The Struggle of the Serbian People in Kosovo and Metohija for the Preservation of National Identuty Under the Turkish Rule During the 19th and Early 20thCenturies

Stijović, Milun (2020) The Struggle of the Serbian People in Kosovo and Metohija for the Preservation of National Identuty Under the Turkish Rule During the 19th and Early 20thCenturies. In: War, Peace and Nation-building : (1853-1918). Institute of History, Belgrade, pp. 177-188. ISBN 978-86-7743-140-2

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Abstract

After falling under Turkish rule and losing state independence, the Christian Serbs obtained the status of the rayah deprived of the rights enjoyed by the Muslim population. Religious discrimination, social dependence, economic and physical inequality made the life of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija difficult and uncertain. In the 19th century, particularly after the Serbian­Turkish wars of 1876–1878, their position became unbearable – prosecution and violence became organised. In an environment of utter lawlessness, which is why they often could not even make ends meet, the Serbs frequently resorted to emigration or conversion to Islam, which usually, ultimately led to Albanisation. Serbia undertook numerous measures to preserve national consciousness among the Serbian population. It first did so informally, only to, finally, institutionally bolster its activities in Old Serbia and Macedonia – by opening consulates in the Ottoman Empire. The task of Serbian consular representatives in Kosovo and Metohija was to help the Serbs in terms of their physical protection, as well as to help them preserve their faith and nation and dissuade them from embracing Islam. This paper focuses on the measures that Serbia undertook to that end, and on how the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija fostered their national identity on their own

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