Ottoman Suppression of Albanian Nationalism 1889-1908

Authorities of the Ottoman Empire strove without success to control the political situation in the empire's Albanian-populated lands, arresting suspected nationalist activists. When the sultan refused Albanian demands for unification of the four Albanian-populated vilayets, Albanian leaders reorganized the Prizren League (probably as the Pec League in 1889) and incited uprisings that brought the Albanian lands, especially Kosovo, to near anarchy. The imperial authorities again disbanded the Albanian league in 1897, executed its president in 1902, and banned Albanian- language books and correspondence. In Macedonia, where Bulgarian, Greek, and Serbian backed terrorists were fighting Ottoman authorities and one another for control, Muslim Albanians suffered attacks, and Albanian guerrilla groups retaliated. In 1906 Albanian leaders meeting in Bitola established the secret Committee for the Liberation of Albania and began an active guerrilla campaign in the south against the Ottomans and Greeks. A year later, Albanian guerrillas assassinated Korçë's Greek Orthodox metropolitan. Many Albanians assisted the Young Turks uprising of 1908, hoping that it would gain their people autonomy within the empire. The Young Turks, however, were set on maintaining the empire and not interested in making concessions to the myriad nationalist groups within its borders.

References

Albania - A Country Study; Albania 1878-1912.

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