Narode srpski, ljubezna braćo moja

Popović, Radomir J. (2022) Narode srpski, ljubezna braćo moja. Matica srpska; Muzej rudničko-takovskog kraja, Novi Sad; Gornji Milanovac. ISBN 978-86-7946-411-8

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Abstract

Miloš Obrenović (1783–1860), vožd of the Second Serbian Uprising and the Prince of Serbia (1815 to 1839, and again 1858 to 1860) is one of the most important rulers of Serbia in the 19th and 20th centuries. He managed to obtain the autonomous status of Serbia in 1830 by resolving the issues through diplomacy and with the support of the Russian Empire. His contribution to Serbia’s renewal in the economic, cultural, and educational fields is immeasurable. For instance, the first reign of Prince Miloš was marked by abolishing the social and economic relations of feudalism and introducing capitalist socio-economic relationships, and by the restoration of churches and monasteries, the opening of the schools, founding of the printing house, the organization of the army, the establishment of public health care, etc. Therefore, Prince Miloš’s speeches at the Popular Assemblies represent significant sources and indicators of his foreign and domestic policy. During the reign of Prince Miloš, the Popular Assemblies did not have a form of a representative body in the way they exist today. In the period from 1815 to 1830, the Popular Assemblies met twice a year: around St. George’s Day (Đurđevdan) in May, and around St. Demetrius (Mitrovdan) in November. Assemblies were called upon and dissolved by Prince Miloš. A few local administrators participated in the Assemblies, which mainly decided on the collection of taxes. As early as 1825, deputies (deputati) started participating in National Assemblies. They were, by the orders of the authorities, elected at the regional (nahiye) assemblies. In the presence of government officials and people's representatives at those so-called big (main) assemblies, important decisions on the country's internal organization were made, or crucial acts were made concerning the autonomous status of Serbia. The Popular Assemblies from 1830 to 1839 lost their budgetary right and therefore were not convened regularly. The first Act of the National Assembly of Serbia was passed in 1858. Based on this Act, the St. Andrew’s Day Assembly was convened, which called on Prince Miloš to return to the throne of Serbia. According to the Act on the National Assembly of 1859, the ruler was prescribed to open and dissolve the National Assembly with a speech (“beseda”), which effectively legalized the practice already established in the first years of Prince Miloš’s rule. This monograph is a collection of edited speeches delivered by Prince Miloš or read on his behalf at the Assemblies. It also includes collected responses (so-called addresses) of popular assemblies to the prince’s speeches. There are nineteen arranged speeches given by Prince Miloš at the National Assemblies. At each Assembly of 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1834, 1837, and 1859 one speech was read; two were read at the Assemblies held in 1828 and 1829; three speeches were dated in 1835 (two speeches at the Sretenje Assembly and one at the St. Peter’s Day Assembly), and four speeches (an official and special address of the prince) were given at two National Assemblies, held in January and June 1830. The book includes ten addresses by the National Assembly, held in 1817, 1825, 1827, 1834, 1835, and 1837 and two delivered at Assemblies of 1830 and 1859. Furthermore, the chapter called “Contributions” comprises seven acts and letters mentioned in the speeches. Given the importance of these documents, they had to be presented to deputies at the National Assemblies. The abovementioned documents are two letters from the Russian Chancellor for Foreign Affairs, Count Karl Von Nesselrode to Prince Miloš; the provision of the Akerman Convention of 1826 that referred to Serbia; the Hatti-Sheriffs of 1829, 1830, and 1833; the Berat (Sultan’s edict) of 1830 that gave Miloš Obrenović the hereditary title of Prince; and the account of the reception by Sultan Mahmud II in 1833, written by the prince’s secretary Avram Petronijević. The sources for the monograph were collected in archives, newspapers, collections of published archival materials, and historiographical literature. Most of the archival records are kept in the State Archives of Serbia, in the fund Knjažeska kancelarija (Prince’s Office), and the Collection of Mita Petrović. Documents held in the Archives of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade are also of great importance. Also, Prince Miloš’s speeches at the National Assemblies in 1834, 1835, 1837, and 1859 were published in the newspapers “Srpske novine”. Prince Miloš was the author of most of the speeches. Although illiterate, he dictated speeches to his scribes and secretaries, who then edited and copied them. The speeches of Prince Miloš provide an insight into his foreign policy, which led to autonomy for Serbia. Article 8 of the Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, signed in May 1812, was the cornerstone of Serbia’s autonomy. Thus Russia, one of the signatories of the Treaty of Bucharest, became its safeguard. The Porte granted autonomy to Serbia only after Russia exerted pressure and insisted on the complete fulfillment of the Treaty of Bucharest, and the Hatti-Sheriffs of 1829, 1830, and 1833 as well as on the Berat, which granted to Miloš Obrenović the hereditary title of prince. In addition to these acts, Prince Miloš’s speeches at the National Assemblies promulgated the Sretenje Constitution of 1835 and the laws on central and local government, administrative organization of the country, and laws on economic, social, and educational policy. The language of Prince Miloš's speeches was Slaveno-Serbian. The texts are transcribed into the modern alphabet and adapted to the current Serbian orthography

Item Type: Book
Additional Information: COBISS.SR-ID - 81874185
Uncontrolled Keywords: Miloš Obrenović, besede, Narodna skupština
Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
J Political Science > JS Local government Municipal government
Depositing User: Slavica Merenik
Date Deposited: 22 Feb 2023 14:05
Last Modified: 18 Dec 2023 10:24
URI: http://rih.iib.ac.rs/id/eprint/1150

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