Foreign Influences on the Emergence
of the Albanian Republic between
1908 and 1926
The Albanian National Flag
MA Thesis Eastern European Studies
Eastern European Studies
University of Amsterdam
Author: S.A. Logothetis
First Reader: Prof. Dr. Michael Kemper
Second Reader: Dr. Menno Spiering
October 2008
Table of Contents
Preface………………………………………………………………..3
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………..3
Map of Albania………………………………………………….........5
Introduction…………………………………………………………...6
Part I Albania in the nineteenth century…………………………….11
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Social and tribal framework……………………………………………....11
Religions in Albania……………………………………………………...17
Language and education………………………………………………….22
Albanian national awakening: League of Prizren………………………..27
Part II Independence, nation-building and foreign influence….........32
2.1
2.2
2.3
Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and the Young Turks……......32
Independence…………………………….................................................35
Nation-building and foreign influence……………………………..........38
2.3.1 Territorial demarcations……………………………………………...40
2.3.2 Italy, Greece and Serbia………………………………………………45
2.3.3 Opposing parties…………………………………….…………………53
2.3.4 Towards the monarchy………………………………………………..58
III Conclusion………………………………………………………63
Bibliography………………………………………………………. 67
2
Preface
For quite some time now I have wondered why never much attention was paid on
Albania in the news. Last semester, when I was writing a paper on Enver Hoxha
and his regime in Albania, which lasted for forty years, I became truly curious. I
certainly was aware of the existence of Albania, being a neighbouring country of
Greece, which is more than people in general are acquainted with. It struck me that
in an age of European integration Albania was very much neglected in this
discussion. The only moment Albania appeared in the news, was when George W.
Bush paid a visit to the country and allegedly someone out of the crowd had stolen
his watch. Apparently, the American President himself had taken it off beforehand.
The subject of Kosovo has intrigued me as well, knowing that the majority of
Kosovo consists of Kosovar Albanians and how precarious the situation is. Why
Albania has not interfered in the question of Kosovo is something else I would like
to explore, but I’ll save that for another time. After all, I wanted to learn more about
this inconspicuous country, and you are about to read the end result.
Acknowledgements
There are some people I would like to thank for their support while writing this
thesis. First of all, I owe much respect and gratitude to my supervisor, prof.dr.
Michael Kemper. He has been so patient with me from the beginning, when I first
asked him to be my supervisor with a completely different subject. Gradually, the
topic of my thesis went from a vague to a concrete subject, thanks to prof.dr.
Kemper’s efficient, supportive and critical guidance, while always staying positive
and enthusiastic. Further, I would like to thank my dear friends and family, who all
gave me the mental support I needed and kept listening to my stories, especially
Sanne and Marieke, with whom I shared the final road of the thesis process. A big
thank you goes to Niels van Tol, a colleague of my mother at the Peace Palace
3
Library, who turned a blind eye to the extended duration of the lent literature and
did not lose his patience with me. I would also like to express my gratitude for the
support Daan has given me, and providing me with the confidence I needed. And
last, but certainly not least, my parents, Mae Statius Muller and Stelios Logothetis,
to whom I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity they have given me to study,
without ever complaining when I was planning of finishing. I am gratefully
indebted to my mother, who has been so deeply supportive also by doing editorial
work and willing to listen to me, and to my father for our valuable discussions on
the several subjects I had in mind.
So please, read and enjoy, and hopefully you’ll learn just as much I have about
Albania!
4
Map of Albania 20011
1
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/infoCountryPage/setimes/resource_centre/co
untries/albania?country=Albania
5
Introduction
Albania found herself standing on a threshold at the beginning of the twentieth
century. After four-hundred years of occupation by the Ottoman Empire, the Balkan
region was embarking on the adventure of the survival of independence. Albania
was one of the last Balkan regions to achieve the status of independence. However,
the road towards independence was significantly different from that of the other
Balkan states that had been part of the Ottoman Empire. The Albanian notion of
political nationalism introduced itself relatively late compared to Greece, Serbia,
Bulgaria and Romania. The Ottoman Empire still served as the political entity for
the Albanians at the end of the nineteenth century. There was little reason for the
Albanians to cultivate a collective national identity as long as the Ottoman Empire
seemed to be able to uphold its strength. Only when the Empire started to encounter
problems, the fear of domination by the neighbouring countries, such as Greece,
Serbia and Italy, aroused nationalist ideas in Albania. For the forerunners of the
Albanian nationalist movement, it was difficult to find a unifying Albanian identity.
The essentials that constituted a national identification, such as religion and a
common social background were lacking or uncared for in Albanian society. Only
language was a cohesive element, which had not altered through centuries, even
though a single Albanian alphabet did not exist before 1908. In general, the
Albanians, being under Ottoman rule till 1912, did not possess a strong sense of
collective identity.2
Breuilly and Anderson conclude that nationalism is built on a certain sense
of cultural identity, connected to new forms of mass participation in politics due to
changes in communications structures and the convergence of capitalism and print
technology, which can set the stage for a modern nation.3 However, the Albanians,
mostly peasants in the nineteenth century, did not possess such technologies and
were hardly receiving any education of their own language in a time when language
2
Eric J. Hobsbawm, Nations and Nationalism since 1870. Programme, myth, reality (New York
1990) 53.
3
John Breuilly, Nationalism and the State (Manchester 1982) 35 and Benedict Anderson, Imagined
Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London 1991) 46.
6
was becoming more and more a prerequisite for soon to be nations.4 The Albanians
were diverse, religiously and socially. They had a common history and language,
indeed prerequisites for the existence of a nation. However, the Albanians were
very capable of adapting to the circumstances. Isa Blumi calls this the “possibilities
of identity”. He confined this term to the Malessori tribes in the north, but it can be
applicable to all Albanians. Due to their social hybridist and cultural ambiguity, the
Albanian inhabitants were very capable of adapting themselves to the changing
external conditions to ensure their autonomy.5 On the other hand the Albanians did
have a sense of proto-nationalism, basing the Albanian identity on the Illyrian
descent.
Breuilly and Hobsbawm state that nationalism was a political phenomenon.
Hobsbawm goes even further saying that it was an elite-centred one. The Albanian
elite, people who were prosperous in the Ottoman government, was seeking for
political legitimacy for their national aspirations. According to Gellner, who is the
leading theorist on modern nationalism, it is nationalism that invented nations.6 In a
modern nationalist ideology, the nation, as a cultural and historical community, and
the state, as a political confirmation of that community, become fused.7 Therefore,
for the Albanians, it was important to define what the cultural and historical
Albanian community was. The concept of nation is a modern one, constantly and
dynamically under development, according to the modernist approach. “Nations,
like states, are a contingency, not a universal necessity”.8 A nation can change at all
times. However, in order to become a nation, the people must recognize that they
indeed share the same culture, history, language, territory and membership of that
nation. Once the nation is born, building of the state is next.
When the time had come to act independently, the Albanian leaders did not
have the political knowledge to transform the Albanian-inhabited region into a
nation. The feeling of belonging to the same nation was not strong enough to be
4
Anderson, Imagined Communities, 67, 68.
Isa Blumi, “Contesting the Edges of the Ottoman Empire: Rethinking Ethnic and Sectarian
Boundaries in the Malësore, 1878-1912”, in: International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.
35 (Cambridge 2003) 238.
6
Ernest Gellner, Nations and Narionalism (Oxford 1983) 55.
7
Oliver Zimmer, Nationalism in Europe, 1890-1940 (New York 2003) 9, 10, 13.
8
Gellner, Nations and Nationalism, 6.
5
7
able to create the sense of a common citizenship for the creation of a nation. The
neighbouring countries and the Great Powers were aware of that. They have tried to
influence the creation of the Albanian nation, each according to their own
preferences. The different geo-political interests of the Great Powers and the
neighbouring states affected the existing Albanian social and tribal structures and
the Albanian political aspirations regarding the building of the new Albanian nation.
Hence, the main hypothesis of this thesis will be: Foreign influences have
inhibited the republican development of Albania.
The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part will provide the reader
with information about Albania in the nineteenth century. How the region, still part
of the Ottoman Empire, was divided religiously and socially and how the Albanian
language played an essential role. It is very important to identify the differences,
because they played a role in the Albanian nation-building. The difference between
north and south Albania was an obstacle for defining Albania. Education was an
important issue for the Albanians, because the Ottoman Turks had forbidden
teaching of the Albanian language for a very long time. In the last paragraph the
national movement will be discussed in the light of the League of Prizren, which is
a marking point for the road to Albanian independence. The second part will
chronologically treat the issue of the Albanian independence, the building of the
nation and the foreign influences. As a chronological framework for this thesis, I
have chosen for the years 1908 to 1926. 1908 is the year that the Young Turks made
their move against the Ottoman Sultan and the year of the adoption of a common
Albanian alphabet, which was a milestone for the Albanian collective identity.
Furthermore, I will discuss the Conference of Ambassadors, the Paris Peace
Conference, Italy, Greece and Serbia, which I consider to have been the most
important decision-makers on the creation of Albania. I end the second part at the
year 1926, which corresponds with the beginning of the monarchy of King Zog I.
The Kingdom of Zog I lasted untill the Second World War. Although Albania
officially became a monarchy in 1928, the year 1926 also meant that the only
meaningful foreign influence that was left in Albania was Italy. Albania became a
Kingdom financially supported by Italy. After the Second World War, Albania fell
8
into an isolationist period under communist rule for forty years with the same
communist ruler, Enver Hoxha. In the conclusion I will come back to the hypothesis,
providing the reader with an argumentation.
There are quite some experts on Albanian history. I will not discuss all
authors I have consulted, only the most important ones. One of them is Stavro
Skendi, who just recently past away. He was born in Albania, but moved to the
United States in the 1950’s. He was professor emeritus of Balkan languages and
cultures at the Columbia University. Ph. D. Professor Bernd J. Fischer at Indiana
University is another scholar who has studied the Albanian and Balkan history. He
was nominated for an honorary doctorate at the University of Tirana. They are both
specialized in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century Albania, especially in the
political evolution. They both agree that Albania needed strong and capable
decision makers on the eve of Albanian independence. Fischer has described Zogu
as a man who was able to do that, but they both agree that Albania needed foreign
help in any case. Especially to protect Albania from partition, a possible scenario in
Albanian history that is recognised by most scholars. Miranda Vickers, a British
academic who has written books on the history of Albania and Kosovo, explores the
road to independence of Albania and how that has affected the outcome for
successful nation-building. None of them really make a value judgement regarding
decisions made by foreign powers on Albania, but the foreign interventions are
given a substantial role in their works. They stress that Albania needed the foreign
assistance. However, knowledge of the Albanian diversity on both sides was
negligible, which caused wrongful decision-making in their opinion.
Wadham Peacock, the British Consul General in North Albania at the
beginning of the twentieth century, wrote in 1914 that Albania would have a hard
time establishing its independence after the Balkan Wars, because it was
surrounded by Serbs and Greeks. However, he claims that Albania might have a
chance as a successful nation-state, but stresses the importance of an alliance with
Greece.9 A noteworthy opinion, because the Greek government did not support the
idea of an independent Albania including the territory they claimed as theirs. Edith
9
Unknown writer, “Albania”, in: The New York Times, Nov. 8 (1914).
9
Durham was a British traveller who became famous for her anthropological reports
on the Albanian people and their lives. She supported the independence and unity of
Albania; in due course she developed an aversion towards the Serbs, regarding them
as the enemy of Albanian unity. Joseph Swire was a British journalist reporting
from Albania in the 1920’s. He has made substantial contributions writing about the
history of Albania and the rise of the kingdom. They all agree on the fact that an
independent Albania was a necessary step for development on the Balkans after the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire. However, as contemporaries, they seem to see
Albania as the underdog of the Balkans, as the victim of hostile neighbours and
geopolitical interests which did not correspond with the interests of the Albanian
leaders.
10
Part I Albania in the 19th century
§1.1 Social and tribal framework
One can say that the geographical situation of Albania has helped to shape the
historical path that the country has followed. It has a very mountainous region in the
north where life is relatively more difficult than in the south, where the soil of the
plains is considerably more fertile and easier to cultivate. The census in 1930
counted 1.003.000 inhabitants in total. Tirana, the capital, was the largest town and
had a population of 30.806 people.10 As will be explained in the next paragraph, the
Albanian people were divided by religion. The majority of the population consisted
of Muslims since the 17th century, when many conversions had taken place.11
Throughout the reign of the Ottoman Turks in Albania from 1385 to 1912,
the Albanians who converted to the Islamic faith had good opportunities to climb in
the Ottoman governmental hierarchy. The Islamic religion they followed made
influential positions possible for them.12 As such, these Albanians enjoyed a
favoured position in the Sublime Porte (the Ottoman government). Ismail Kemal
Vlorë (1844-1919)13, on whom I will elaborate in the next chapter, was an example
of a successful Albanian in the Ottoman government. Therefore not all Albanians
were as committed as others to the prospect of autonomy or even independence at
the end of the nineteenth century. Without Ottoman authority they would lose their
important positions.
It is important to know that the northern inhabitants of Albania, the Ghegs,
lived in tribal structures.14 Tribal relations have been based on a Kanun, the Code of
Leke Dukagjini. The Kanun, which is the codification of the customary laws, is
10
Stavro Skendi (ed), Albania, (London 1957) 51,53.
Skendi, Albania, 286.
12
I must assume that the Ottomans favoured the Sunni Muslims, being of the Sunni branch
themselves and because the relationship with the Bektashi were quite strained back then. It is not
mentioned in the literature what kind of Muslims was admitted in those positions, except for Ger
Duijzings in “Religion and the Politics of ‘Albanianism’ ”, 61 in: Schwandner-Sievers and Fischer
(eds), Albanian Identities. Myth and History (London 2002). Duijzings writes that the Orthodox
Sunni Muslims were being defined as ‘Turks’. He doesn’t say however by whom they were defined
as such.
13
It was a habit of Albanians to use the town’s name as their name.
14
Edith Durham, Some Tribal Origins. Laws and Customs of the Balkans (London 1928) 15.
11
11
probably named after Prince Leke, who as a chieftain of the family ruled an area
from Lezhe in the northwest of Albania to Prizren in the northeast until the
Ottomans occupied Shkodër, north of Lezhe, in 1479. The identity of Prince Leke is
not certain though, because there were several Albanians with that name at that time.
His descendants belonged to the Mirditë clan who still called themselves
Dukagjini.15 Even while most of the tribes were Catholic, the Kanun was given far
more importance by the tribesmen than the Ten Commandments of the Catholic
Church. In the end, the Kanun always had the last word.16 The most important
element of the Code is the besa, meaning promise, word of honour, faith, trust and
loyalty. The tribal structure could survive because vital importance was attributed to
the meaning of the word besa.17 It represented the morals and customs which were
essential to Albanian tribal society.
The structure of the different tribes was quite simply organized. The
Albanian tribe was called a fis. A fis descends mostly from one male ancestor,
occasionally from several male ancestors. One did not intermarry within a fis. The
law of exogamy was always strictly observed. The elderly were expected to know
the bloodline by heart in order not to mix the blood. A fis usually consisted of
several groups, called bairaks. Each bairak had its own chieftain, a bairaktar. The
function of a bairaktar is a hereditary one.18 Furthermore, each bairak had several
houses, shtepi, with its own zoti i shtepi, “god of the house”, in other words the
head of the house. They were the oldest members of a household and were seen as
the most wise and understanding authorities. The zoti i shtepi or kryeplak were
controlled by the pleq, the village elders, who had the main responsibility over the
administration and justice within a village. Nothing could be done or changed
without their consent.19
15
Edith Durham, “High Albania and Its Customs in 1908” in: The Journal of the Royal
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 40 (Jul-Dec 1910) 464,465.
16
Bernd J. Fischer, “Albanian Highland Tribal Society and Family Structure in the Process of
Twentieth Century Transformation”, in: East European Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3 (1999)282.
17
Brandon Doll, “The Relationship between the Clan System and Other Institutions in Northern
Albania”, in: Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2 (London 2003) 151.
18
Durham, Some Tribal Origins, 15,16.
19
Doll, “The Relationship between the Clan System”, 151.
12
According to the findings of Miss Edith Durham five groups of tribes could
be distinguished. The best known were the Maltsi e madhe group in the upper north
(meaning Great Mountains), the Pukë group, regarded as the oldest group, but this
is not certain, and the Mirditë group. The name Mirditë is relatively new from the
mid-seventeenth century. Before that period the tribe was probably known as
Dukagjini, the descendants of Leke Dukagjini to whom the Code is attributed.
These tribes were mostly Catholic. Moreover, there were four other groups which
were entirely Muslim, and lived near the Serbian frontier.20
Another important factor in the tribal communities was the blood feud
(hakmarrje), which was connected to besa. Honour was a crucial element for the
cohesive structure within the tribes. When this honour was violated or disgraced,
the violator was to be punished. The matter of honour-restatement was solved by
the blood-feud. It can be seen as a part of customary law, applied by each tribe in
the same manner functioning as social control. Honour was easily compromised
though. It was actually considered more important than liberty or even life, and
suitable punishments were made up by a council. Killing the perpetrator, who had
murdered intentionally or accidentally, was not an uncommon verdict.21 Ahmet
Zogu was to be involved in a blood-feud as well.22 It shows that this tribal
customary law was of great importance that even superseded one’s title and/or
function.
20
Durham, Some Tribal Origins, 18-32.
Fischer, “Albanian Highland Tribal Society”, 283.
22
In 1922 Zog had put up a military court to punish thirty-two rebellious tribal leaders, which
brought many blood feuds on his head as a consequence. Bernd J. Fischer, “King Zog, Albania’s
Interwar Dictator”, in : Bernd J. Fischer (ed), Balkan Strongmen (London 2007) 27.
21
13
Figure 1 The northern tribes
23
23
Franz Seiner, “Ergebnisse der Volkszählung in Albanien in dem von den österr.-ungar.Truppen
1916-1918 besetzten Gebiete”, in: Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Schriften der
Balkankommission, Ser.2, 13 (Vienna 1922), cited in: http://www-gewi.uni-graz.at/seiner/tribes.html
14
The mountain tribal communities clashed with the new authority that had
invaded their territory, the Ottomans. The Ottomans had their own laws to impose,
with the intention to supersede the tribal customary laws and norms. This had
marked an initial encounter between the traditional clan-system and foreign rule.
The centre of Ottoman rule was the timar; it was a system based on the principle of
lending land to civil or military officials who were loyal to the Sultan. In return they
were given responsibilities such as collecting taxes and providing troops when
needed. These people were called sipahis or local leaders. They were not
necessarily Albanians, but Ottomans, sent by the Sultan. However, not all of these
sipahis fulfilled their obligations according to Ottoman rule. Some aligned
themselves with the local chieftains and became pasha’s, local governors. The
central authority of the Porte was thus undermined by the practices of the sipahis
and pasha’s.24 Because of the fierce resistance of the northern mountain tribes to
Ottoman control, the Ottoman government had exempted the northern area from the
timar-system. The tribal communities were free to live by their own laws.25 The
timar-system eventually broke down in the 1830’s.
The Ottomans had a classic concept of order. The following summary by
Rifaat Abou-el-Haj (1991) gives a concise impression of what that concept of order
was:
“The proper order of the world is predicated upon all knowing their place and
function and remaining in it, exhibiting no further ambition or aspiration of social
mobility.”26
That is exactly what the mountain tribes did not desire, social mobility, although for
others it was possible. The Ottomans understood this, which is why they probably
decided to leave the tribal system intact. However, the Ottoman government had its
emphasis laid on the obedience of the ruled subject and nominally speaking, the
24
Stefanaq Pollo and Arben Puto, The History of Albania. From Its Origins to the Present Day
(London 1981) 104.
25
Doll, 153.
26
Rifaat Abou-el-Haj, Formation of the Modern State: The Ottoman Empire 16th to 18th Centuries
(New York 1991) 32, cited in: Maurus Reinkowski, “The State’s Security and the Subject’s
Prosperity: Notions of Order in Ottoman Bureaucratic Correspondence (19th Century)”, in: Hakan T.
Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski (eds), Legitimizing the Order. The Ottoman Rhetoric of State
Power (Leiden 2005) 202.
15
northern Albanians were the ruled subject.27 In the case of the Mirditë clan the
Ottomans had made a principle of cooptation, signified by an istimalet, which is a
strategy of reconciliation in newly conquered territories. They were exempted from
tax payments and were granted a high degree of autonomy. In return they had to
render military service and engage in military campaigns only within Albanian
territory. The degree of obedience was not satisfactory in the eyes of the Ottomans
by the mid-nineteenth century. It was the time of the Tanzimat28 reforms and the
rebelliousness of the Mirditës contravened with the newly established policies of
the Tanzimat. The Ottoman government was now following a policy designed for
more centralization of authority. The centralization efforts were not in accordance
with the tribal way of local self-governance. From 1865 onwards autonomous
regions were not longer accepted by the Ottomans, and the tolerance by the ruler for
the ruled came to an end.29
The southern and central Albanians had to abide by the Ottoman rule more
than their northern compatriots. The territory was easily accessible to the Ottomans,
and tribal customs were more or less absent. They were mostly peasants working
for rich Muslim landowners. One can easily say that it is all due to the inaccessible
villages and mountainous districts that the northern Albanians did not have much
affinity with the national movement at first, because as a result the attitude of the
tribes-people was different as well. In the north the Albanian national cause still had
to compete with the tribal local self-governance. The wish for national union was
initially confined to the southern regions of Albania. In central and southern
Albania the national cause was stronger at the end of the nineteenth century,
meaning that nationalists such as the Frashëri brothers, Faik Konitza and Ismail
Kemal30, all of them Muslims, advocated a complete union with all Albanians.
27
Reinkowski, “The State’s Security”, 200.
The Tanzimat-reforms will be discussed in paragraph 2.1.
29
Reinkowksi, 200, 207, 208.
30
The Frashëri brothers were Abdul, Naim and Sami from Frashër. They all lived from midnineteenth century till beginning 20th century. Abdul and Sami were the political thinkers while
Naim was known as the poet of the national Albanian movement. Faik Konitza (1875-1942) was a
national leader who lived in London. Ismail Kemal (1844-1919) was an important liberal political
figure in the Ottoman Empire who advocated the Albanian question abroad. See reference in Stavro
Skendi, The Albanian National Awakening 1878-1912 (New Jersey 1967) 165-189.
28
16
Albanian Muslims and Orthodox Christians seem to have been more educated as
they attended Turkish- and Greek-speaking schools. The Greek Patriarchate of
Istanbul made possible for the Orthodox to attend Greek schools, but with the aim
of raising Greek national sentiments among the Orthodox Albanians. The Muslim
Albanians in central and south Albania had been given the opportunity by the
Ottomans to rise in governmental positions. They formed the Albanian elite
together with the Muslim and Orthodox feudal landowners, called the beys, and
notables in central and southern Albania. Social and economic disunity was caused
by three conflicting communities; the mountain clans in the north, the feudal beys
in the south, and the more educated and urbanized but generally unarmed
population of the Hellenic and Catholic peripheries.31 However in 1930, 90% of the
whole Albanian population was peasant. 14,5% of the population of 1.003.000 lived
in towns and communities of more than 5.000 inhabitants. The majority’s
subsistence was agriculture.32
§1.2 Religions in Albania
There were three main confessions that were prevalent in Albania in Ottoman times.
Albania has subsequently been part of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire
and last but not least, the Ottoman Empire before achieving the independent status.
The three religions were Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Islam. The Islamic faith had
two branches in Albania; the Bektashi and the Sunni.33
In 1945 according to the official newspaper Bashkimi, the Albanian
population consisted of 70,2 % Muslims, 19,7 % Orthodox and 10,1 % Catholics. In
1942 the total population was 1.128.143.34 The Catholic Albanians lived in the
northern regions of Albania, which were mountainous and very difficult to reach.
31
Fischer, “King Zog, Albania’s Interwar Dictator” 20, 21.
Skendi, Albania, 54.
33
One can also claim that there are only two religions in Albania; Christianity and Islam.
Catholicism and Orthodoxy are both Christian faiths, while at the same time Bektashi and Sunni
have the same origin as well. However, regarding the Albanian situation it is important to make the
difference between the various beliefs.
34
Skendi, Albania, 57, 58.
32
17
The northern inhabitants kept very much to themselves, not only because of their
geographical isolation, but also because of the tribal structure. The Orthodox
Albanians lived mainly in the south, in the districts of Gjirokastër, Korça, Berat and
Vlorë, which makes sense because of the proximity of Greece, predominantly a
Greek orthodox country. The Muslims were spread all over Albania, mostly
concentrated in the centre. Some of the northern tribes were Muslim as well.35
Christianity had been introduced in Albania in the first centuries during the
Roman Empire (27 B.C. - 395 A.D.). The Roman Empire was divided in 395 A.D.
into East and West. Albania became politically part of the Eastern Empire, although
ecclesiastically it remained dependent on Rome. A definite schism took place
between the empires in 1054 and that was the moment when Albania became a
religiously divided country. The division into Catholicism and Orthodoxy was the
result of the struggle between the Eastern and Western Roman Empire.36 The
northern part of Albania had come under the jurisdiction of Rome, where the
Roman Catholic religion was supreme. Christian Orthodoxy was the path the
Byzantine Empire had followed. Owing to the vicinity of southern Albania to
Greece, therefore to the Byzantine Empire, Greek orthodoxy had a strong influence
since then in the southern region of Albania, which the Greeks call northern
Epirus.37
The Islamic faith had introduced itself with the arrival of the Turks in 1385,
when Albania first was invaded by the Ottoman troops. The Ottoman economicpolitical policy towards the inhabitants of the countries they had invaded was
defined on religious grounds, not on ethnicity. Two institutions were distinctive of
the Ottoman rule; the millet-system and the state law, also called the Kanun or
customary law, not to be mistaken for the Albanian tribal Kanun. A millet was a
self-governing religious community, led by its own religious leader within the
Ottoman Empire. The subjects of the Ottoman Empire were divided according to
the millet-system. There were three different millets where one could be placed in,
35
Skendi, Albania, 57.
Skendi, Albania, 285.
37
Skendi, Albania, 5
36
18
the Jewish, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian Catholic.38 The Roman Catholic
tribes were not included in the millet-system as the tribes were allowed autonomy.
The Muslims did not have their own millet, because Islam was the principal faith of
the Ottoman Empire, therefore a separate millet was not needed. The Christians,
just as the Jews, had to pay taxes to their governors, the bureaucrats who served the
Ottoman government. The Albanians who had converted to the Islamic faith were
exempt from these taxes. They had to fulfil compulsory military service instead.
Most of the conversions had taken place between the 16th and 18th century.39 In
general, Balkan identities coincide with their religion. Serbian orthodoxy, just as
Greek orthodoxy and Bulgarian orthodoxy have played a part in forming the
national identity. It is different with Albanians though.40 Ismail Kemal remarks in
his memoirs that the Albanian is the exception to the rule that religion constitutes
nationality in the Balkans. He says even though the Albanians are all respective of
their religion, they make no distinction among themselves because of their faith.41
He made this remark in the early twentieth century, but he was speaking in general
in his comment on the Albanians. Kemal was advocating ultimate independence for
Albania. With that statement he wanted to induce national unity. Albert Doja says
the following on this in relation to the Albanians:
“Being Muslim or Christian is based on the particular family, kinship or social
group, which by tradition relates to ‘religious’ belonging or adherence. It is not
based solely on belief or religious conviction: rather it is grounded in the social
structure. Religion is conformity, which spreads throughout a community.”42
Here he is referring to the conversion among Albanians under Ottoman rule in
general. Doja claims that it is not of special interest what kind of faith an Albanian
seems to believe in, but what kind of use it is to him. Converting to Islam had more
advantages for an Albanian. Exemptions from tax-payments and especially access
38
David Waines, An Introduction to Islam (Cambrdige 2003) 187.
Albert Doja, “Politics of Religion in the Reconstruction. The Albanian Situation”, in: Critique of
Anthropology Vol. 20:4 (London 2000) 421.
40
Doja, “Politics of Religion”, 429.
41
Ismail Kemal Bey, The Memoirs of Ismail Kemal Bey (London 1920) 362.
42
Doja, 422.
39
19
to the bureaucratic circles of the Ottoman government, which usually meant
prosperity for those who obtained such functions, were one of the most important
‘rewards’.
The northern tribes were a special case in the matter of compulsory services.
The different tribes that lived there had their own traditions and customs before the
Catholic and Islamic religion introduced itself. The northern clans had their own set
of rules, the Code of Leke Dukagjini, which could differ from the rules of their
religion. That is where ‘popular religion’ comes into the picture. According to
studies in the socio-anthropological field this is a ‘lived’ religion. A ‘lived’ religion
can be different from the official religion, the last one imposed by the religious
authorities. It often occurred that where the religious authorities imposed their
practices rather strongly, the cultural exchange with the new religion created
symbiotic phenomena in combination with the older traditions. After a while it was
difficult to discern the official religion from the popular religion.43 The official
religion was the one that provided the official status, like being a Catholic, living in
an Albanian tribal community. The popular religion could be seen as the actual
practised belief in private spheres, like the laws and superstitions of the tribes,
which did not always coincide with the official religion.
The Muslims were divided in two groups as well; the Bektashi and the
Sunni Muslims. The Sunni Muslims lived mostly in central Albania while the
Bektashis lived in the southern areas. The presence of the Sunni Muslims can be
explained by the rule of the Ottoman Empire in Albania, because the Ottoman
Empire was a Sunni Islamic empire. The Sunni Muslims became the majority in
Islamic culture after the conflict within the whole Muslim community, called the
ummah, in the mid-seventh century A.D, (mid-first century in the Islamic calendar)
which divided the Muslims into Sunni and Shi`a Muslims.44
The Bektashi order has its origins in the Sufi movements of Islam that have
developed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the Middle East and Anatolia.
Bektashism has incorporated some elements of popular beliefs and from shamanism
43
44
Doja, 424.
Waines, Introduction to Islam, 46.
20
to make the faith more appealing to the lower classes in Anatolia. Bektashism can
be seen as a syncretistic religion, having extracted several elements of ancient, preIslamic and Islamic beliefs. The Bektashi doctrines are characterized since the
sixteenth century by a Shiite and pantheistic character. As such, they combined the
devotion to the divinity of Ali45 with beliefs in anthropomorphism, the
manifestation of God in human form. It was seen as a mystical form of Islam, with
cabbalistic doctrines of letter and number symbolism. Bektashism was a heterodox
and mystic kind of Islam that created the opposing stance against the Ottoman-led
Sunni monotheist Islam. The deification of Ali in the eyes of the Sunni was heretic;
Ali was human, and humans cannot be deified. They were very loosely organised,
with their tekkes, places of worship, usually situated outside Albanian towns, where
control was hardly present.46
Bektashis had a special relationship with the Janissaries, the elite troops of
the Ottoman Sultan, and thus enjoyed a certain political importance in the Ottoman
government. However, the Janissaries were disbanded and eliminated in 1826 and
the Bektashis lost their influence as a consequence. In fact, they were in danger of
becoming suppressed and the Bektashi order even abolished which ultimately
happened when the Turkish republic was officially established in 1925.47 In 1923 a
Congress in Tirana with representatives of the Albanian Islam was held. The aim
was to consider reforms, because the Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire had been its
supreme authority, but was now defunct. The Albanian Sunni Muslim community
broke with the Caliphate and became an independent institution, applauded by the
Albanian government, because it showed allegiance to the Albania, cutting the
strings with Istanbul.48
The Bektashi order played an important role in the Albanian national
movement. The tekke served as places for secret meetings or hiding places for the
45
Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophet, whom the Shiite believe to be the
true successor of Muhammad.
46
Albert Doja, “A Political History of Bektashism in Albania”, in: Totalitarian Movements and
Political Religions Vol. 7, No. 1 (Limerick 2006) 85, 95, 102.
47
Doja, “A Political History of Bektashism in Albania”, 85, 86.
48
Owen Pearson, Albania and King Zog. Independence, Republic and Monarchy 1908-1939
( London 2004) 205.
21
resistance movement against the Young Turks49. The tekkes were usually located in
isolated places, outside towns, which made it possible for them to convene.50 Naim
Frashëri (1846-1900) who was known as the poet of the Albanian national
movement made a contribution by writing a small manifestation of sixteen pages on
Bektashism, published in 1896 in Bucharest. In Fletore e Bektashinjet (The Small
Book of Bektashis) he formulated the principles and rules of engagement of
Bektashism, but he also introduced a nationalist element into it. He writes that the
Bektashis must love above all else the Fatherland and its patriots, because that is the
best ‘well-doing’. In due course, the “clergy” of the Bektashi order adopted the line
of conduct drawn up by Naim Frashëri.51
§1.3 Language and education
The language issue, which was so important for the Albanian nationalists as the
binding element, was very closely connected to the educational issue in Albania.
All the nationalities that had been part of the Ottoman Empire were allowed to have
their own schools, except for the Albanians. The teaching of their mother tongue
was forbidden.52 The Patriarchate of Istanbul, the spiritual leader of the Greek
Orthodox community in the Ottoman Empire, had agreed with this policy of the
Ottoman Sultan. The Patriarchate wanted to prevent the southern Albanians of
having the right to teach their own language. He was afraid that the Orthodox
Albanians would want to have their own church and that he would lose the
influence the Greeks had in the neighbouring part of Albania. Greek schools were
permitted by the Porte. The following numbers show how big the Greek influence
was in southern Albania. The statistics are measured in the vilayet of Jannina,
which had a large Orthodox population; in 1882 the Orthodox community was
composed of 532.000 persons, with 23.368 students in 665 Greek schools. In
49
The Young Turks will be discussed in the second chapter.
Nathalie Clayer, “Bektachisme et Nationalisme Albanais”, in: Nathalie Clayer (ed), Religion et
Nation Chez les Albanais XIXe-XXe Siècles (Istanbul 1995) 116.
51
Clayer, “Bektachisme et Nationalisme Albanais”, 118, 119.
52
Skendi. Albanian National Awakening, 90.
50
22
comparison, the Muslim community consisted of 104.239 people and only 559 of
them were students. Muslim girls did not attend the Ottoman Turkish schools. The
difference in the amount of students lies in the reason that the Ottoman government
maintained a policy of separation. The Porte wanted to prevent feelings of national
unity among the Muslim and Christian Albanians. The Sultan was particularly
opposed against a nationalist movement among the Muslim population, which
would especially undermine the Islamic authority. Together with the Patriarchate it
was made possible that the Muslims were thus disadvantaged and the Ottoman
government managed to create division in the community.53
The Society for the Development of the Albanian language, founded in 1879
in Istanbul, survived the abolishment of the League of Prizren54 in 1881. The
Society was part of a broader Albanian cultural movement that had started in
Istanbul.55 The Albanian language had always been very important to the Albanians
which was the only common element that had kept the Albanians together as a
distinct people. The objective of the Society was to publish educational books in the
Albanian language. Albanian schools were set up in countries such as Italy,
Romania, Bulgaria, Egypt and the United States, where many Albanians lived. In
Albania proper at the end of the nineteenth century no more than two schools
existed where writing in Albanian was permitted. They were both Catholic schools
in the vilayet of Shkodër.56 These schools were supported by Austria-Hungary
supposedly to raise the Albanian national consciousness as a counterbalance to the
Slavic states, such as Serbia. The support was known as the Austrian policy of
Kultusprotektorat.57 The Kultusprotektorat was a policy which had been permitted
by the Sublime Porte in the seventeenth century. It meant that the dual monarchy
was authorized to protect the Catholic population in the Balkans, consequently the
Catholics in the northern Albania as well. The Austrian main goal was not so much
to encourage Albanian nationalism but to preserve the Catholic belief, and to gain
53
Skendi, Albanian National Awakening, 132, 133.
The League of Prizren will be discussed in the next paragraph.
55
Skendi, Albania, 73.
56
Pollo and Puto, The History of Albania, 115.
57
Stavro Skendi, “Language as a Factor of National Identity in the Balkans of the Nineteenth
Century”, in: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 119, No. 2 (1975) 188 and
Pollo and Puto, The History of Albania, 112.
54
23
control over the Balkan country.58 In 1887 the first national Albanian school in
Korça opened its doors, which was attended by both Muslim and Christian pupils.
Many towns followed this example. However, the schools in Albania proper were
closed by the Porte within a couple of years.59 In 1908 the Albanian schools
experienced an upsurge, but again the Porte after two years decided to close them
down, alarmed by the rapid success of the Albanian national movement.60 The
tekkes of the Bektashis served as a network of underground alternatives or ‘parallel
schools’ at times when the Albanian schools were forbidden by the Sultan. This was
in the period from 1878 till 1912. Journals and books were clandestinely published
and distributed by and through the tekkes, not only in Albania, but in foreign places
too, such as in Cairo, Egypt.61
The Albanian colonies in Romania, Bulgaria, Egypt and the United States
paid contribution to the national movement. The creation of these Albanian
societies abroad was accompanied by the publication and distribution of books and
journals in the Albanian language and smuggled into Albania. The funds consisted
of donations from various sources. They made printed press possible in Albanian,
while printing in Albanian was forbidden in Albania proper. The first Albanian
society was established in 1880 in Bucharest, a branch of the Society of Istanbul,
which started to release a cultural review, called Drita (Light). Supposedly it was
edited by an Orthodox writer, but the real editor was Naim Frashëri, who was a
Bektashi. The fact that a Muslim was writing about Albanian nationalistic themes
meant that he made no distinction between Albanian religions, thus embracing all
Albanians as one people.62 The oldest Albanian newspaper, Shqiptari (The
Albanian), was founded in Romania in 1888. The question of the Albanian alphabet
was one of the subjects in the Shqipëria (Albania), founded in Brussels and later in
London in 1897 by Faik Konitza. Shqipëria was probably the most influential one.
It lasted until 1909, which was a record in time for Albania. In general the
58
Edith Durham, Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle (London 1920) 101 and Robert Elsie, “The
Scutarine Catholic Contribution to the Development of Nineteenth-Century Albanian Literature”, in:
Albanian Catholic Bulletin, Vol. 12 (San Francisco 1991) 91.
59
Pollo and Puto, 132.
60
Skendi, Albania, 269, 270 and Durham, Twenty Years, 102.
61
Clayer, 108.
62
Constantine A. Chekrezi, Albania Past and Present (New York 1919) 215.
24
newspapers and periodicals discussed matters of Albanian nationality, with subjects
like a common Albanian alphabet, the independence of Albania and how they were
to be achieved. By 1908 thirty Albanian newspapers and journals were being
printed abroad.63
A key figure in the Albanian national education was Sami Frashëri (18501904), with Naim and Abdul one of the three Frashëri brothers, who all played an
important role in the Albanian national cause. He was a Bektashi Muslim, a writer
and philosopher. The first school book was the “Spelling Book” under the auspices
of amongst others Sami Frashëri in 1879, based on a Latin script in combination
with some Greek characters, later known as the Istanbul alphabet. He had written
the book “General History” of Albania, but his most famous book was “Albania,
Her Past, Her Present, Her Future”. This book was seen as the Bible for the
Albanian patriots. He had also founded and headed the Society for the Publication
of Albanian Writings in 1879. Sami and his brother Naim had put together schooland textbooks by means of the Society. His brother Naim was a well known poet,
who wrote many patriotic poems, which actually encouraged Albanians to stand up
against the Ottomans.64 By contrast, Sami had always advocated cultural diversity
and tolerance within the Ottoman Empire. Besides attributing with his work to
Albanian national consciousness, he contributed to Ottoman Turkish nationalism as
well. It seems contradictory, but it mirrors the multi-faceted society of different
identities within the Ottoman Empire.65
The cultivation of the Albanian language was seen as an ingredient for the
Albanian people to band together, to overcome their religious and cultural
differences in order to achieve unity. A common alphabet did not exist yet at the
beginning of the twentieth century. The Austrians and Italians had allowed the
printing of school books in the Albanian language, but various alphabets were used
63
Skendi, Albanian National Awakening, 145-147, 151-153, 157 and Miranda Vickers, The
Albanians. A Modern History (New York 1999) 45.
64
Chekrezi, 214, 215.
65
George W. Gawrych, “Tolerant Dimensions of Cultural Pluralism in the Ottoman Empire: The
Albanian Community, 1800-1912”, in: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4
(Cambridge 1983) 523, 524.
25
and they were not hesitant in changing it frequently.66 Albanian intellectuals had not
come to an agreement yet which alphabet to use, the Greek, Turkish67 or Latin.
Furthermore, the Albanian language is characterised by two main dialects. The
dialects were divided in to the northern one, the Gheg, and the southern, the Tosk.
The Ghegs and Tosks are considered by some scholars as the two Albanian ethnic
groups. However, the main difference between the Ghegs and Tosks is a linguistic
one.
With the Constitution of the Young Turks the idea of liberty gave a reason
to the Albanians to finally decide on one common Albanian alphabet. Between 14
and 22 November 1908, representatives from all over Albania convened at Monastir
(now Bitola in FYROM) to settle the issue of the Albanian alphabet. Although there
were different preferences, the main idea of all present was to achieve a unified
outcome. Three main alphabets existed, namely the Istanbul, the Bashkimi (Latin
characters) and the Agimi. The names corresponded with the literary societies who
were using them. There were three options; one of the abovementioned alphabets
was to be chosen, a mixture of the three or a new one to be made.68 It was decided
that a new alphabet was to be created in Latin characters, which was almost
identical with the Bashkimi alphabet, incorporating the Istanbul alphabet. Various
attempts were made by the Young Turks to rule out the Latin alphabet completely
to foster dissension between the Muslims and the Christians, thus preventing
unifying nationalist sentiments.69
Another congress on Albanian education was arranged in Elbasan on
September 2, 1909 by patriots with 35 delegates from central and southern Albania.
Northern delegates did not participate due to confusion with the invitations. There it
was finally decided that the Latin alphabet of the Elbasan dialect was to be used
from now on. Both Ghegs and Tosks were able to understand the Elbasan dialect.70
By choosing the Latin orthography, the Albanians had significantly broken with the
66
Durham, Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle, 197.
Turkish was generally at that time still written in Arabic characters. Mustafa Kemal, Atatürk,
changed it into Latin characters in 1928.
68
Skendi, Albanian National Awakening, 371-373.
69
Skendi, Albanian National Awakening, 377, 378.
70
Idem, 380-382.
67
26
Turks, while the Turks had been using Arabic characters.71 The Bektashis agreed to
the new Latin alphabet because they were driven by their nationalist attitude against
the Young Turks.72 It was also believed by the representatives that the creation of a
single alphabet might serve as a way to unify all Albanians, whether Muslim or
Christian, Gheg or Tosk and to raise the awareness of a common heritage.73
§ 1.4 Albanian national awakening: League of Prizren
In the nineteenth century several Balkan nation-states were newly created. These
new countries had been part of the Ottoman Empire, which started to fall apart after
five centuries. Greece was the first one to fight for its independence from the Turks
between 1821 till 1829. Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Montenegro followed the
Greek example, pursuing the same self-governance after centuries of Ottoman rule.
To succeed in consolidating the independence, national homogenisation was
deemed necessary. A common identity for each of the Balkan nation-states was
needed to gain a national feeling. The common elements were usually to be found
in religion, culture and language.74 Albania was the very last Balkan nation-state to
be formed in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Albania had been a very isolated country within the Ottoman Empire. The
people who travelled extensively in that region, especially in the north in the
nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century such as Miss Edith Durham,
found the land quite rough and difficult to travel through, although not impossible.75
The Ottomans had had a hard time penetrating the mountainous country. Internal
division was a contributing factor to the seclusion as well. The country was divided
into four administratively vilayets, Jannina, Shkodër, Kosovo and Monastir (see
figure 2), by the Ottoman government, which were de facto autonomous units.76
71
Durham, Twenty Years, 197.
Clayer, “Bektachisme et Nationalisme Albanais”, 118, 119.
73
Vickers, The Albanians, 55 and Brandon Doll, “The Clan System in Northern Albania”, 149.
74
Piro Misha, “Invention of a Nationalism: Myth and Amnesia”, in: Stephanie Scwandner-Sievers
and Bernd J. Fischer (eds), Albanian Identities. Myth and History (London 2002) 33, 34.
75
Edith Durham, “High Albania and Its Customs in 1908”, in: The Journal of the Royal
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 40 (1910) 453.
76
Chekrezi, Albania, Past and Present, 68.
72
27
That meant that each vilayet had its own local laws. Albania thus lacked an
administrative, economic and/or cultural centre which could have brought about a
more cohesive national sentiment at an earlier stage.77 It was hard to define who
exactly was considered an Albanian, because of the different religions, habits,
customs and education.
Figure 2. The four administrative vilayets of Albania78
77
78
Misha, “Invention of a Nationalism”, 36, 37.
http://www.frosina.org/uploads/images/VILAYET.GIF
28
The Albanian nationalist feelings had been awoken in the nineteenth century,
just as in the other Balkan countries, although Albania had more trouble
transforming their nationalist wishes into reality. The national movements in the
Balkans had been a phenomenon of the elite, ideas brought home by people who
had been educated in western countries. These intellectuals, like the Frashëri
brothers and Faik Konitza, were inspired by the French Revolution and in the
Albanian case also by the Italian unification struggle which lasted from 1815 till
1871.79 The Russo-Turkish war had ended in 1878 and the treaty of San Stefano on
March 3, 1878 stated that the Ottoman Empire had to recognize the independence
of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania and the autonomy of Bulgaria. However, large
pieces of territory of the north and north-eastern part of Albania had been accorded
to the new Balkan states of Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro. It was difficult to
establish what territory Albania exactly consisted of. That is why language was
such an important criterion. It was clear where Albanian was spoken and thus
possible to establish a frontier based on those areas. A linguistic frontier was
recognized in 1877, which supports the evidence that the Albanians were a distinct
people, despite the different religions they shared with their neighbours.80
The inhabitants of the annexed parts of Albania were not pleased with the
treaty of San Stefano. Over 300 representatives of the northeast and eastern part of
Albania had swiftly organized themselves before the Congress of Berlin would
meet in June 1878. From the south only two delegates were present, due to lack of
time. They came out of solidarity with their northern compatriots, although southern
Albania was not annexed. One of them was Abdul Frashëri (1839-1894). On June
10, 1878, these Albanian representatives met in Prizren, in the vilayet of Kosovo,
not yet part of Serbia. Most of these delegates were landowners, Muslim clergymen
and chieftains from the north and north-eastern parts of the Albanian-inhabited land
that had been ceded to Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. Abdul Frashëri was the
president of a secret committee called “The Central Committee for the Defence of
79
Thoma Murzaku, “Albanian Issue Viewed in the Frame of General Problems of the Balkans”, in:
Stefano Bianchini and Marco Dogo (eds), The Balkans. National Identities in a Historical
Perspective (Ravenna 1998) 96.
80
Stavro Skendi, The Albanian National Awakening, 31, 32 and Vickers, 30.
29
the Rights of the Albanian Nationality”. That committee was raised in Istanbul by
both Muslim and Christian Albanians right after the treaty of San Stefano and had
been kept secret to avoid disturbance by the Ottoman government.81 In Prizren it
was decided to create an organization for the defence of the rights of the Albanian
people, resembling the secret committee, the headquarters being in Prizren. It is
better known as the League of Prizren. The League had now taken a first step to
build unity between the Albanian people from the north and the south.82 “As we are
not and don’t want to be Turks, so we will oppose with all our might any one who
would like to make us Slavs, or Austrians or Greeks. We want to be Albanians”.
This statement was brought forward in a memorandum from Shkodër in name of all
Albanians addressed to the Congress of Berlin on June 18, 1878.83 The two main
goals of the League had been to regain the territory that had been annexed by word
of the San Stefano treaty and the introduction of a single administrative autonomous
state.84
The San Stefano treaty was overruled by the Congress of Berlin shortly after.
The Great Powers refused to accept the conditions of the treaty because of the
increased influence Russia would have had in the Balkans. The borders of Bulgaria
and Serbia were pushed back in favour of Albania, although Montenegro gained
some territory from Albania.85 The League had demanded complete autonomy of
Albania from the Ottoman Empire, but not complete independence. It knew that it
would be best for the Albanian people to remain part of the empire and thus to have
enough time to collect themselves and be prepared when the time came to complete
their independence. The League expressed their five principal goals in a petition
directed to the Austro-Hungarian embassy in Istanbul:
•
Unification of all Albanian provinces into a single vilayet to bear the name
“Albania”
•
Setting up of a national assembly to govern the vilayet
•
All the officials of the vilayet should be able to speak Albanian
81
Skendi, The Albanian National Awakening, 36.
Vickers, The Albanians, 32.
83
Skendi, Albanian National Awakening, 45.
84
Skendi, National Awakening, 91.
85
Idem, 49.
82
30
•
Teaching should be in Albanian
•
A part of the income of the vilayet should be used for public spending
Austria-Hungary supported the Albanian League. The support would be useful
as a plausible cause to interfere with the Ottoman Empire. The Porte did not regard
these demands urgent enough to act upon them immediately. However, the League
of Prizren was becoming too threatening in their resistance towards the Sultan. The
attention of foreign powers had been drawn to the Albanian League. The Albanians
were making themselves heard and creating conditions for foreign intervention.
Greece had already set up troops in southern Albania for the purpose of annexing
the whole region of Epirus, which the Greek government considered to belong to
Greece. The Porte feared that the Albanians would come to an understanding with
the Greek government without accordance of the Sultan.86 Eventually the Ottoman
government succeeded in abolishing the League in 1881 by arresting its members
and imprisoning or exiling them to Rhodes. However, the ideals and programme of
the League continued to influence Albanian intellectuals for the next couple of
decades.87 The national spirit had been awoken, which the Sultan was not able to
wipe out. In fact, the League of Prizren had set the groundwork for the progress of
the Albanian national movement.88
86
Skendi, National Awakening, 102.
Vickers, 34-42 and Skendi, Albania, 9.
88
Christopher Psilos, “Albanian Nationalism and Unionist Ottomanization, 1908 to 1912”, in:
Mediterranean Quarterly 17:3 (2006) 27.
87
31
Part II Independence, Nation-Building and Foreign Interference
§2.1 The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and the Young Turks
The Ottoman Empire was about to experience considerable difficulties in the
nineteenth century. Nationalist independence movements were rising throughout the
Empire’s Balkan subjects. The Empire was tormented with incessant series of
uprisings. The Great Powers were not absent either in these nationalist movements,
trying to manipulate the outcomes for their own benefit.89 The nationalist idea was
at first confined to the educated class, inspired by the nationalist movements in
Western Europe. It was decided by the Ottoman sultan that the Empire must be
reformed, the Tanzimat-era (Reform) had commenced in 1839. The inspiration for
the reforms came from the Europeanized Ottoman bureaucrats. The reforms were
made in the fields of education and the military. The millet-system was changed as
well. Religious affiliation was replaced with the idea of the secular identity. This
meant that all the individuals living within the Ottoman domains should share a
common citizenship regardless of their religion.90 However, Sultan Abdul Hamid II
(r.1876-1909) reversed the Tanzimat-reforms with a new Constitution in which he
laid more emphasis on the Islamic heritage of the Ottoman Empire. The milletsystem was not reinstituted in the Constitution. Islam was the official religion of the
Empire, but at the same time the Empire protected the free exercise of other
recognized religions as well.91
A liberal opposition against Sultan Abdul Hamid II had been formed after
the reversal of the Tanzimat. This opposition was a coalition of various groups of
people, known as the Young Turks, who wanted to reform the Ottoman monarchy
under Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The Young Turks were a mixture of three groups: a
coalition of discontented army officers, civil servants and students and an exile
community.92 In 1906 the Committee of Union and Progress was established in
89
William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East (Oxford 2004) 75.
Cleveland, History of the Modern Middle East, 82, 83.
91
“The Ottoman Constitution, Promulgated the 7th Zilbridje, 1293 (11/23 December 1876)”, in: The
American Journal of International Law, Vol. 2, No. 4, Supplement: Official Documents (Oct 1908)
368.
92
Cleveland, 134.
90
32
Salonika (now Thessaloniki in north-eastern Greece). It became a political
umbrella-organization where most of the Young Turks assembled. The Committee
of Union and Progress was not only restricted to the Young Turks. Several nonTurkish nationalities that were living in the Ottoman Empire joined the Committee,
such as Albanian representatives. The aim of the Young Turks to overthrow the
Sultan and reinstitute the 1876 constitution appealed very much to the Albanian
leaders.93 They saw it as an opportunity to achieve recognition for the rights of the
Albanian people and its nation and to prevent its partition.94
A considerable number of Albanians held high positions in the Ottoman
administration. More than thirty Albanians had been an Ottoman Grand Vizier95
throughout Ottoman rule. Ismail Kemal was such a highly placed Albanian official
in the Ottoman administration. It is important to notice that the Albanian
nationalists did not wish for complete independence at this stage. The idea was to
accomplish administrative autonomy first, to gain time to prepare for independence
and at the same time enjoying the protection of the Ottoman Empire against the
hostile neighbors. Time was the essence for preparation for independence. Kemal
believed that to achieve administrative autonomy, full cooperation between all the
oppressed nationalities in the Empire, including the Turks, was needed. He believed
this could be accomplished with the Young Turks. The Young Turks on the other
hand did not share these ideas with Kemal; they believed in centralization.96
On the 23rd of July 1908 the Young Turks successfully staged a coup against
the Sultan in Monastir (now Bitola in FYROM), which the local Albanians had
supported. The next day the constitution was proclaimed. Monastir had served as
the headquarters of several Albanian clubs, such as Bashkimi (Union). Schools in
the Albanian language were immediately opened, patriotic clubs were formed and
newspapers were being printed by those clubs for the first time in Albania. The
Young Turks had promised the Albanians among other things religious freedom,
freedom of education, and freedom of speech and press. Not all Albanians were
93
Christophoros Psilos, “Albanian Nationalism and Unionist Ottomanization 1908-1912”, 28.
Pollo and Puto, The History of Albania, 137.
95
A Grand Vizier is the greatest minister of the Ottoman Sultan and only accountable to the Sultan.
96
Pollo and Puto, 137.
94
33
equally pleased with the arrival of the Young Turks. Some tribes were distrustful,
such as the Mirditë-tribe, which was expecting their hereditary chieftain, Prenk Bib
Doda Pasha from exile.97
The joy of the Albanian people about the coup however was not long-lasting.
Soon it became clear that the Young Turks had no intention to grant the Albanians
the rights they wished for. The policy of Ottomanisation was what the Young Turks
had in mind. Centralization of power was the key-word for the Young Turks. All
subjects living within the Ottoman Empire were to be seen as Ottoman citizens
from now on, all ‘equal before the law’, and obedient only to the Porte.98 This
meant that the Albanians were denied their national rights. The schools, newspapers,
and nationalist clubs were closed down in 1908. During this period many rebellions
broke out among the Albanians, especially among the mountain-tribes who were
ordered to disarm by the Young Turks. Carrying arms had been an essential way of
living for the mountain clans. A ceasefire was announced by the Young Turks, upon
which the Albanians had responded with the Gerchë-memorandum, demanding
administrative autonomy, which was partially accepted.99
The cultural movement had been developing at the same time as the national
movement. Albanian national clubs, established for humanitarian and educational
goals, had been created in the most important towns, such as Monastir, Salonika
and Istanbul in 1908. The press was very active at that time and very closely
connected to the clubs. For instance the newspaper Bashkimi i Kombit (Union of the
Nation) was issued in Monastir. In Istanbul the newspapers Besa (Albanian Word of
Honour) and later Shqiptari (Albanian) were published. The names of the
newspapers revealed the subjects and the nationalist thoughts. The three clubs
mentioned played a crucial role for the Albanian national movement, especially the
club in Monastir. Secret committees were formed too. They were secret, because
the Turks had intervened many times and thus prevented the formation of “open”
clubs.100
97
Pearson, Albania and King Zog, 2.
Pollo and Puto, 138.
99
Pollo and Puto, 141,142.
100
Skendi, National Awakening, 346-352.
98
34
§2.2 Independence
By the beginning of the year 1912 the Young Turk regime was under great pressure.
Failure of the military expedition against Italy in Libya showed their weakness in
the international arena. Albania was in a state of rebellion since 1910. The Young
Turk regime was actively trying to subdue these insurrections by sending troops,
especially to the vilayet of Kosovo. Greece, Serbia101, Bulgaria and Montenegro
had seized the opportunity to send troops to Albania as well, now that the region
was so unstable. A league had been arranged between the several Balkan states,
known as the Balkan League. Serbia had taken the leading role by first concluding a
secret defensive and military alliance with Bulgaria in the spring of 1912. Greece
followed by signing a similar agreement with Bulgaria in May and Montenegro
closed the sequence by joining the league. A network of coalitions had arisen; all
designed to weaken Turkey and thus initiating the ensuing Balkan Wars.
Although it may seem that the Balkan League was a coherent formation,
each Balkan country had its own agenda and this usually was an irredentist102 one.
The First Balkan War, from October 1912 to May 1913, had been a success for the
Balkan League. Serbia and Montenegro occupied the north of Albania and Greek
troops were placed in southern Albania, expecting to annex the whole of Epirus.
Macedonia was overrun by the Balkan allies as well. The War against the Ottomans
was concluded by the Treaty of London on the 17th of May 1913. Not everyone was
pleased with the result. Bulgaria felt disadvantaged with the outcome of the Treaty
of London. Bulgaria did not get Salonika, which Greece did. Macedonia was
occupied as well by the Balkan allies, but no decision was reached on that matter in
the Treaty. Bulgaria did get the region of Thrace though. Serbia, Montenegro and
Greece were obliged by the Treaty of London to withdraw their troops from
Albania.
101
Before the First World War, Serbia was known as the Kingdom of Serbia, after WWI Serbia
united with Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia, and became the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. I will refer only to Serbia, being the key-player in this
field.
102
Irredentism comes from the Latin words terra irredenta, meaning unredeemed land. For example,
Greece claiming northern Epirus which is in southern Albania, but it’s not part of the Greek nationstate, although the Greeks claim that historically it should be.
35
While the First Balkan war was going on, Albanian patriots realized that
now was the time to come into action to prevent the partition of Albanian-populated
territory by its Balkan neighbors. Ismail Kemal, a Muslim from southern Albania,
educated in a Greek school and in the University of Athens, had returned from
Vienna for diplomatic matters in November 1912 and traveled to Vlorë, Albania’s
port-city. He was accompanied by 27 delegates from Kosovo and central Albania.
On the 28th of November 1912 after the outbreak of the first Balkan War, Ismail
Kemal proclaimed the independence of Albania in Vlorë at the first national
assembly attended by 83 delegates from all the Albanian vilayets. A provisional
government was elected at the assembly. Ismail Kemal was to be the president. The
cabinet consisted of five Muslims, three Orthodox and two Catholics,
corresponding with the division of the religions in Albania. A Senate of eighteen
members had been formed and a National Militia. The national flag was the same as
at the time of Scanderbeg103, the red and black double-eagle symbol. Kemal had one
dominant thought; to organize Albania, what was left of it, and to prove to the
European foreign powers that they could govern themselves independently.104
The Second Balkan War commenced in June 1913. Bulgaria had not gained
the territory in Macedonia and decided to attack Serbia and Greece to achieve this
goal. Romania joined in as an ally of the Ottoman Empire. The outcome of the
Second Balkan War was settled in the Treaty of Bucharest by the delegates of
Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Romania in August 1913. The territory
that Bulgaria had gained in the First Balkan War was now lost, save for western
Thrace. Serbia gained the vilayet of Kosovo and northern parts of Macedonia.
Greece gained the southern part of Macedonia and annexed the southern part of
Epirus; the northern part remained Albanian territory. Albania as a newborn nation
began its new status with territories lost to their hostile neighbors. Serbia,
Montenegro and Greece continued their occupation and even more so after the
103
George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1466) is known as the Albanian patriot, who fought against
the Ottoman Turks, and seen as the national hero of the Albanians. Ismail Kemal Bey, The Memoirs
of Ismail Kemal Bey (London 1920) 361.
104
Kemal, The Memoirs, 373.
36
proclamation of the Albanian independence. North and central Albania was in
Serbian hands, while southern Albania was largely occupied by Greek troops.105
Albania was a divided country and not only religiously. After the
installment of the Provisional Government presided by Ismail Kemal, Essad Pasha
Toptani (1863-1920), of the powerful Muslim Toptani family from Tirana, created
his own state in central Albania, thus rejecting the government of Kemal. Essad
Pasha even proclaimed himself King of the Albanians in April 1913. In July of the
same year he entered Kemal’s Cabinet as Minister of Interior. Several months later
he left the government to install his own government in Durrës, with himself as
President.106 Throughout World War I Albania remained a fragmented country.
Political dissension was not uncommon and there was no cohesive opposition to be
found. The northern tribes kept to themselves, preferring local self-governance as
they had for centuries. The country was left to the power of the local chieftains to
be ruled in a state of semi-anarchy and occupied by the Allied Armies and Central
Powers during the First World War. However, for the first time Albanians had
complete freedom in learning to read and write in the Albania language.107
Serbian, Montenegrin and Bulgarian troops were all pushing into Albania,
each one of them attempting to conquer a piece of Albania. The southern
inhabitants, being close to Greece, had to endure attacks from the Greek nationalists
who were claiming the whole region of Epirus. The Italian government had not
been quiet either. The seizing of the island of Sazan was their responsibility, just as
the take-over of the port of Vlorë.108 Many Albanians emigrated to other countries,
especially to the United States, fleeing from their situation.
105
Pearson, 33, 34.
Pearson, 48.
107
Skendi, Albania, 93.
108
Vickers, 86-90.
106
37
§2.3 Nation-building and Foreign Interference
The Conference of Ambassadors of the Great Powers109 was for the first time
convened in London in December 17, 1912 with the purpose to discuss certain
Balkan issues. The Albanian situation was one of them. Three issues stood on the
agenda regarding the Albanian matter:
•
the international status of Albania;
•
the organization of a new Albanian state;
•
The establishment of internationally acceptable frontiers.110
The only actual supporter of Albania’s independence was Austria-Hungary and
Italy to a somewhat lesser extent. The reason why Austria-Hungary supported
Albania was the presence of hostile powers near Albania such as Serbia. The
creation of an independent state would provide for a counterweight against Serbia.
The Austrians knew that the creation of an independent Albania seemed to be the
safest and most effective way of cutting Serbia off from the Adriatic Sea and
prevent it from expanding westwards.111 For Italy it was sufficient that Albania
would remain under nominal Ottoman suzerainty, preventing foreign influences
from Serbia, Greece and Austria-Hungary.112 But Albania was in great danger of
being absorbed by its neighbours. On the map illustrated in figure 3, one can see
that the neighbouring countries, especially, Serbia, Greece and for a smaller part
Bulgaria, were aspiring to so much territory that, if they would possess it all,
Albania would not exist any longer.
109
The Great Powers consisted of the United Kingdom, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Germany
and Russia
110
Vickers, 70.
111
Basil Kondis, Greece and Albania 1908-1914 (Thessaloniki 1976) 86 and Vickers, 70.
112
Stavro Skendi, “Political Evolution in Albania, 1912-1944”, in: Mid-European Studies Center,
No. 19 (New York 1954) 1.
38
Figure 3 Aspirations of the neighbouring Balkan states around 1914.113
The Conference ultimately agreed upon Albania as an independent state
under the guarantee of the Great Powers and with a sovereign prince appointed by
the Great Powers, to appease Austria-Hungary. The agreement was established in
the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913. For Ismail Kemal the recognition of
Albania’s independency by the Conference of Ambassadors was important. Greece
and Serbia had shown their desires to expand their territories, which included
annexing Albanian-populated land, each for their own reasons. Serbia wanted
access to the Adriatic Sea and Greece claimed southern Albania because the region
was considered Greek-populated.
In November 1913 the only prince ever to govern Albania arrived, Wilhelm
von Wied (1876-1945), who was selected by the Great Powers. He was from
Bavarian descent, a nationality related to several royal houses in Europe. Von Wied
113
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Report of the International Commission To Inquire
into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars (Washington 1914) 38.
39
was accompanied by two Dutch army officers, General Willem de Veer and
Colonel Lodewijk Thomson. They were in charge of organizing an Albanian
gendarmerie. One of their assignments was to clear southern Albania of Greek
irregular bands. Besides the Greek rebels, Albanian rebels along with Italians
hindered the task of the Dutch-led troops. Eventually, Colonel Thomson was killed
by an Italian sniper. The Italian government wanted to have the military control in
Albania, trying to find an excuse to intervene.114 The financial and civil
administration of Albania was to be controlled by an international commission
composed of delegates of each of the Great Powers and one delegate from
Albania.115 The three issues that were mentioned on page 38 seemed to have been
all dealt with. The foundations of the Albanian State were set up, now it was time to
implement them.
The Prince of Wied however was of not much use. He never even set foot
out of Dürres, where he was settled. Little knowledge did he have of Albania and
politics. He even appointed Essad in Kemal’s government as Minister of Interior.
Soon supporters of both Kemal and Essad started taking advantage of the
situation.116 After six months the Prince of Wied had to leave Albania. He never
formally abdicated. Moreover, the First World War disturbed the development of
the new nation-state in the Balkans even further.
§2.3.1 Territorial demarcations
Although the Treaty of Bucharest had established Albania’s independency, Kosovo
and western Macedonia, where Albanians were living as well, were designated to
the Balkan allies. The Conference explained the decision that Albania had to give
up territory in the general interest of Europe.117 The Treaty of Bucharest had
114
Gorrit T.A. Goslinga, The Dutch in Albania. A history of the first Albanian gendarmerie
organized and directed by Dutch officers 1913-’14 (Rome 1972) 55,56.
115
Bledar Islami, British Diplomacy and the Making of Albania, 1912-1914 (Tirana 2003) 58 and
Kondis, 107.
116
Vickers, 82, 83.
117
Kemal, Memoirs, 377.
40
prevented a total partition of Albania. But half of the Albanian population suddenly
found itself on the other side of the borders, living in a different country. According
to Thoma Murzaku, a territory of 55,000 square kilometres was reduced to half the
size, 28,000 square kilometres with a population of 800.000. It literally left out half
the Albanian population.118 In a speech made by Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign
Secretary of the United Kingdom, to the House of Commons on 12 August 1913 it
became clear that the solution of the problem of boundaries of Albania was only to
appease the Great Powers. “If one knew the country, one could raise questions to
whether it was the right decision.” Sir Grey meant that the drawn boundaries were
much disputed and asked himself if the right decisions were made on this. Indeed,
Albania was a highly complicated region to set up boundaries around. Due to
historical developments, the country was not homogeneous enough to be able to
decide where the line should be drawn.119
The formation of the state of Albania did not only depend on how it was
formed politically, but also on the territorial demarcation. In the words of Wadham
Peacock, “the future of the Albanian state depended on the skill with which its
boundaries are drawn”.120 Boundaries were based on political decisions, especially
when boundary commissions were set up by international legal bodies, such as the
League of Nations. From the time Albania had pursued independence since 1912,
Albania had seen four boundary commissions. The Conference of Ambassadors was
attempted to settle the issue of the borders of Albania to prevent an escalation of
territorial conflict. The members of the Balkan League had the desire to annex
certain parts of Albania. In 1913 two separate boundary commissions were installed,
one for the southern frontiers with Greece and a northern one, for the frontiers with
Serbia. Each commission was represented by a delegate of each Great Power.
Initially, the criteria were based on ethnographic, in this case linguistic boundaries.
It was considered an impartial criterion, because Albanian was recognized as a
118
Thoma Murzaku, “Albanian Issue”, 92.
Vickers, 70.
120
J.S. Barnes, “The Future of the Albanian State”, in: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 52, No. 1
(1918) 13. See reference there by Peacock. It does not mention the page number in the article by
Barnes, but the quotation is from the book Albania, The Foundling State of Europe (London 1914)
by Wadham Peacock.
119
41
distinct language. The problem was that Albanians spoke more languages besides
their own, such as Turkish and Greek. To draw an objective line was very difficult.
Moreover, the collected ethnographic information ran soon out of date. The
population during that period was changing rather quickly.121
Besides the ethno-linguistic criterion, foreign political objectives were not
being left out of consideration, perhaps even considered more than the official
objective. Before the First World War, the demarcations of Albania were of
importance for Italy and Austria-Hungary. The Austrians did not want Serbia to
gain territory in order to keep Serbian nationalism subdued. Two million Serbs were
living in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the dual monarchy did not want to risk
the empire to fall apart. Italy wanted control over the Adriatic Sea. The members of
the Balkan League were by that time already occupying territory of Albania. Not to
stir up the precarious situation in the Balkans, the boundary commissions felt they
could not deny all these acquired parts of Albanian land to them. By ignoring the
large Albanian population who separated of the new Albanian state, it was obvious
according to Peacock, that the Great Powers did not have strong wishes for Albania
to succeed as a new state.122 Geo-political concerns became more important than the
size of Albania.
In their effort the Commission was troubled by Greek propaganda for the
sake of the Greek cause in southern Albania by impeding people to speak Albanian.
Albania could retain the provinces of Korça and Gjirokastër. Greece, as expected,
did not agree, and kept trying to annex these provinces.123 The criteria used for the
Florence Protocol were exactly the problem of Albania and the question of the
Albanian nationality. Some Orthodox Albanians preferred to be under Greek rule,
because they shared the same religion with the Greeks. However, most Muslim and
Catholic Albanians chose their own concept of nationality: the common
121
Nicolas C. Guy, “Linguistic Boundaries and Geopolitical Interests: the Albanian Boundary
Commissions, 1878-1926”, in: Journal of Historical Geography No. 34 (Leeds 2008) 451, 456.
122
Peacock, Albania, 222.
123
Joseph Swire, Albania. The Rise of a Kingdom (London 1929) 170-172.
42
language.124 The First World War broke out, five out of six Great Powers were at
war; the commissions had to cease their work.125
The next two boundary commissions were set up from 1922 to 1926. The
decisions made within these boundary commissions had consequences which were
long-lasting. The southern boundaries remained as decided in the Protocol of
Florence. As a result, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and western Macedonia were
separated from their country, living outside the borders of what from then on was to
be Albania. The tribal communities in northern Albania were disrupted in their
daily lives as well. Some of the territories where they were established were on the
other side of the border which was not easy to cross.
124
125
Kondis, 110.
Guy, “Linguistic Boundaries and Geopolitical Interests”, 463.
43
Figure 4 An interpretation of the political and ethnic boundaries of Albania.126
126
Guy, “Linguistic Boundaries and Geopolitical Interests”, 468.
44
§2.3.2 Italy, Greece and Serbia
A Peace Conference was set up after the First World War in Paris. Albania’s
position was not solid during the peace-talks. The country was still occupied by the
Allied Powers, Italy and France.127 Italy had in 1917 taken the responsibility to
protect a future independent Albania. The Italian government had declared the
following on 3 June 1917: “the unity and independence of all Albania under the
aegis and protection of the Kingdom of Italy”. An instalment of a provisional
government was therefore a logical step in the process of rebuilding an Albanian
State. However, Italy was reluctant in cooperating with the Albanian politicians for
the instalment.128
After the First World War, many attempts were made in Albania to form a
stable government. The cabinets followed each other up rather swiftly in the first
decade. After the Prince of Wied’s departure in 1914, the first attempt for the
formation of an Albanian government was on December 25, 1918 in Durrës. Fortyeight Albanian delegates convened, who represented all regions of Albania, except
the north and south-east, which were under occupation by Serbian and French
troops and Vlorë, which was under control of Italy. Turhan Pasha Përmeti (d.18391927) was elected Prime Minister, with Prenk Bib Doda, the leader of the Catholic
northern tribes, as his Vice-Premier. The new government had little or no real
power. The Italians controlled the flow of information, thus isolating the new
government. And Essad Pasha still considered himself as the President of the
Albanian Government, accusing Turhan Pasha’s government of being controlled by
Italy.129
The Paris Peace Conference had assured Albania’s independence and a
National Congress of 56 delegates met yet again, this time in Lushnjë, in central
Albania, on January 21, 1920. Ahmet Zogu (d.1895-1961) was one of the delegates
and leader of the northern muslim Mati-tribe. The Lushnjë Constitution emerged
from the Congress. A High Council of State was formed, which was composed of
four regents, each representing the religious components of Albania, a Sunni, a
127
Islami, British Diplomacy, 4.
Skendi, “Political Evolution”, 4.
129
Pearson, 117.
128
45
Bektashi, a Catholic and an Orthodox regent. A Cabinet was appointed and a Senate
with parliamentary powers was elected, to check on the actions of the regency. The
new government was installed in Tirana, which became the new capital and headed
by Suleyman Delvina (1884-1933). Ahmet Zogu became the Minister of Interior.
The government was determined to fight against foreign domination. The Albanian
government wanted to expel all the foreign troops, French, Greek, Italian and
Serbian, which were still on Albanian soil. The elimination of foreign influence in
Albania was one of the primary tasks. But the Italian determination to hold Vlorë
was quite persistent.130 The Delvina-government was unconnected to Essad Pasha,
who wrongly presented himself as the only legal representative of Albania at the
Paris Peace Conference.131 The Durrës-government under Turhan Pasha was
dissolved by the new Delvina-government.132
Italy has been a major player in the Albanian affairs before and after the
First World War. The country had been struggling with the unification in the 1860’s
which had not yet been successfully realized in the early 1900’s. There was a large
difference between the prosperous industrialized north and the poor agrarian south.
The economy had not yet been growing at the desirable speed.133 Italy had joined
the Triple Entente (France, Britain and Russia) in 1915. It had seemed the best
strategy to acquire the Albanian territory. Sonnino, the Italian minister of Foreign
Affairs during and after the war, believed that Italy had to secure the national
frontiers to realise a lasting peace in the region. The acquirement of territory along
the other side of the Adriatic, that is parts of Albania, had looked like a safe
bulwark for hostile countries such as Croatia and Slovenia who had fought on the
side of Austria-Hungary. Italy had held on to the secret Treaty of London that had
been arranged in 1915, in which Italy was promised large amounts of territory by
the United Kingdom and France. To Britain and France however, the treaty wasn’t
applicable anymore now that the First World War had come to an end. Efforts were
130
Pearson, 143.
Pearson, 137-139.
132
Skendi, Albania, 93, 94.
133
Margaret MacMillan, Peacemakers, Six Months that Changed the World (London 2003) 289.
131
46
made to persuade Italy to relinquish the Treaty of London, something which Italy
was reluctant to do.134
The reason why Italy wanted pieces of Albania is quite clear. Possessing the
port of Vlorë in the south, would mean that Italy would have control over the
Adriatic Sea, along with the other ports Italy was claiming, such as Fiume in
Istria.135 Serbia would have virtually no access to the Adriatic Sea, precisely the
intention of Italy. Italy had pulled its troops out of Albania, after an ultimatum sent
by the Delvina government in Albania on June 3, 1920. The Italian troops had been
attacked by approximately 3000 peasants, who had been encouraged to do so
because of the disdainful attitude of the Italians towards the ultimatum. The Italians
then felt the urge to sign an agreement of withdrawal on September 3 1920, except
from the island of Sazan.136 This act of departure eased the relationship
considerably between Serbia and Italy.137 On November 9, 1921, the Conference of
Ambassadors finally reached a decision regarding the borders of Albania. None of
the states involved was satisfied. Albania was placed under Italian tutelage, because
of the ‘special interest’ Italy had in the country. The Great Powers recognised the
fact that if there were to be any threat to the independence of Albania, it would
threaten Italy’s strategic security as well. Therefore, whenever Albania felt
threatened in her territorial integrity, the Albanian government was entitled to
request the League of Nations for assistance. When the League of Nations thought
assistance was justified, the restoration of the security would be entrusted to
Italy.138
Besides the Delvina ultimatum that was given to Italy and the peasants’
resistance to the Italian troops in Vlorë, Italy had to deal with domestic problems as
well. The fact that Italian troops had withdrawn gave the Albanians a boost of selfconfidence.139 Albania in those years suffered under severe political instability. The
tribal way of local self-governance which still was an integral part of Albanian daily
134
MacMillan, Peacemakers, 293.
MacMillan, 300.
136
Vickers, 95.
137
MacMillan, 313.
138
Pearson, 176.
139
Anton Logoreci, The Albanians. Europe’s forgotten survivals (London 1977) 52.
135
47
life in the north, did not contribute to a general national awareness.140 Right after
the First World War, the authority of the government covered only central Albania.
The southern orthodox Albanians who did not want to become part of Greece had
expected much more of the Albanian independence. The same feeling was shared
by the northern Catholic tribes. National taxes were implemented, which never had
been accepted by the northern people before.
The main problem between Albania and Greece was always the conflicting
opinions of the definition of nationality regarding the territory of Epirus (see figure
5). The people living in southern Albania were considered Greek by the Greek
government, because according to the Greek government they shared the same
religion, Greek-Orthodox. In Greek perspective Albanian Orthodoxy did not exist
as such. Moreover, the southern Albanians could speak Greek, due to the Greek
schools in the region. The problem of demarcation mentioned here is one of the
major consequences of the system of the Ottoman Empire. The millet-system
constructed by the Ottoman Empire was based on religion. The Ottoman Turks
defined the several minorities living in their Empire according to their religion. The
Orthodox Christians were all considered Greek and were placed in the GreekOrthodox millet. The Albanians were placed in millets too, but the people of the
Albanian territories didn’t share the same religion, like the Greeks, the Jews and the
Armenians did. Albanian Orthodoxy was not considered the same as Greek
Orthodoxy by those Albanians. Catholicism, Christian Orthodoxy and Islam were
the three main religions in Albania, without making a distinction in Christian
Orthodoxy. All the same, the Orthodox Albanians, who lived in southern Albania,
were put in the same millet as the Greek Orthodox and attended Greek-speaking
schools. Furthermore, the Albanians who had converted to the Islam were
considered the same as the Turks. As one anonymous observer has said:
It must never be forgotten when dealing with the Balkan boundary question, that
Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian meant the adherents of the Orthodox Church, not
necessarily men of those nationalities. Here the Albanians had the disadvantage of
140
Vickers, 103.
48
being known as Turks. Thus, in southern Albania statistics show that so many
thousand inhabitants are Turks and so many thousand are Greeks, whereas really
these people are Moslem or Orthodox Albanians. Occasionally race and religion
tally but very rarely.141
The definition of nationality was not only characterised by religion, but also by the
spoken language.
Figure 5 Region of Epirus142
Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936), who was the prime minister of Greece
from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932, supported the notion of national
consciousness as the criterion of nationality instead of the spoken language or the
clan one belonged to. Venizelos was quite a charismatic man according to the
literature. It is believed that without him Greece wouldn’t have won so much
territory during the peace conferences. He cherished the “Megali Idea”, the Great
Idea, a vision of an enlarged Greece, invoking the once great Greek past in the
141
Peacock, Albania. The Foundling State of Europe, 217.
Laurie Kain Hart, “Culture, Civilization and Demarcation at the Northwest Borders of Greece”, in:
American Ethnologist, Vol. 26, No. 1 (1999) 198.
142
49
Mediterranean. He had appealed to the notion of self-determination, on Wilson’s
fourteen points, thus claiming Northern Epirus, i.e. southern Albania.143 He brought
up the issue of the status of the Greek people living in southern Albania during the
Paris Peace Conference. Although Great Britain and France agreed with Greece on
this, the United States were only prepared to give Greece the area of Gjirokastër in
southern Albania, which was a smaller portion than Greece had claimed.144
Venizelos and Tittoni, the Foreign Minister of Italy, made an agreement on 29th of
July 1919. This Greco-Italian agreement included that Italy would support Greece
in her pursue of Northern Epirus (southern Albania) and Thrace, whilst Greece
would support Italy in their request for Albania as their mandate.145 This agreement
was denounced by Italy in the following year. Rome considered the agreement not
to be of any use to Italy, in the words of Count Sforza, the Italian minister of
Foreign Affairs from 1920 till 1921.146
In November of the year 1920, the government of Delvina resigned. The
fact that foreign troops were still in Albania contributed to the resignation, although
it did succeed in accomplishing the withdrawal of the Italian troops from Vlorë.147
In December 1920 a new Cabinet was elected with Iljas Vrioni (1882-1932) as
Prime Minister. Albania was now established as a sovereign and independent state,
which provided for the opportunity to be accepted as a member of the League of
Nations. The League was set up as a result of the Paris Peace Conference.
Albanian factionalism started to intensify and again the country fell into a
state of political anarchy. At this point the Albanian government had put itself into
the hands of the League of Nations in which it had too much trust. The Albanians
wanted the membership of the League of Nations in order to get confirmation of
their international status. However, France, Italy, Greece and Serbia did not agree to
the Albanian candidacy as the borders of Albania were still not definite. Although
Albania was admitted to the League of Nations in December 1920, the boundaries
143
MacMillan, 357-366.
Basil Kondis, Euaisthites Isorropies, Ellada kai Albania ston 20o aiona (Thessaloniki 1994) 120.
145
Kondis, Euasthites Isorropies, 121.
146
Edward Capps, Greece, Albania and Northern Epirus (Chicago 1963) 18.
147
Pearson, 155.
144
50
with Serbia and Greece remained undetermined.148 There wasn’t a single country
that tried to establish normal diplomatic relations with Albania. Conflicting interests
between Italy, Britain, Greece and Serbia were the main causes for the Albanian
situation. Italy was not pleased with the interference of Britain, because the Italian
government had seen Albania as her own playground. Greece and Serbia,
independently of each other, were still struggling about the frontiers.149
Serbia considered the new Albanian state a threat. Half a million Albanians
were living in Kosovo inside its new borders within a population of twelve million
Serbs. With the creation of the Albanian state, Serbia felt threatened for mainly two
reasons; Albania desired territory which was considered territory of Serbia and
Serbia had reason to believe that Italy was creating a buffer state in Albania, which
was not considered advantageous for Serbia. The last reason is pointed more
towards Italy. Out of strategic reasons Serbia had its eye on the northern part of
Albania. Serbia wanted to secure itself from outside threats such as Italy, to gain
more territory and to have access to the Adriatic Sea.150 Because of their
disadvantaged position as a landlocked country, the Serbs have always been quite
anxious to secure a maritime exit.151 Britain and France had decided in 1920 to
award Serbia most parts of northern Albania. The northern part of Albania included
the Drin valley and Kosovo; the latter a province which is much disputed these days.
The admission to the League of Nations also aimed at the recognition of the
rights of the non-Albanian minorities living within the Albanian borders and the
right to religious freedom and education. Fan Noli, who was the Albanian
representative, had declared the following rights regarding the minorities to the
League of Nations in 1921:
•
complete equality as regards public, civil and social rights, without
distinction of race, language or religion;
•
educational rights;
148
Skendi, “Political Evolution”, 5.
Pollo and Puto, 181,182.
150
Vickers, 93.
151
Guy, “Linguistic Boundaries and Geopolitical Interests: the Albanian Boundary Commissions,
1878-1926”, 451.
149
51
•
freedom of religion and religious worship, including the freedom to
change religion.
This declaration had already been ratified by the Albanian Parliament.152 Greece,
considered the southern Orthodox Albanians as a Greek minority. That remained a
problem for Greece in spite of the declaration. According to Greece, the Albanians
considered the districts of Gjirokastër, Sarandë and Himarë as areas where the
Albanian inhabitants spoke Greek and practiced the Orthodox religion. The GreekOrthodox minority in the Korça district was not included in the list of minorities
entitled to the rights as mentioned in the declaration. The Greek government in their
attempt to protect all the supposedly Greek minorities in Albania tried to implement
the Protocol of Corfu of 1914 through the League of Nations. The Protocol would
grant Northern Epirus autonomy and Greek teaching in schools along with teaching
in Albanian.153
Unfortunately for Greece, the cry for recognition of other Greek minorities
in Korça was not answered by the League of Nations and the rights as formulated
by Fan Noli in 1921 remained as they were. During the Balkan Wars there had been
about 360 Greek schools. In the years after the Albanian independence was
proclaimed the number had fallen to approximately 100 schools in 1924. The
decreasing number signifies that during the Ottoman Empire the Greek minority
had more liberty of teaching in Greek schools.154 Moreover, in 1924 the number of
Albanian schools was rising. In the Ottoman period, the Greek Orthodox millet was
allowed to teach in the Greek language. Consequently Albanian schools did not yet
exist. The matter of education in Greek was an important issue for the Greek
government. If they lost that privilege, the government feared that its attempt to
raise a Greek national awareness in the Albanian part of Epirus would not succeed.
152
Kondis, The Greeks of Northern Epirus, and Greek-Albanian Relations. Historical Review from
the Greek edition. Vol III: 1922-1929-Vol IV: 1930-1940 (Thessaloniki 1994) 8.
153
Kondis, The Greeks of Northern Epirus, 9 and Kondis, Euasthites Isorropies, 154.
154
Kondis, The Greeks of Northern Epirus, 21.
52
§2.3.3 Opposing parties
With the first properly elected Parliament in 1921 it was conceivable for Albania
that political parties could be formed as well. They were formed more or less
around the personalities of their leaders, without a precise political program. The
allegiances of the leaders would change accordingly and so would their programs.
Nevertheless, four political parties could be distinguished from each other: the
Populist Party or better known as the Clique, the Democratic Party, the Progressives
and the Independents.155 The Clique stood for general social and economic reforms.
The Democratic Party was led by Fan Noli, on whom I will elaborate later in this
chapter. This party was generally influenced by Western ideas. It also had general,
social, political and economic reforms in mind, but was more radical than the
Clique. The Progressives was the conservative group, dominated by Shefqet bey
Vërlaci (d.1877-1946) and other beys who were fiercely opposed to agrarian
reforms, wishing to keep the feudal system as it was. The fourth group, the
Independents, was led by Iljas Vrioni. Because of the inabilities of the political
parties to establish a stable government, the majority of the administrations since
1921 consisted of a coalition of the Populists, the Progressives and the Independents.
Ahmet Zogu and Fan Noli initially belonged to the same party, the Clique. Zogu did
not share the liberal ideas with Noli and he soon became attracted to the Progressive
Party. Noli on the other hand, also left the Clique and formed with his closest
collaborators the Opposition, generally opposed against the Progressives.156 The
problem with the Albanian politics was that after achieving independence, the sense
of nationalism turned into a sense of self interest rather than maintaining the unity
of the country. The country was entrenched in regional divisions.
In the same year 1921, the Mirditë tribe proclaimed the ‘Mirditë Republic’
in Marko Gjoni’s name, the nephew of the assassinated hereditary chieftain Prenk
Bib Doda. The proclamation was believed by the Tirana government to be
supported by Serbia because of Gjoni’s attempt to be separated from the central
government. The frontier with Serbia was not yet demarcated and Serbia saw a
155
156
Pearson, 162.
Skendi, Albania, 74-76.
53
chance to alter it to its advantage.157 The proclamation was not unusual for the
northern tribesmen’s way of thinking. They had difficulty accepting a centralized
authority, because they were not used to abide to centralized laws, but only to their
own set of rules, the Code of Leke. Another reason was that the government in
power was predominantly Muslim, which was seen as suspicious by the Catholic
Mirditë tribe. Ahmet Zogu advised the government to either negotiate with Gjoni or
crush the Mirditë Republic by force.158
In June 1921 Vrioni resigned with his Cabinet and formed a new one in July
at the invitation of the Supreme Council Regency. The Regency was set up at the
Congress of Lushnjë, which consisted of four regents. In the meantime Yugoslav
troops were invading Albania, trying to occupy and annex northern Albania. The
Mirditë tribe gave in to the government and sent a telegram to the League of
Nations to confirm their loyalty towards the Tirana-government.159 However, the
Serbian actions caused the fall of the second Cabinet Vrioni. Vrioni proved unable
to handle the threatening situation with Serbia, which was on the verge of invading
the country. In October 1921 a Cabinet of ‘Sacred Union’ was formed. It was
decided by the Regency that it had to include a national coalition as broadly
represented as possible by all the political groups. The most prominent leaders of
the northern Malissori tribes were included as well, because Albania could thus
mobilize all the forces needed to oppose Serbia’s invading troops. Ahmet Zogu
expected to become Prime Minister; he became eventually Commander-in-Chief,
while Pandeli Evangjeli (1859-1939) was elected Prime Minister.160
Zogu was sent to retain the loyalty of the Mirditë tribe and was successful at
it. His political opponents however feared that he might gain too much power. The
Regent Aqif Pasha together with Hassan Prishtina (who had fought for the
liberation of Kosovo in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire as president of the Kosovo
committee) arranged a coup d’état. Political strife and resignations were a result of
the opposing parties. Once again the government collapsed, but Evangjeli refused to
157
Vandeleur Robinson, Albania’s Road to Freedom (London 1941) 48.
Pearson, 168.
159
Pearson, 170.
160
Pearson, 173.
158
54
resign. Eventually he was forced at gunpoint to sign the document which declared
his resignation. Hassan Prishtina was made Prime Minister by the Regency.
Prishtina did not enjoy the sympathy of the Albanian people because of the
aggressive policy he applied of uniting Kosovo with Albania and his participation
in the coup d’état. The aggressive policy was accompanied by anti-Serbian acts and
pro-Italian manifestations. His Cabinet lasted only for four days.161
In December 1921 Zogu in effect executed another coup d’état. He came
marching into Tirana with thousands of armed followers and held the city under a
state of siege. Again, a new government was formed, this time with Xhafer Ypi as
Prime Minister and Ahmet Zogu as Minister of Interior. Fan Noli (1882-1965),
another prominent figure in Albanian politics, became Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Zogu made a very daring decision in his function. He decided to abolish the right
for tribesmen to carry arms, knowing that carrying arms was an essential part of
tribal daily life. His campaign was successful in the south and the central part, but
not in the north, which is quite logical. Exemption of military conscription was
abolished as well. By the end of 1922 Xhafer Ypi had resigned as Prime Minister
and Zogu was appointed to take over the Premiership, while holding the Ministry of
Interior at the same time.162
The situation in Albania was not an easy one for Zogu to restructure. The
most important problem was how to finance the impoverished state. Education,
infrastructure, civil service had to be paid for. A loan from the League of Nations
was considered impossible because of the reforms the financial advisor demanded,
such as tax reforms and drastic spending cuts. Zogu scouted for individual
governments and foreign banks for financial help. However, only countries with
concealed motives, such as Italy and Serbia, were willing to help. Setting up
commercial relations was his only option. Albania’s foreign relations had to be
stabilized. He wanted to uphold a policy of strict neutrality, which almost was
isolationist.163
161
Pearson, 180-182.
Pearson, 198.
163
Jason Tomes, King Zog of Albania. Europe’s Self-Made Muslim Monarch (New York 2003) 5456.
162
55
Stabilizing internal relations was not an easy task either. Albania was still a
divided country; divided in three regions regarding governmental issues. There was
the north where a central government would never be easily accepted. Because
Zogu was a hereditary chief from the Mati tribe he was accepted as a Prime
Minister by the northern tribes, but merely because of his name.164 Central
Albanians were generally acquiescent to central authority. The southern Tosk
Albanians were suspicious of central authority because of bad experiences with the
Ottoman central authority. Many emigrants from the United States had come back
to Albania, now that their home country was independent, but they did not agree
with the political system, which did not seem democratic compared to the system in
the United States.165 By the autumn of 1923 Albania had experienced a period of
eighteen months of relative stability, although the state finances were not improving
at all.166
Zogu believed that a new constitution was needed for effective government.
Therefore, he called for a general election in December of 1923. He had promised a
reformed constitution which called for ‘political principles which were found in the
freest countries’.167 But Zogu’s position was precarious. It took several months for
all the deputies to gather and elect a new government. On the day of the gathering,
23 February 1924, an attempt of assassination on Zogu’s life was made. He
survived, but the incident made him decide to give up the position of prime minister.
Soon the whole government fled out of fear to Italy, being held responsible by the
Albanians for the still existing miserable conditions in Albania, except for Zogu,
who hoped to get a grip on the situation and turn it to his advantage. In the
beginning of June 1924, Zogu withdrew into Belgrade and Albania was to be
governed by Fan Noli, the founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church in the United
States.168
Theofan Stilian Noli was from Eastern Thrace and had attended Greek
schools before becoming a schoolmaster. He was a well -educated and enlightened
164
Tomes, King Zog of Albania, 58.
Tomes, 59.
166
Tomes, 57.
167
Tomes, 60.
168
Fischer, “King Zog, Albania’s Interwar Dictator”, 31.
165
56
man. He studied at Harvard after he had the opportunity to go the United States in
1905. He had tried to spread the Albanian Orthodox faith in the Albanian
community in Boston where he founded the Church in 1908, regarded with
disfavour by the Greek patriarch. He also appointed himself as Bishop. He returned
to Albania after WWI in 1921 to represent the Albanian community of Boston in
the Parliament. Fan Noli and his supporters argued for an autocephalous169
Albanian Church, encouraging the holding of services in the Albanian language,
apart from the Greek Orthodox Church. This was a hard blow for the Greek
government as well as for the Patriarchate. During the Ottoman Empire, it was
Ottoman policy for Albanian Orthodox children to attend Greek schools, which was
encouraged by the Patriarchate.170 This way the Greek Church was sure of having a
secure Greek influence in the area. When the Ottoman Empire fell apart, this
security disappeared. On the 10th of September 1922 a Clerical Congress was held
in Berat, a town in central Albania. The subject of the Autocephalous Orthodox
Church was raised at that Congress. The Patriarchate of Constantinople of course
did not agree to this action.171
Besides the border issue and the educational matter, religion still played a
significant role in the Greco-Albanian relations. In other words, the Church was an
important factor for the establishment of relationships. The Greek-Orthodox Church
was since Byzantine times one of the largest religious bodies, also during the
Ottoman period. Albania was naturally influenced by the Greek Orthodox religion.
However, since Albania gained its independence, the Albanian nationalists argued
for an independent Church too. The Greek Orthodox Church was one of the most
dominant churches in Albania at that time, especially in the south where the Greek
influence was strong. But the Albanian Orthodox believers wanted their own church.
Just as the Bulgarians and the Serbs created their own Orthodox Church, for the
purpose of confirming their detachment from the Greek Church, the Albanians
wished for the same. The aim was to reduce or even annihilate the powerful
169
Autocephalous means having its own head or chief bishop, though in communion with other
Orthodox churches.
170
Misha, 38.
171
Kondis, Euaisthites Issoropies, 158 and Kondis, The Greeks of Northern Epirus, 30.
57
influence of the Greek Patriarch in southern Albania. The most important
protagonists of an independent church were Fan Noli, V. Markos and E.
Tsamtsis.172
Noli soon became the personification of the opposition against Zogu, which
included much of the Orthodox community, army officers, many Muslims and
Catholics. That is why in June 1924 he came to be leading the new Albanian
government after driving Zogu out.173 Noli had a great future in mind for Albania.
He wanted to introduce radical reforms, to modernize the Albanian state, transform
it into a western democratic nation. He wanted to extinguish feudalism and establish
a democracy. He wanted reforms on every possible branch of administration, civil
and military and many more, which all sounded very righteous. However, it was all
words. In reality, Noli had little knowledge of Albania and no experience of how
Albania functioned. Moreover, foreign aid, which Albania needed, was out of reach.
Italy had turned down the request for a loan and the League of Nations failed to
respond to Noli’s pleas for economic help. Noli had also recognized the Soviet
Union, which ultimately made him appear as a supporter of communism. Noli’s
actions made the government unable to function. It lacked the necessary foreign
recognition. Only Greece had recognized Noli’s government, but it did so out of
concern for the rights of the “Greeks” in southern Albania.174 By recognizing Noli’s
government, the Greeks believed they could still exert influence in the southern
regions of Albania. Ultimately, the government accomplished to alienate every
initial support it had.
§2.3.4 Towards the monarchy
The failure of the revolutionary government of Noli gave way for Zogu to return
with a counterrevolution. Zogu did this with the help of Serbian troops, his own
172
Kondis, Euaisthites Isorropies, 158.
Bernd J. Fischer, “Fan Noli and the Albanian Revolutions of 1924”, in: East European Quarterly,
22:2 (1988) 147-151.
174
Fischer, “Fan Noli and the Albanian Revolutions of 1924”, 152, 153.
173
58
Albanian tribe Mati and men from the White Army, who had found asylum in
Serbia.175 In early December Zogu started with his invasion to regain his former
status and by Christmas 1924, Noli’s resistance had succumbed entirely to Zogu’s
forces. Noli did not receive any foreign assistance during Zogu’s siege. The League
of Nations, in which he had laid a considerable amount of trust, had declined the
pleas for help. The League communicated by telegraph to the Albanian government
that the cause of the chaotic state in Albania lay in the discontent of her own
population, and was not planning on sending help.176
Zogu had chosen for a different course in foreign affairs when he was
leading the government again in 1924. He opted for an alliance with Italy. The
choice for Italy was rational. Italy was far more capable of giving financial and
military assistance to Albania than Serbia could have given on the long run. At least,
that is what Zogu probably thought. Because of the frontier which directly bordered
on Serbia, Albania would always be under military threat by Serbian troops.177
However, by choosing Italy the risk was no less. This was exactly what Mussolini
wanted; to have Albania under the Italian sphere of influence. By giving financial
and military assistance, Mussolini believed that he could make Albania dependent
of Italian support.
Zogu was elected by the National Assembly President on the 31st of January
1925. A Constitution was formed, which was based on the Constitution of the
United States. All the power was left in the hands of the President, who was elected
for seven years, and was also the Prime Minister. The primary tasks of this new
government were to keep up good relations with Albania’s neighbours, to secure the
new regime and to stabilize the country.178 Zogu believed that the rest of Europe
and the United States would have reacted with hostility if he had taken total control
instead of this new republican structure. It was also decided by the Constituent
Assembly that Tirana should become the permanent capital. Tirana was very close
175
Swire, Albania, 445.
Swire, 451.
177
Logoreci, The Albanians, 57.
178
Swire, Albania, 452.
176
59
to the tribal area where Zogu originated from, which gave him a sense of security.
Tirana was only a small Muslim town of 12.000 people in 1925.179
The first economic agreement between Mussolini and Zogu was reached in
May 1925, the same year that the republican period of the Zogu-regime had begun.
The agreement meant that Albania granted Italian companies the right for research
and exploitation of natural resources in certain areas of Albania. The British had
discovered that Albania possessed natural energy resources, which eventually
turned out to be quite meagre. In Rome the first National Bank of Albania was
established under the auspices of Italian banks. Italy also acquired a monopoly of
transportation rights of passengers and goods to Albania through a trade and
navigation agreement.180 Albania needed the economic assistance Italy was
providing, while it was still a very isolated and poor country. Most of the people
were living from agriculture, and infrastructure hardly existed. By allowing Italy
into Albania on economic grounds, it had set the stage for further penetration by
Italy into the Balkan country. The SVEA (Società per lo Sviluppo Economico
dell’Albania) was created in 1926, an Italian company, to help the development of
the Albanian economy, at least in theory. Albania had a very hard time in repaying
the loans after two years, which enabled the Italian government to take over all the
rights and responsibilities of the SVEA. This step marked another stage in
penetrating the Albanian economy by Italy.181
Because of the strengthened relationship between Albania and Italy, Serbia
had resorted to apply pressure by increasing its troops at the borders. However, this
had an opposite effect. Zogu was driven into Italy’s arms even more, seeking
security. The intensification between Italy and Albania led to another agreement in
November 1926, known as the Tirana-pact, “of friendship and security”. In its first
article, the Tirana-pact stated that the political and legal status quo of Albania was
to be guaranteed by Italy. For Zogu this guarantee meant a consolidation of his
position in the Albanian government. For Italy it meant that it could intervene in
Albania whenever the Italian government felt the need for it. In other words, if
179
Fischer, “King Zog”, 33, 34 and Swire, 452.
Skendi, “Political Evolution”, 9.
181
Pollo and Puto, 201.
180
60
Albania wasn’t able to deal with attacks from the outside or from within, Italy had
the right to interfere, according to the Italian government. Italy had ascertained
control over Albania, which amounted to Albania being subject to a kind of Italian
protectorate.182 A second treaty was signed in November 1927, the so-called treaty
of “defensive alliance” between Italy and Albania. It allowed for adding another
aspect; both parties had to promise to “follow each other’s fate” in case one of them
was attacked and not able to conclude peace on its own.183
The slow penetration of Italy into Albania had a twofold outcome for Zogu.
On the one hand it gradually made Albania dependent on Italian assistance, whether
it was financial or military. Following the Italian path, Albania would not be
capable to act independently, even though Albania had not been independent for
centuries past. On the other hand, thanks to Italian assistance roads and railways
could be built. Infrastructure had not been sufficiently realised before. The
mountain clans in the north always lived rather isolated and because of the lack of
roads the inhabitants of Albania rarely communicated with each other. Italian
financial injections made many things possible in Albania.
Soon after Zogu’s regime was established in 1925, opposition against Zogu
began to grow. Insurgent tribes, not of his own tribe or allies, were opposed to
Zogu’s attempt to disarm. Zogu kept crushing the rebels while continuing to lay a
legitimate basis to collect all the power. Zogu had the intention to turn Albania into
a monarchy. He was very eager to make sure that the changes he made were
constitutionally justified. First he made sure that his political opponents were
arrested, and to ban all general political meetings. Not many people voted in the
elections in June 1928. Albania was still suffering an illiteracy rate of 90%.
Therefore the news about the constitutional change to a monarchy that was being
spread by Zogu was hardly understood and the Albanian people were kept in the
dark. When the Constituent Assembly met in late August 1928, they crowned Zogu
as the “King of the Albanians, Zog I.” Only the 1200 members of the Electoral
College were able to vote on this and Zogu had made sure that the result would be
182
183
Pollo and Puto, 203.
Pollo and Puto, 204.
61
positive for him. A monarchy had a very significant attraction for Zog; he would
not have to stand for re-election. The foreign reaction by the neighboring states was
not so much about Zogu becoming a king, but because of the title, which insinuated
that he was also king of the Albanians who were living outside of the Albanian
borders, for instance the Albanians who were living in Kosovo, which was now part
of Serbia. In general however, foreign reaction was absent or rather indifferent.184
184
Fischer, “King Zog”, 39-41.
62
III Conclusion
It is fair to say that Albania was a divided country to begin with and therefore
lacked a common identity. Difference in religions and social structures did not
contribute to cultivate a collective identity. The social structure in the north was a
tribal one, meaning that local self-governance was the natural way of living for the
tribes. They had their own set of rules, the Kanun. The Ottoman government was
not able to penetrate and impose their rule upon the northern tribes. In the south
they did succeed in imposing their laws, which caused the southern Albanians to
have a different stance towards the Ottoman rule. Societies were set up and journals
published, advocating unification of Albania. In these journals and within these
societies a common Albanian alphabet was advocated, realizing that the common
language was the only binding element. The Congress at Elbasan in 1908 and the
decision on one alphabet was a important step towards a national identity.
Initially, founding an autonomous region of Albania under Ottoman rule,
formed as a single vilayet, seemed the best option according to the League of
Prizren, the national movement of the Albanians. The fact that Albania was
surrounded by Serbia, Greece and Italy, who wanted control over Albanian territory
was a threatening situation, therefore Ottoman rule provided security. When the
Young Turks took over, the Albanians welcomed them, hoping for a new wind in
Ottoman rule. However, the Young Turks planned for further centralization,
fostering the Albanian desire for independence. Under the Young Turks the
Ottoman government experienced more and more difficulties, providing the chance
for the establishment of an independent Albanian nation in 1912.
The first Provisional Government under Ismail Kemal needed foreign
assistance to be achieved by way of the Conference of Ambassadors under the
leadership of the Great Powers. Political divisions among the Albanian leaders
became clear. The northern tribes did not recognize the Albanian government as
such, being used to self-governance. Other politicians, such as Essad Pasha had
another agenda, setting up his own government. The Conference of Ambassadors
and the Paris Peace Conference added up to the divisions, deciding on the territorial
63
boundaries through boundary commissions. The Great Powers by way of the
Conference of Ambassadors, the Paris Peace Conference and the League of Nations
made crucial decisions on the geographical boundaries, which have had a longlasting effect. The ethno-linguistic criterion was not an adequate method to draw the
lines. Albania was a very complex country to define. Especially, when there was no
Albanian national identity in the eyes of foreign countries. In the eyes of the Great
Powers, Greece and Serbia, it was not up to the Albanians to decide about the
nation. The Greeks did not want to lose territory on religious and ethnic grounds,
the Italians wanted to use Albania as a buffer-state to enlarge the power. Serbia had
her strategic reasons; access to the Adriatic Sea. Eventually, the Great Powers such
as Britain lost interest in the small Balkan country. When Albania actually needed
assistance, the League of Nations was not reacting.
This thesis tackled the question of the foreign influences on the development
of the Albanian nation-state. The foreign influences have indeed affected the
development of Albania as a republican nation-state. But this can not be stated as
simple as that. Albania was such a complicated society to begin with, the Albanians
themselves did not have the political skill or the knowledge how to design the
Albanian nation-state. One Albanian national identity did not exist. The criterion of
the common language alone was not sufficient to build a nation. To become a
nation, the Albanians had to recognize each other as part of the same cultural
community, an imagined community, because of the social differences. The
diversity of the Albanians was very deep-rooted though, so that it affected the
development towards building the nation. The Ottoman Empire left as a legacy the
non-existence of education of the Albanian language. Greek, Turkish and Italian
schools did not serve the nationalist development. The few Albanians that received
education abroad and who wanted to serve the national Albanian cause were not
capable and had not enough knowledge about the domestic situation. Democratic
values, as known in the Western world, were what some Albanian political leaders,
such as Fan Noli had in mind. Even Ahmet Zogu wanted to become a king along
democratic lines. But the political climate in Albania was never stable enough to
64
secure a proper government. The lack of political knowledge and willingness
among the Albanian politicians made foreign assistance necessary.
It seems that the hypothesis Foreign influences have inhibited the
republican development of Albania is affirmed. The influence of the foreign
powers made it impossible for Albania to concentrate on its interior affairs and
establish the conditions to become gradually a united, independent nation. It was
constantly thwarted by foreign powers in conducting their own affairs and
developing a nation. Eventually, Albania, personified by Ahmet Zogu, succumbed
entirely to the Italian infiltration. But Albania did not have much of a choice. The
country hardly had any financial resources; diplomatic relations with most
neighbouring countries were absent or quite strained; infrastructure was nonexistent. Cooperation with foreign powers was a necessary evil. Albania would be
poor and isolated without foreign assistance. Italy was prepared to provide support,
though not without repayments. Because of the self-serving interest as a ground for
the interference of foreign powers, such as the geo-strategical interests and the
ethno-religious conflicts, Albania did not stand a chance of becoming independent
on its own, but at the same time would never be truly independent from the foreign
presence. The claiming of Albanian-inhabited territory by Italy, Greece and Serbia
made it impossible for Albania to survive without foreign assistance of the Great
Powers.
Foreign influence was not all negative in Albania. The Conference of
Ambassadors and the Paris Peace Conference made sure that Albania was
recognized as an independent nation-state with a formal government. I would even
be so bold to say that the Conferences saved Albania from partition, with a positive
role of Britain. However, conflicting geo-political interests and keeping
relationships in balance made sure that the size of Albania was reduced and that
Italy gained a status as caretaker of Albania. That privilege made Albania
dependent of Italian financial support. Albania was already a poor country. Zogu
welcomed the financial support, hoping to keep its independence at the same time,
but to no avail. In combination with the expensive monarchy of King Zog I, the
Albanian king transformed Albania into a puppet-state of Italy.
65
In retrospect, the hearts of the several Albanian political leaders to create a
successful nation-state were in the right place. Ahmet Zogu turned out to be the
most powerful one. However, he allowed Italy to take over the control of the
Albanian economy, which created the possibility for the Italian government to
interfere with important financial decisions and to have power over the foreign
policy of Albania. In the Second World War Albania was occupied by Italy and
after the war, it remained a very poor and isolated country, and under the
communist rule of Enver Hoxha for four decades. In my opinion, Albania is only
recently on its way to become a viable nation-state as was the initial goal of the
Albanian nationalists in the beginning of the Albanian independence.
66
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