The Balkans: A History of Bulgaria—Serbia—Greece—Rumania—TurkeyHogarth, D. G. (David George)
History
The Balkans: A History of Bulgaria—Serbia—Greece—Rumania—Turkey
Hogarth, D. G. (David George)
Balkan Peninsula -- History; Eastern question (Balkan)
which supported Vučić and cross the river to Semlin. After a stormy
interval, during which the Emperor Nicholas I tried to intervene in
favour of Michael, Alexander Karagjorgjević, son of Kara-George, was
elected prince (1843). No sooner was this representative of the rival
dynasty installed, however, than rebellions in favour of Michael
occurred. These were thrown into the shade by the events of 1848, In
that memorable year of revolutions the Magyars rose against Austria and
the Serbs in southern Hungary rose against the Magyars. Prince
Alexander resolved to send military help to his oppressed countrymen
north of the Save and Danube, and, though the insurgents were
unsuccessful, Prince Alexander gained in popularity amongst the Serbs
by the line of action he had taken. During the Crimean War, on the
other hand, Serbia remained strictly neutral, to the annoyance of the
Tsar; at the Congress of Paris (1856) the exclusive protectorate of
Russia was replaced by one of all the powers, and Russian influence in
the western Balkans was thereby weakened. Prince Alexander’s prudence,
moreover, cost him his popularity, and in 1858 he in his turn had to
bid farewell to his difficult countrymen.
In December of the same year the veteran Prince Miloš Obrenović I was
recalled to power as hereditary prince. His activities during his
second reign were directed against Turkish influence, which was still
strong, and he made efforts to have the Turkish populations removed
from the eight garrison towns, including Belgrade, where they still
lived in spite of the fact that their emigration had been stipulated
for in 1830. Unfortunately he did not live long enough to carry out his
plans, for he fell ill at Topchider, the summer palace near Belgrade,
in the autumn of 1860, and died a few days afterwards. He was again
succeeded by his son Michael Obrenović III, who was already thirty-six
years of age. This able prince’s second reign was brilliantly
successful, and it was a disaster for which his foolish countrymen had
to pay dearly, when, by their fault, it was prematurely cut short in
1868. His first act was with the consent of a specially summoned
_skupština_ to abolish the law by which he could only appoint and
remove his counsellers with the approval of the Porte. Next he set
about the organization and establishment of a regular army of 30,000
men. In 1862 an anti-Turkish rebellion broke out amongst the Serbs in
Hercegovina (still, with Bosnia, a Turkish province), and the Porte,
accusing Prince Michael of complicity, made warlike preparations
against him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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