Good morning! Recently, someone suggested that I read the text of the Berlin Treaty, through which, after the Great War of 1876–1878, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia gained independence, while Bulgaria obtained autonomy within the Ottoman Empire.
Is 13 July Statehood Day?
Of course it is. By law, that is the official name of the holiday. But is 13 July truly the most important date for Montenegrin statehood?
The symbolism of the anti-fascist uprising is not being questioned here, nor is the fact that after the war Montenegro restored its statehood and identity within Yugoslavia.
The point here is the symbolism of the Great War, or, as it is known in world historiography, the Russo-Turkish War of 1876–1878. The war ended with the Treaty of San Stefano, under which the Ottoman Empire accepted Russia’s maximalist demands. This was followed by the intervention of the other European powers, which sought to limit Russia’s ambitions, leading to the Congress of Berlin, after which Europe gained several independent states—specifically Romania and Serbia.
Perhaps Romania to a slightly lesser extent, since it had declared its independence a year earlier, but certainly Serbia, because Serbia had recognised the authority of the Ottoman Empire.
Montenegro, however, was already an independent state, and the Berlin Treaty, put simply, merely acknowledged its independence.
If we compare the two treaty articles dealing with the independence of Montenegro and Serbia, we may better understand the subtle distinction:
Article XXXIV
The High Contracting Parties recognise the independence of the Principality of Serbia, under the conditions set forth in the following article.
Article XXVI
The independence of Montenegro is recognised by the Sublime Porte and by all those High Contracting Parties that had not previously recognised it.
In other words, in Montenegro’s case, it refers to all those parties “that had not previously recognised it.”
If we look further back into history, we can find several answers to the question of when Montenegro laid the foundations of its modern state.
One possible answer is the founding of Cetinje. Another could be the reconstruction of the Cetinje Monastery on the ruins of the Crnojevic court and the rule of Bishop Danilo. Treaties with Venice, the war against France, the adoption of the highest legal acts, and various other concrete steps in establishing the state and its administration were all far more important for Montenegrin statehood than the year 1878, when Montenegro’s independence became universally recognised, even though it had already existed de facto.
The greatest significance of 13 July lies in the anti-fascist uprising, for which this date is most remembered and respected.
I remember lectures by Caslav Koprivica, then an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences and a radical right-wing nationalist activist, who frequently claimed during lectures and on television that in 1878, because of the “proclamation of independence,” women wore mourning clothes and wept through the streets of Cetinje because Serbia and Montenegro had not united.
Koprivica, now a professor at the University of Belgrade, was an authority and a source of information on Montenegro for generations of students in Serbia. Thousands of students learned about Serbian-Montenegrin relations from professors like him.
And not only Serbian students, but Montenegrin students as well.
So, it is hardly surprising that we are where we are today.
Just imagine if someone had simply directed them to read a few historical documents instead of relying on tavern stories and mythology.
That’s all for today. We wish you a pleasant rest of the day.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst and columnist
(Columnists’ opinions and views do not necessarily reflect those of the CdM editorial staff)
