Britanska javnost o Srbiji u Prvom balkanskom ratu

Rastović, Aleksandar P. (2015) Britanska javnost o Srbiji u Prvom balkanskom ratu. Glas SANU, 425 (17). pp. 277-284. ISSN 0351-4765

Text 2015 Britanska javnost.pdf Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (3MB)

Abstract

The First Balkan War marked a sharp turning point in the treatment of the Serbian state and the Serbian people by the British public. Despite decades-long stereotypes on Serbia as a country of savages and primitives, the British public almost unanimously adopted a new discourse in treating the Serbian reality. This resulted primarily from glorious victories of Serbian soldiers and their honourable treatment of prisoners of war and local population in the areas occupied by Serbian military units. A positive view of the Serbian cause was expressed by different segments of the British public opinion, including the press as well as reputable university professors and scholars. British newspapers covered a range of topics relating to Serbia. Most often, they wrote about the need to change the present status quo, that is to recognize the new realities in the region, as well as about Serbia's access to the Adriatic Sea, territorial compensations in the area of what was Kosovo Vilayet to that date, the position of Serbia and its goverment, and in particular Nikola Pašić, with regard to the creation of a new Albanian state. When writing about Serbia, the British press adopted a generally unbiased view. This was true not only for leading national papers, but also for many provincial ones. An important contribution to the promotion of the Serbian cause in the British Isles came from reputable university professors, most of all Harold Temperley, Seton-Watson, George Trevelyan, but there were also those who took up a hostile attitude, as was the case with Magu Durham. These professors and scholars voiced their positive impressions of Serbia, its army, officers and soldiers in public appearances, newspaper articles, numerous monographs and articles published in those months, but also in the years after the end of the First Balkan War.

Actions (login required)

View Item