access to the Adriatic Sea and a water-link to Albania across Lake Skadar) Montenegro became a hub for smuggling activity. The entire Montenegrin industrial production had stopped, and the republic's main economic activity became the smuggling of user goods - especially those in short supply like petrol and cigarettes, both of which skyrocketed in price. It became a de facto legalized practice and it went on for years. At best, the Montenegrin government turned a blind eye to the illegal activity, but mostly it took an active part in it. Smuggling made millionaires out of all sorts of shady individuals, including senior government officials. Milo Đukanović continues to face actions in various Italian courts over his role in widespread smuggling during the 1990s and in providing safe haven
in Montenegro for different Italian Mafia
figures who also allegedly took part in the smuggling distribution chain.
. Bulatović and his followers broke away to form the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
(SNP), staying loyal to Milošević, whereas Đukanović began to distance himself from Serbia. This distance from the policies of Milošević played a role in sparing Montenegro from the heavy bombing that Serbia endured in the spring of 1999 during the NATO air-campaign
.
Đukanović came out a clear winner from this political fight, as he never lost power for even a day. Bulatović, on the other hand, never held office again in Montenegro after 1997 and eventually retired from politics in 2001.
During the Kosovo War
, ethnic Albanians took refuge in Montenegro, but were still under threat by Serbian soldiers, who were able to take refugees back into Serbian controlled areas and imprison them.
In the spring of 1999, at the height of NATO offences, 21 Albanians died in several separate and unexplained incidents in Montenegro, according to the republic’s prosecutor. Another group of around 60 Albanian refugees was fired upon in Kaludjerski Laz by Yugoslav Army members, leading to the death of six people, including a woman aged 80 and a child, killed in crossfire that allegedly came from three machine-gun posts of the then Yugoslav Army.
In all, 23 Albanians were killed in Kaludjerski Laz, and Montenegrin prosecutors have charged 8 soldiers, among which is Predrag Strugar, son of convicted Montenegrin war criminal General Pavle Strugar, with "inhuman treatment against civilians". During the war Montenegro was bombed as part of NATO operations against Yugoslavia,though not as heavily as Serbia.The targets were mostly military ones such as Golubovci Airbase
. By some claims the airport was attacked because of operation Yugoslav pilots undertook on 26 April, when they (without knowledge of supreme command) flew over a border into Albania
with 4 G-4 Super Galeb
s and bombed Rinas Airport which housed 24 AH-64 Apache
helicopters and parts of 82nd Airborne Division.They ended up with destroying nine Apaches and damaging the rest while also destroying Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA) training camps in the vicinity of airport.Eight civilian casualties are reported during the course of the war. During the operation,allegedly 10 aircraft were shot down over Montenegro. The first one was Luftwaffe
's Tornado IDS,eventually crashed in Skadar Lake, and the second one was Mirage 2000 of French Air Force
, whose pilot catapulted before plane crashed in mountain Rumija
.Apparently both planes were shot on 15.04.1999. The rest of them are Unmanned aerial vehicle
s (UAV) downed on various locations,including Valdanos
, but the only model that has been identified is IAI RQ-5 Hunter, downed in Bay of Kotor
on 28 May.However, this has never been confirmed.
In 2003, after years of wrangling and outside assistance, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia renamed itself as "Serbia and Montenegro
" and officially reconstituted itself as a loose union. The State Union had a parliament and an army in common, and for three years (until 2006), neither Serbia nor Montenegro held a referendum on the break-up of the union. However, a referendum was announced in Montenegro to decide the future of the republic. The ballots cast in the controversial 2006 independence referendum
resulted in a 55.5% victory for independence supporters, just above the 55% borderline mark set by the EU. Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006.
In March 2007 Montenegrin officials apologized for involvement in attacks on the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, which caused several hundred civilian deaths and destroyed countless homes, and agreed to pay damages. Some estimates place the value of the damage at around €35 million. So far, Montenegro has paid up only €375,000 as compensation for looting the area's cattle.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, into the former Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
that forms present-day Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
.
Illyria
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
during the 6th century AD, the area now known as Montenegro was inhabited principally by the Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
tribes south. Along the seaboard of the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, the movement of peoples that was typical of the ancient Mediterranean world ensured the settlement of a mixture of colonists, traders, and those in search of territorial conquest. Substantial Greek colonies were established on the coast during the 6th and 7th centuries BC and Celts are known to have settled there in the 4th century BC. During the 3rd century BC, an indigenous Illyrian kingdom emerged with its capital at Scutari
Shkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
mounted several punitive expeditions against local pirates and finally conquered this Illyrian kingdom in the 2nd century BC, annexing it to the province of Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
.
The division of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
between Roman
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
rule – and subsequently between the Latin
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
and Greek churches – was marked by a line that ran northward from Skadar through modern Montenegro, symbolizing the status of this region as a perpetual marginal zone between the economic, cultural, and political worlds of the Mediterranean peoples. As Roman power declined, this part of the Dalmatian coast
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
suffered from intermittent ravages by various semi-nomadic invaders, especially the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
in the late 5th century and the Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
during the 6th century. These soon were supplanted by the Slavs, who became widely established in Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
by the middle of the 7th century. Because the terrain was extremely rugged and lacked any major sources of wealth such as mineral riches, the area that is now Montenegro became a haven for residual groups of earlier settlers, including some tribes who had escaped Romanisation.
Duklja
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
to the River of Bojana
Bojana
-Places:* Bojana , a river in Albania and Montenegro* Ada Bojana / Bojana Island* Boyana, a quarter of Sofia, Bulgaria- People :* Bojana Jovanovski* Bojana Novakovic* Bojana Radulović* Bojana Popović* Bojana Atanasovska* Bojana Bobusic* Bojana Panić...
, an area of land given to them by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. They formed the Principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
of Doclea
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
. Under the following missions of Cyril
Cyril
Cyril is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος meaning "Lordly, Masterful" which in turn derives from Greek κυριος "Lord"...
and Methodus, the population was Christianised
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
. The Slavic tribes organised into a semi-independent dukedom of Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
(Doclea) by the 9th century.
Middle Ages
After facing subsequent BulgarianFirst Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
domination, the people were split as the Doclean brother-archonts split the lands among each other after 900. Prince Časlav Klonimirović
Caslav Klonimirovic
Časlav Klonimirović or Časlav of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca. 927 until his death in 960. He significantly expanded the Serbian Principality when he managed to unite several Slavic tribes, stretching his realm over the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Sava river and the Morava valley...
of the Serbian House of Vlastimirović
House of Vlastimirovic
The Vlastimirović Dynasty was the first Serbian royal dynasty, named after Prince Vlastimir , who was recognized by the Byzantine Empire.The dynasty starts with the Unknown Archont, who ruled during Emperor Heraclius ....
extended his influence over Doclea in the 10th century. After the fall of the Serbian Realm
History of Serbia
The history of Serbia, as a country, begins with the Slavic settlements in the Balkans, established in the 6th century in territories governed by the Byzantine Empire. Through centuries, the Serbian realm evolved into a Kingdom , then an Empire , before the Ottomans annexed it in 1540...
in 960, the Docleans faced a renewed Byzantine occupation through to the 11th century. The local ruler, Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir was ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire...
Dukljanski, whose cult still remains in the Orthodox Christian tradition, was at the time struggling to ensure independence.
Stefan Vojislav started an uprising against the Byzantine domination and gained a huge victory against the army of several Byzantine strategs in Tudjemili (Bar) in 1042, which put to an end the Byzantine influence over the Doclea. In the 1054 Great Schism, the Doclea fell on the side of the Catholic Church. Bar became a Bishopric in 1067. In 1077, Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
recognised Duklja as an independent state, acknowledging its King Mihailo (Michael, of the House of Vojislavljević founded by nobleman Stefan Vojislav) as Rex Doclea (King of Duklja). Later on Mihailo sent his troops, led by his son Bodin, in 1072 to assist the uprising of Slavs in Macedonia. In 1082, after numerous pleas the Bar Bishopric of Bar was upgraded to an Archbishopric.
The expansions of the Kings of the House of Vojislavljević led to the control over the other Slavic lands, including Zahumlje
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
, Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
. The might of the Doclea declined and they generally became subjected to the Grand Princes of Rascia in the 12th century. Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
was born in 1117 in Ribnica
Ribnica
Ribnica is a town and municipality in southern Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region. Archaeological evidence shows that the area has been settled at least since the late Bronze Age between 1300 and 900 BC...
(today Podgorica
Podgorica
Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...
). In 1168, as the Serbian Grand Zhupan, Stefan Nemanja took Doclea.
Zeta
Principality of Zeta
Zeta was a medieval state, which territory encompassed parts of present-day Montenegro and Northernwestern Albania. From 1360. to 1421. Zeta was independent state administered by local noble family Balšić. From 1185. to 1360. and from 1421. - 1451, Zeta was province of medieval Serbia...
was ruled by the houses of Balšić
House of Balšic
The Balšić was a noble house that ruled Zeta and the coastlands , from 1362 to 1421, during the fall of the Serbian Empire. Balša, the eponymous founder, was a petty nobleman that held only one village during the rule of Emperor Dušan the Mighty The Balšić was a noble house that ruled Zeta and...
(1356–1435) and Crnojević
House of Crnojevic
The Crnojević was a medieval Serb noble house that held Zeta, or parts of it; a region corresponding to north of Lake Skadar , from 1326 to 1362, then 1403 until 1515. The progenitor, Đuraš Ilijić, was head of Upper Zeta in the Serbian Kingdom and Empire The Crnojević was a medieval Serb noble...
(1435–1498).
Zeta in the Serbian Despotate (1421-1456)
After the death of Balša III, last representative of House of Balšić, Zeta joined the Serbian DespotateSerbian Despotate
The Serbian Despotate was a Serbian state, the last to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of the medieval Serbian state, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravian Serbia survived for 70 more years,...
.
The Venetian coastal Montenegro
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
(476), the romanised Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
of the coast of Dalmatia survived the barbarian invasions of the Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
in the 6th century and were only nominally under the influence of the Slavs in the 7th and 8th centuries. In the last centuries of the first millennium, these Romanised Illyrians started to develop their own neo-Latin language, called Dalmatian language
Dalmatian language
Dalmatian was a Romance language spoken in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and as far south as Kotor in Montenegro. The name refers to a pre-Roman tribe of the Illyrian linguistic group, Dalmatae...
, around their small coastal villages that were growing with maritime commerce.
Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
started to take control of the southern Dalmatia around the 10th century, quickly assimilating the Dalmatian language with Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
. By the 14th century the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
was able to create a territorial continuity around the Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
(Cattaro).
Early modern period
The Republic of Venice dominated the coasts of today's Montenegro from 1420 to 1797. In those four centuries the area around the Cattaro (Kotor) became part of the Venetian albania-montenegro, called in those centuries Albania veneta.Ottoman Empire
Much of today's Montenegro was under OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
control from 1498 to 1699, while coastal Montenegro
Montenegrin Littoral
The Montenegrin Littoral is a region in Montenegro which borders the Adriatic Sea. Prior to the Creation of Yugoslavia, the Montenegrin Littoral was not part of the Kingdom of Montenegro, but rather a bordering region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, latterly part of the State of Slovenes, Croats,...
was under Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
control and central Montenegro (Upper Zeta) was independent.
Half of today's Montenegro was part of the Ottoman Sanjak of Scutari, while the other was part of the Sanjak of Bosnia, but central Montenegro, also known as Upper Zeta, was independent.
In 1514, the Ottoman-controlled territory of Montenegro was proclaimed as a separate Sanjak, by the order of Sultan Beyazid II. The first Sanjak-beg (governor) who was chosen was Ivan Crnojević's son Staniša (Skenderbeg Crnojević), who converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and governed until 1528. Despite Skenderbeg's emphasized cruelty, Ottomans did not have real power in Montenegro. After Skenderbeg's death, the Sanjak of Montenegro was annexed to the Sanjak of Scutari. However, Montenegro was, for a time being, in the Sanjak of Dukagjin
Sanjak of Dukagjin
The Sanjak of Dukagjin or the Sanjak of Peć was a sanjak with its capital in Peć, Kosovo...
and the Sanjak of Herzegovina, but then being annexed back to the Sanjak of Scutari.
Montenegrins used the Great Turkish War
Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667–1683:...
of 1683-1699 (Also known as War of the Holy League
War of the Holy League
There were several wars of the Holy League in European history:* Part of the War of the League of Cambrai from 1511 to 1513, involving the Holy League...
) to expel Ottomans and their rule from Montenegro, which didn't quite work. The Montenegrins then declared war on the Turks in 1876 after a rebellion in Herzegovina
Herzegovinian rebellion
The Herzegovina Uprising of 1875-1878 was an uprising led by Christians, firstly in Herzegovina and then in Bosnia. It is the most significant of the rebellions against Ottoman rule in Herzegovina...
, starting their liberation from the Ottoman Empire. Montenegrins won the war in 1878 and increased its territory to about four times its original territory.
By the end of the 17th century the romance speaking population was already a minority. But still in 1880 there were in the city of Cattaro, according to the Austrian census, 930 ethnic Italians (or 32% of a total population of 2910 people).
In 1516, the secular prince Đurađ V Crnojević abdicated in favor of the Archbishop Vavil, who then formed Montenegro into a theocratic
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
state under the rule of the prince-bishop (vladika) of Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, a position transmitted from 1697 by the Petrović-Njegoš family of the Riđani clan, from uncle to nephew as the bishops were not allowed to marry.
Modern history
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
, in 1860, the Montenegrins proclaimed Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Montenegro
Nikola I Mirkov Petrović-Njegoš was the only king of Montenegro, reigning as king from 1910 to 1918 and as prince from 1860 to 1910. He was also a poet, notably penning "Onamo, 'namo!", a popular song from Montenegro.-Early life:Nikola was born in the village of Njeguši, the ancient home of the...
as his successor on August 14 of that year. In 1861 – 1862, Nicholas engaged in an unsuccessful war against Turkey, Montenegro holding onto its independence only by the skin of its teeth.
He was much more successful in 1875. Following the Herzegovinian Uprising, partly initiated by his clandestine activities, he yet again declared war on Turkey. Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
joined Montenegro, but it was defeated by Turkish forces in 1876 only to try again the following year after Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
decisively routed the Turks. Montenegro was victorious throughout, though. The results were decisive; 1900 square miles (4,921 km²) were added to Montenegro's territory by the Treaty of Berlin
Treaty of Berlin, 1878
The Treaty of Berlin was the final act of the Congress of Berlin , by which the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdul Hamid II revised the Treaty of San Stefano signed on March 3 of the same year...
; that the port of Bar
Bar, Montenegro
Bar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 17,727...
and all the waters of Montenegro were closed to the ships of war of all nations; and that the administration of the maritime and sanitary police on the coast was placed in the hands of Austria.
The reign of Nikola I
Nicholas I of Montenegro
Nikola I Mirkov Petrović-Njegoš was the only king of Montenegro, reigning as king from 1910 to 1918 and as prince from 1860 to 1910. He was also a poet, notably penning "Onamo, 'namo!", a popular song from Montenegro.-Early life:Nikola was born in the village of Njeguši, the ancient home of the...
(1860 – 1918) saw the doubling of Montenegro's territory and international recognition of her independence (1878).
Montenegro was an ally of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
. Volunteers from Montenegro were fighting in the Russian Army. In 1906 Japan recognized Montenegrin independence and declared the war being over. A peace treaty was signed.
Nicholas I also granted the country's first constitution (1905) and was elevated to the rank of King
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
(1910).
In the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
(1912–1913), Montenegro did make further territorial gains by splitting Sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
with Serbia.
In addition, the newly-captured city of Skadar had to be given up to the new state of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
at the insistence of the Great Powers despite the Montenegrins having invested 10,000 lives for the conquest of the town from the Ottoman]-Albanian forces of Esad Pasha.
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. At the first invasion of Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian armies, Montenegro lost no time in declaring war against the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. Austria-Hungary despatched a separate army to invade Montenegro and to prevent a junction of the Serbian and Montenegrin armies. This force, however, was repulsed, and from the top of the strongly fortified Mount Lovćen
Mount Lovcen
Lovćen is a mountain and national park in southwestern Montenegro.The Mount Lovćen rises from the borders of the Adriatic basin closing the long ang twisting bays of Boka Kotorska and making the hinterland to the coastal town of Kotor...
, the Montenegrins carried on the bombardment of Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
held by the enemy. On August 10, 1914, the Montenegrin infantry delivered a strong attack against the Austrian garrisons, but they did not succeed in making good the advantage they first gained. They successfully resisted the Austrians in the second invasion of Serbia and almost succeeded in liberating Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. With the beginning of the third Austro-Hungarian invasion, however, the Montenegrin army had to retire before greatly superior numbers, and Austro-Hungarian and German armies finally overran Serbia. However, Serbian army survived and led by King Peter I of Serbia started retreating across Albania. In order to support Serbian retreat, Montenegrin army, led by Janko Vukotic
Janko Vukotic
Janko Vukotić, was a Serbian General, Serdar and Voivode from Montenegro in the Balkan Wars and World War I. He served as Montenegro's Minister of Defence in periods 1905-1907, 1911–1912 and 1913–1915 and as the Prime Minister of Montenegro 1913-1915...
, engaged in Battle of Mojkovac
Battle of Mojkovac
The Battle of Mojkovac was a famous World War I battle fought between 6 January and 7 January 1916 near Mojkovac, Montenegro, between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Montenegro...
. Montenegro also suffered invasion (January 1916) and for the remainder of the war remained in the possession of the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. See Serbian Campaign (World War I)
Serbian Campaign (World War I)
The Serbian Campaign was fought from late July 1914, when Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia at the outset of the First World War, until late 1915, when the Macedonian Front was formed...
for details. Military governor of Montenegro between 1916 and 1917 was Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau
Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau
Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau , General in the Austro-Hungarian army while World War I, military governor of Montenegro between 1916 and 1917 and head of the Austro-Hungarian armistice commission - Career :*1879: as Kadett-Offizierstellvertreter from Infanteriekadettenschule Liebenau to...
. Afterwards Heinrich Clam-Martinic filled this position.
King Nicholas fled to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and then to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; the government transferred its operations to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. Eventually the allies liberated Montenegro from the Austrians. A newly-convened National Assembly of Podgorica (Podgorička skupština, Подгоричка скупштина)
Podgorica Assembly
The Podgorica Assembly , in full the Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro , was an assembly held in Podgorica that served as the representative body of the Montenegrin people during the...
, accused the Кing of seeking a separate peace with the enemy and because of that deposed him, followed by a ban on his return and decided that Montenegro should join the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
on December 1, 1918. A large part of the Montenegrin population started a rebellion, which is known as the Christmas Uprising
Christmas Uprising
The Christmas Uprising or Christmas Rebellion refers to the uprising of Montenegrin guerrilla fighters aimed against the planned unification of Montenegro with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...
.
Yugoslavia
In the period between the two World WarWorld war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s, Nikola's grandson, King Alexander Karageorgevich
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
dominated the Yugoslav
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
government. In 1922 Montenegro became part of Zeta area and later Zeta Banate.The administrative seat of banate became former Montenegrin capital Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
. During this period, Montenegrin people were still divided between politics of Greens and Whites.
The puppet "Kingdom of Montenegro" and World War II
During World War II, Italy under Benito MussoliniBenito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
occupied Montenegro in 1941 and annexed to the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
the area of Kotor (Cattaro), where there was a small Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
speaking population. (The Queen of Italy - Elena of Montenegro
Elena of Montenegro
Elena of Montenegro was the daughter of King Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro and his wife, Milena Vukotić...
- was daughter of the former king of Montenegro and was born in Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
.)
The English historian Denis Mack Smith
Denis Mack Smith
Denis Mack Smith CBE is an English historian, specialising in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for studies of Garibaldi and Cavour and of Mussolini, and for his single-volume Modern Italy: A Political History...
wrote that the Queen of Italy (considered the most influential Montenegrin woman in history) convinced her husband the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III to impose on Mussolini the creation of an independent Montenegro, against the wishes of the fascist Croats and Albanians (who wanted to enlarge their countries with the Montenegrin territories). Her nephew Prince Michael of Montenegro
Prince Michael of Montenegro
Prince Michael Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro was the third son of Prince Mirko Petrović-Njegoš, Grand Voivode of Grahovo and Zeta , and Natalija Konstantinovic, a cousin of Aleksandar Obrenović of Serbia...
never accepted the offered crown, pledging loyalty to his nephew King Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II, also known as Peter II Karađorđević , was the third and last King of Yugoslavia...
.
The puppet Kingdom of Montenegro was created under fascist control while Krsto Zrnov Popović
Krsto Žrnov Popovic
Captain Krsto Todorov-Zrnov Popović was one of the leaders of 1919 Christmas Uprising in Montenegro against Serbian dynasty Karađorđević, organized by the greens , followers of dethroned King Nikola and Montenegrin dynasty Petrović-Njegoš...
returned from his exile in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1941 to attempt to lead the Zelenaši
Zelenaši
The Zelenaši were a group of Montenegrin dissidents, most notable for instigating the 1919 Christmas rebellion and later for supporting the existence of the fascist Kingdom of Montenegro during World War II....
("Green" party), who supported the reinstatement of the Montenegrin monarchy. This militia was called the Lovćen Brigade
Lovcen Brigade
The Lovćen Brigade was an armed force in World War II-Montenegro led by Krsto Zrnov Popović and the Zelenaši. The unit was formed in September, 1942 with the approval of Fascist Italy.The army was made up of:...
. Montenegro was ravaged by a terrible guerrilla war, mainly after Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
replaced the defeated Italians in September 1943.
During World War II, as was the case in many other parts of Yugoslavia, Montenegro was involved in some sort of Civil war. Besides Montenegrin Greens,two main fractions were Yugoslav army in fatherland
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
,who swore allegiance to government in exile and were consisted mainly by Montenegrins who declared themselves as Serbs (many of its members were Montenegrin Whites) and Yugoslav partisans, whose aim was the creation of Socialist Yugoslavia after the war. Since both fractions were sharing some similarities in their goal-unified Yugoslavia and anti-Axis resistance, the two sides joined hands and in 1941 started the 13th July uprising, the first organised uprising in occupied Europe, just two moths after Yugoslavia capitulated, liberating most of Montenegrin territory, but still unable to regain control of major towns and cities. After the failed attempts to liberate the towns of Pljevlja
Pljevlja
Pljevlja is a town and municipality located in the northern part of Montenegro. The city lies at an altitude of...
and Kolasin
Kolašin
Kolašin , is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 .Kolašin is the centre of the municipality and unofficial centre of Morača region, named after Morača River....
, Italians were reinforced by Germans and all the gained territories were recaptured. At the top of all, disagreement regarding state policy (Centralist monarchy-Federal Socialist republic) eventually led to split between two sides who from then on became the bloodiest enemies. Constantly, both fractions were trying to gain support within population. Chetniks among their members had influent and educated people, such as Blazo Djukanovic, Zaharije Ostojic, Radojica Perisic, Petar Bacovic, Mirko Lalatovic, Bajo Stanisic, the hero of uprising, etc. But eventually they lost the support as did other Chetnik fractions within Yugoslavia. De facto leader of Chetniks in Montenegro, Pavle Djurisic, along with other prominent figures of movement like Dusan Arsovic and Djordjije Lasic, was held responsible for massacres of Muslim population in eastern Bosnia and Sandzak
Sandžak
Sandžak also known as Raška is a historical region lying along the border between Serbia and Montenegro...
during 1944. Their ideology about homogeneous Serbia within Yugoslavia proved to be a major obstacle in recruiting minorities as well as Montenegrins who regarded themselves as nation with its own identity. All this contributed to the fact that some small fractions were negotiating with the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
, and finally in 1943 Yugoslav army in fatherland lost support among the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. The same year Italy who was until then in charge of occupied zone capitulated and was replaced by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and fights continued.
Podgorica
Podgorica
Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...
was liberated by partisans on 19 December 1944. Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's partisans won the war of liberation and acknowledged Montenegro's massive contribution to the war against the Axis powers by establishing it as one of the six republics of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
Montenegro within Socialist Yugoslavia
From 1945 to 1992, Montenegro became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. Montenegro became economically stronger than ever, since it gained help from federal funds as an under-developed Republic, and it became a tourist destination as well. After war years proved turbulent and were marked by political eliminations. Krsto Zrnov Popović
Krsto Žrnov Popovic
Captain Krsto Todorov-Zrnov Popović was one of the leaders of 1919 Christmas Uprising in Montenegro against Serbian dynasty Karađorđević, organized by the greens , followers of dethroned King Nikola and Montenegrin dynasty Petrović-Njegoš...
, the leader of Greens was assassinated in 1947, and 10 years later, in 1957, the last Montenegrin Chetnik Vladimir Šipčić
Vladimir Šipcic
Vladimir "Vlado" Šipčić was a Serbian commandant now primarily remembered as the last remaining Yugoslav Chetnik from World War II...
was also murdered. During this period Montenegrin Communists such as Veljko Vlahović
Veljko Vlahovic
Veljko Vlahović was a Montenegrin member of the Yugoslav Communist Party from 1935. He studied in Belgrade, Prague, and the Sorbonne , and finished his postgraduate studies in Moscow. He fought in the Spanish Civil War and was active in organizing the Communist Youth League of Yugoslavia...
, Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo
Svetozar Vukmanovic-Tempo
Svetozar Vukmanović "Tempo" was a leading Montenegrin communist and member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia...
, Vladimir Popović
Vladimir Popović (1914-1972)
Vladimir Popović also known as Vlado Popović, Diplomat, politician, general, revolutionary, close associate to Josip Broz Tito-Biography:Born 1914 in Gornji Brceli, near Bar, Kingdom of Montenegro.Died 1972 in London, Great Britain.-Life and work:...
and Jovo Kapicić emerged as a important factor in whole Yugoslavia and went on holding major positions in federal government. In 1948 Yugoslavia faced Tito-Stalin split
Tito-Stalin Split
The Tito–Stalin Split was a conflict between the leaders of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Communist Information Bureau in 1948...
and the resolution of Informbiro
Informbiro
Informbiro was a period in the history of Yugoslavia characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union...
. Political turmoils started inside communist party itself as well as between nation itself. Pro-Soviet fractions faced prosecution,charges and imprisonment in various prisons across Yugoslavia, the most notable one being Goli Otok
Goli otok
Goli otok is an island off the northern Adriatic coast, located between Rab's northeastern shore and the mainland, in what is today Croatia's Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. The island is barren and uninhabited...
. Many Montenegrins, due to their traditional allegiance with Russia declared themselves as Soviet-orientated. Political split in communist party saw the downfall of many important communist leaders,the ones from Montenegro including Arso Jovanović
Arso Jovanovic
Arso R. Jovanović was a Yugoslav partisan and the foremost military commander to participate in the People's Liberation Struggle in Yugoslavia .Educated through the Yugoslav Royal Army academies, General Jovanović was one...
, Vlado Dapčević
Vlado Dapcevic
Vladimir "Vlado" Dapčević was a Montenegrin and Yugoslav communist and founder of Party of Labour.-Early life:Dapčević was born 1917 in the village Ljubotinj in Montenegro, he attended Secondary school in Cetinje, where he was expelled because of organizing a student strike.At 16, in 1933, he...
and others. Many of the people imprisoned during this period, regardless of nationality, were innocent and their innocence was later admitted by government. 1954 saw the prominent Yugoslav Montenegrin Communist Milovan Đilas expelled from the party along with Peko Dapčević
Peko Dapcevic
Colonel General Peko Dapčević was a famous Yugoslav communist who fought in the Spanish Civil War, joined the Partisan uprising in Montenegro, and became commander of the Yugoslav 1st and 4th Armies....
. Montenegro was the Yugoslav smallest republic and had the lowest population.
Trough the second half of the 1940s and the whole 1950s, the country was rebuilt. Montenegro's historic capital Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
was replaced by Podgorica
Podgorica
Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...
, which in inter-war period emerged as the biggest city in country, but was in ruins due to hard bombing in the last stages of war. Podgorica had much favorable position and in 1947 the seat of republic was moved to the city, now named Titograd in honor to Marshal Tito. Instead Cetinje received a title of hero city within Yugoslavia. Youth work actions
Youth work actions
Youth work actions were organized voluntary labor activities of young people in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The actions were used to build public infrastructure such as roads, railways, and public buildings, as well as industrial infrastructure...
built a railway between the two biggest cities of Titograd and Nikšić
Nikšić
Nikšić is a city in Montenegro . In 2003 the city had a total population about 75,000.Nikšić is located in Nikšić plain, at the foot of Mount Trebjesa. It is the center of the municipality , which is the largest in Montenegro by area...
, and embankment over Skadar lake linking the capital with the major port of Bar
Bar, Montenegro
Bar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 17,727...
. The port of Bar was also rebuilt after being mined during German retreat in 1944. Other ports include the ones in Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
, Risan
Risan
Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...
and Tivat
Tivat
Tivat is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor...
. In 1947 Jugopetrol Kotor
Jugopetrol Kotor
Jugopetrol AD Kotor is the largest petroleum company in Montenegro.The company was established in Kotor on 12 April 1947 at the early beginnings of oil operations in the former Yugoslavia.The company started its first oil exploration in 1970...
was founded. Electronic company Obod was founded in Cetinje, steel mill and Trebjesa brewery
Trebjesa brewery
Trebjesa Brewery is the only brewery in Montenegro. It is based in Nikšić, and is owned by StarBev. It produces a small range of pale lagers under the "Nik" brand name....
in Nikšić, and finally the crown of Montenegrin industrialization Podgorica Aluminium Plant
Podgorica Aluminium Plant
Podgorica Aluminium Plant is an aluminium processing plant, located on the southern outskirts of Podgorica, Montenegro.-Overview:...
was completed in 1969.
Breakup of Yugoslavia and Bosnian war
The breakup of communist Yugoslavia (1991–1992) and the introduction of a multi-party political system found Montenegro with a young leadership that had risen to office only a few years earlier in the late 1980s.In effect three men ran the republic: Milo Đukanović, Momir Bulatović
Momir Bulatovic
Momir Bulatović , formerly served as a Yugoslavian and Montenegrin politician. Bulatović became federal President of Montenegro while Montenegro was part of a Yugoslav federation, and also Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
and Svetozar Marović
Svetozar Marovic
Svetozar Marović ; born March 31, 1955) is a lawyer and a Montenegrin politician. He was the only president of Serbia and Montenegro...
; all swept into power during the so-called "anti-bureaucratic revolution
Anti-bureaucratic revolution
Anti-bureaucratic revolution as a term, refers to a series of mass protests against governments of Yugoslavian republics and autonomous provinces during 1988 and 1989, which led to resignations of leaderships of Kosovo, Vojvodina and Montenegro, and the capture of power by politicians close to...
"—an administrative coup of sorts within the Yugoslav Communist party, orchestrated by younger party members close to Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
.
All three appeared devout communists on the surface, but they also had sufficient skills and adaptability to understand the dangers of clinging to traditional rigid old-guard tactics in new and changing times. So when the old Yugoslavia effectively ceased to exist and the multi-party political system replaced it, they quickly repackaged the Montenegrin branch of the old Communist party and renamed it the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
(DPS).
Inheriting the entire infrastructure, resources and membership of the old Communist party gave the DPS a sizable head start on their opponents in the newly-formed parties. It allowed them to win the first multi-party parliamentary election held on 9 and 16 December 1990, and presidential elections held on 9 and 23 December 1990. The party has ruled Montenegro (either alone or as a leading member of different ruling coalitions).
During the early-to-mid 1990s Montenegro's leadership gave considerable support to Milošević's war-effort. Montenegrin reservists fought on the Dubrovnik front line, where Prime Minister Milo Đukanović visited them frequently.
In April 1992, following a referendum
Montenegrin independence referendum, 1992
The Montenegrin independence referendum of 1992 was the first independence referendum for Montenegrin independence. 421,549 citizens were registered voters.- Campaign :...
, Montenegro decided to join Serbia in forming the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which officially put the Second Yugoslavia to rest.
During the 1991–1995 Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
and Croatian War, Montenegro participated with its police and military forces in the attacks on Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Bosnian towns along with Serbian troops, aggressive acts aimed at acquiring more territories by force,
characterized by a consistent pattern of gross and systematic violations of
human rights. Montenegrin General Pavle Strugar
Pavle Strugar
Pavle Strugar is a retired Montenegrin general in the Yugoslav People's Army who was found guilty of war crimes for his role in the siege of Dubrovnik....
has since been convicted for his part in the bombing of Dubrovnik.
Bosnian refugees were arrested by Montenegrin police and transported to Serb camps in Foča
Foca
Foča is a town and municipality in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river, in the Foča Region of the Republika Srpska entity.-Early history:...
, where they were subjected to systematic torture and executed.
In May 1992, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
imposed an embargo on FRY: this affected many aspects of life in the country.
Due to its favourable geographical location (access to the Adriatic Sea and a water-link to Albania across Lake Skadar) Montenegro became a hub for smuggling activity. The entire Montenegrin industrial production had stopped, and the republic's main economic activity became the smuggling of user goods - especially those in short supply like petrol and cigarettes, both of which skyrocketed in price. It became a de facto legalized practice and it went on for years. At best, the Montenegrin government turned a blind eye to the illegal activity, but mostly it took an active part in it. Smuggling made millionaires out of all sorts of shady individuals, including senior government officials. Milo Đukanović continues to face actions in various Italian courts over his role in widespread smuggling during the 1990s and in providing safe haven
Safe haven
Safe haven may refer to:* Safe harbor, a harbor or haven which provides safety from weather or attack, or an analogous situation* Safe Havens, a syndicated comic strip drawn by cartoonist Bill Holbrook...
in Montenegro for different Italian Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
figures who also allegedly took part in the smuggling distribution chain.
Recent history (1996 to present)
In 1997 a bitter dispute over presidential election results took place. It ended with Milo Đukanović winning over Momir Bulatović in a second-round run-off plagued with irregularities. Nonetheless, the authorities allowed the results to stand. Former close allies had by this time become bitter foes, which resulted in a near-warlike atmosphere in Montenegro for months during the autumn of 1997. It also split the Democratic Party of Socialists of MontenegroDemocratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
. Bulatović and his followers broke away to form the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
Socialist People's Party of Montenegro
The Socialist People's Party of Montenegro is a socialist opposition political party in Montenegro. It has 16 MPs in the Parliament of Montenegro, which it won on the 2009 parliamentary election...
(SNP), staying loyal to Milošević, whereas Đukanović began to distance himself from Serbia. This distance from the policies of Milošević played a role in sparing Montenegro from the heavy bombing that Serbia endured in the spring of 1999 during the NATO air-campaign
Operation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
.
Đukanović came out a clear winner from this political fight, as he never lost power for even a day. Bulatović, on the other hand, never held office again in Montenegro after 1997 and eventually retired from politics in 2001.
During the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, ethnic Albanians took refuge in Montenegro, but were still under threat by Serbian soldiers, who were able to take refugees back into Serbian controlled areas and imprison them.
In the spring of 1999, at the height of NATO offences, 21 Albanians died in several separate and unexplained incidents in Montenegro, according to the republic’s prosecutor. Another group of around 60 Albanian refugees was fired upon in Kaludjerski Laz by Yugoslav Army members, leading to the death of six people, including a woman aged 80 and a child, killed in crossfire that allegedly came from three machine-gun posts of the then Yugoslav Army.
In all, 23 Albanians were killed in Kaludjerski Laz, and Montenegrin prosecutors have charged 8 soldiers, among which is Predrag Strugar, son of convicted Montenegrin war criminal General Pavle Strugar, with "inhuman treatment against civilians". During the war Montenegro was bombed as part of NATO operations against Yugoslavia,though not as heavily as Serbia.The targets were mostly military ones such as Golubovci Airbase
Podgorica Airbase
The Podgorica Airbase is an active airbase in Montenegro. The airbase facilities are shared with Montenegro's main international airport, Podgorica Airport. It is the main base of the air arm of the Military of Montenegro...
. By some claims the airport was attacked because of operation Yugoslav pilots undertook on 26 April, when they (without knowledge of supreme command) flew over a border into Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
with 4 G-4 Super Galeb
G-4 Super Galeb
The Soko G-4 Super Galeb is a single engine, advanced jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft.-Design and development:First flown on 17 July 1978, with serial production beginning in 1982, the G-4 was designed to replace the G-2 Galeb in the Yugoslav Air Force.-Operational history:The G-4 saw...
s and bombed Rinas Airport which housed 24 AH-64 Apache
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
helicopters and parts of 82nd Airborne Division.They ended up with destroying nine Apaches and damaging the rest while also destroying Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
(KLA) training camps in the vicinity of airport.Eight civilian casualties are reported during the course of the war. During the operation,allegedly 10 aircraft were shot down over Montenegro. The first one was Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
's Tornado IDS,eventually crashed in Skadar Lake, and the second one was Mirage 2000 of French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
, whose pilot catapulted before plane crashed in mountain Rumija
Rumija
Rumija is a mountain in South Montenegro. The highest point of Rumija Mountain is Rumija, which is high.Rumija rises above the town of Bar, and is a natural Dinaric barrier, separating Adriatic Sea from Skadar Lake basin....
.Apparently both planes were shot on 15.04.1999. The rest of them are Unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s (UAV) downed on various locations,including Valdanos
Valdanos
Valdanos is a beach and major olive production region in Ulcinj, Montenegro. Valdanos Bay is one of many beaches in Montenegro's South Coast well-known to Montenegrin's and visitors, which also include the nearby Ulcinj beaches at Velika Plaza, Ada Bojana, and Ladies Beach.Valdanos beach is...
, but the only model that has been identified is IAI RQ-5 Hunter, downed in Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
on 28 May.However, this has never been confirmed.
In 2003, after years of wrangling and outside assistance, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia renamed itself as "Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
" and officially reconstituted itself as a loose union. The State Union had a parliament and an army in common, and for three years (until 2006), neither Serbia nor Montenegro held a referendum on the break-up of the union. However, a referendum was announced in Montenegro to decide the future of the republic. The ballots cast in the controversial 2006 independence referendum
Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006
The Montenegrin independence referendum was a referendum on the independence of the Republic of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro that was held on 21 May 2006.The total turnout of the referendum was 86.5%...
resulted in a 55.5% victory for independence supporters, just above the 55% borderline mark set by the EU. Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006.
In March 2007 Montenegrin officials apologized for involvement in attacks on the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, which caused several hundred civilian deaths and destroyed countless homes, and agreed to pay damages. Some estimates place the value of the damage at around €35 million. So far, Montenegro has paid up only €375,000 as compensation for looting the area's cattle.
See also
- Breakup of Yugoslavia
- Demographic history of MontenegroDemographic History of MontenegroThis article presents the demographic history of Montenegro through census results and official documents which mention demographic composition...
- History of Yugoslavia
- History of the BalkansHistory of the BalkansThe Balkans is an area of southeastern Europe situated at a major crossroads between mainland Europe and the Near East. The distinct identity and fragmentation of the Balkans owes much to its common and often violent history and to its very mountainous geography.-Neolithic:Archaeologists have...
- History of EuropeHistory of EuropeHistory of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
- League of Communists of YugoslaviaLeague of Communists of YugoslaviaLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
- List of rulers of Montenegro
- List of Presidents of Montenegro
- List of Presidents of Yugoslavia
- List of Prime Ministers of Yugoslavia
- MontenegroMontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
- Montenegrins
- Politics of MontenegroPolitics of MontenegroPolitics of Montenegro takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Montenegro is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
- Prime Minister of MontenegroPrime Minister of MontenegroThe Prime Minister of Montenegro , is the head of the Government of Montenegro. The role of the Prime Minister is to direct the work of the Government, and to submit to the Parliament the Government's Program, including a list of proposed ministers...
- SerbsSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
External links
- Serb Land of Montenegro: History of Montenegro as it is - in English and Serbian
- King Nicholas of Montenegro and Essad Pasha of Albania: The Black Mountain Folk vs. the Sons of the Eagle
- The Njegos Network
- Montenegrin Government official History page
- The national Museum of Montenegro
- Jovan Stefanov Balević : Short historic-geographical description of Montenegro from 1757