History of Montenegrins
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This is an old and overlong excerpt from the Montenegrins article whose useful parts could be integrated into History of Montenegro.
[edit] Medieval era
Slavs have migrated from the Bay of Kotor to the River of Bojana in the first half of the 7th century, and formed a Principality of Doclea (Duklja) from the land given to them by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. The population was a mixture of the dominant Slavic pagans and Latinized Romans along the Byzantine enclaves at the coastline, including some Illyrian descendants. Although the principality enjoyed de jure independence, it attracted Serbian influence in the 9th century. Under the missions of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, the population was Christianized. From the dawn of the High Middle Ages, the population of Duklja was identified as Serbian.
In the 10th and 11th centuries, Doklja was possessed or granted vassal status at various times by Bulgarian, Byzantine and Rascian rulers, while domestic rulers like Jovan Vladimir, Stefan Voislav and Mihailo Vojislav managed to wield temporary control on several occasions. With the 1054 Great Schism, the Docleans fell under the domain of the Catholic Church. Bar became a Bishopric in 1067 and in 1082 an Archbishopric of an autocephalous Serbian branch of the Catholic Church.
The expansions of the Kings of the House of Vojislavljević reunited all former Serbian lands, including Zahumlje, Bosnia and Rascia. The might of the Doclei declined and they generally became again subjected to the Grand Princes of Rascia in the 12th century. Stefan Nemanja, the future unifier of the Serbs was born in 1117 in Ribnica. In 1186, as Serbian Duke, Stefan Nemanja launched an offensive against this Greek Land, besieging and raising numerous cities, except for Kotor which surrendered peacefully. Nemanja, after converting to Orthodoxy, introduced nearly non-existent Orthodox Christianity to the population of Duklja. Latin cultural advancement was effectively put to a halt by seizing the production of Latin books.
During the 12th century, the area became known as the Principality of Zeta. Between 1276 and 1309, Zeta was ruled by the Queen Jelena, widow of Serbian King Uroš I. She secured autonomy for Zeta within Nemanjić's Serbia and built and restored around 50 monasteries, most notably Saint Srđ and Vakh on the Bojana River under Shkodër/Skadar. The name Montenegro (Crna Gora) is mentioned for the first time in the charter of St. Nicholas' monastery in Vranjina, dating to 1296 during Jelena's reign. Under King Milutin (Uroš II) Nemanjić, at the beginning of the 14th century, the Archdiocese in Bar was the biggest feudal lord in Zeta.
Throughout the 14th century, the Houses of Balšić and Crnojević contested for control over the Montenegrin territories until the Crnojević attained supremacy in the 14th century. Under the Crnojevićs, the Serbian Church reached its peak. In 1496, the Ottomans conquered part, but not all, of Montenegro.
[edit] Modern times
In the 19th century national romanticism among the South Slavs generated an increasing desire for unification, particularly between the Montenegrins and the Serbians, which became increasingly considered as two parts of a single Serbian nation among many.
The closeness of Montenegrin ethnic identity with that of the Serbs is evidenced by a number of cultural and political factors during this period:
- During Petar I Petrović Njegoš's reign, the basic textbook in state schools was called "The Serb elementary reading book". Another edition was published during Petar II Petrović Njegoš's rule;
- During the reign of Danilo II Petrović Njegoš, students had classes in Montenegrin history as well as Serbian history;
- Numerous school certificates, passports and similar documents preserved marked the bearer's nationality as "Serbian";
- The 1909 census, undertaken by the Principality of Montenegro, recorded that 95% of the population identified themselves as Serbs;
- In November 26, 1918, the Podgorica Assembly voted for "union of the people", declaring a joint Kingdom of Serbia.
Both Montenegro and Serbia remained separate until 1918, when both kingdoms became part of the newly-forged Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia. The royal Yugoslav government made the national unification of the Montenegrins and the Serbians into a policy, although this unconditional merger voted on by the Podgorica Assembly on November 26, 1918 was seen by some of the Montenegrins as an imposition, given that Montenegro was downgraded into a province of the new Yugoslav kingdom. A number of Montenegrin chieftains rose up in arms during January 1919 in an uprising against the decisions of Podgorica Assembly, better known as the Christmas Rebellion. The uprising enjoyed extensive support from the Kingdom of Italy, both in the planning stages as well as arms supply and logistics during the uprising itself. Kingdom of Italy was firmly opposed to the creation of a joint South Slavic state - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on December 1, 1918.
Earlier, while delivering his Fourteen Points for peace on January 8, 1918 in the U.S. Congress, which the Great Powers later ratified, Wilson also commented:
- "Romania, Serbia and Montenegro must be restored. Relations between the Balkan states must be settled in a friendly way, along paths which have been historically decreed to them. To these different states will be given international guarantees, which will secure political and economical independence, as also the whole integrity of their territory."[1]
Once the Christmas Rebellion started, Western newspapers also reported of the brutal crackdown by Serb forces.
The Communist Party of Yugoslavia opposed the Yugoslav monarchy and its unification/annexation policy, and supported Montenegrin independence due to its tradition of statehood and what was seen as the undemocratic imposition of Serbian rule over Montenegro.[citation needed] Simmering discontent in Montenegro was akin to the rising dissatisfaction in Croatia and Slovenia with the autocratic rule from Belgrade. This caused the Communist Party to gain in popularity, despite the fact that the joint states of the mediaeval Serbs predated Montenegro's early statehood by some time.
When the second Yugoslavia was formed in 1945, the Communists who led the Partisans during the war entered the new régime. They recognized, sanctioned and fostered a national identity of Montenegrins as a people distinct from the Serbs and other southern Slavs. The number of people who were registered as Montenegrins in Montenegro was at 90% in 1948, but it has been dropping since, to 62% in 1991, and to 40% in 2003. For a detailed overview of these trends, see Demographic history of Montenegro.
Initially, after the fall of Communism, in the early 1990s, the idea of distinct Montenegrin identity has been taken over by independence-minded Montenegrins gathered around the fringe Liberal Alliance of Montenegro (LSCG) political party. However, it received very little support as it was opposed or ignored by the bulk of politicians across the political spectrum of Montenegro. The ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) (reformed communists), led by prime minister Milo Đukanović and president Momir Bulatović, was firmly allied with Slobodan Milošević throughout this period.
It was not until late 1996 that occasional dissonant voices appeared, for the first time, from within DPS (including Đukanović himself in an interview with Vreme magazine). However, nothing changed in the party's official position. They started criticizing Milošević's politics as authoritarian. The tensions between two wings of DPS, led by pro-Milošević Momir Bulatović and Milo Đukanović started to rise. Finally, in mid-1997, a full blown rift occurred within DPS. In a presidential election marred with allegations of irregularities (no independent European monitors were present), Đukanović defeated the incumbent Bulatović, to become the new president of the Republic. Bulatović, in turn, left the DPS and formed a new Socialist People's Party of Montenegro (SNP). This marked a shift in the official Montenegrin policy. Đukanović started opposing Milošević on a variety of issues though still espousing the notion of Montenegro firmly within a Federation with Serbia. However, the DPS gradually started to draw ideas of independence from the LSCG and SDP. Their pro-unionist opponents claimed that their motives were to distract the public focus from economic and corruption problems by focusing attention instead on issues of ethnic and national identity. At the same time, Milošević remained a figure of inspiration for many opposition parties in Montenegro that continued as a strong political force. Montenegro has been polarized over this issue ever since.
In the fall of 1999, shortly after the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Đukanović-led Montenegrin leadership came out with a platform for the re-definition of relations within the federation that called for more Montenegrin involvement in the areas of defence and foreign policy, though the platorm fell short of pushing for independence. After Milošević's overthrow on October 5, 2000, Đukanović for the first time came out in support of full independence and succeeded in his quest by holding a triumphant vote on independence on 22 May 2006.
