Montenegrin-Albanian relations according to the views of Edith Durham

• Author: Afrim Sijarina
• Pages: 196-199

Vol. 2 No. 2

July 2016

Academic Journal of Business, Administration, Law and Social Sciences

IIPCCL Publishing, Tirana-Albania

ISSN 2410-3918

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

196

Montenegrin-Albanian relations according to the views of Edith Durham

AfrimSarina

Abstract

This manuscript analyzes Madam Durham, who visited every corner of Balkan for a quarter of

century. In her works there has been a multidimensional picture of events such as internation-

alregional andlocal Shehas wrienabout therelationship ofcooperation andfriendship

between Montenegro and Albania, including the way of life, habits, traditions and customs.

The description of events starts from the congress of Berlin to the Balkan wars. Being a very

intense period for relations between the two countries, the entire backstage has been analyzed.

Accordingto MrsDurham the conictwas notdispersed fornational religious reasonsIn

most of the cases the reasons were based on property and wealth purposes.

Keywords: Albania, Montenegro, Relations, Edith Durham.

Introduction

No one has described Montenegrin-Albanian relations throughout their complexity

anddramaand precisely in the crucialmomentsoffriendship and the hostility

between these countries and people, in a more brilliant and multifaceted way than

Mrs. Edith Durham.

Being a traveler and philanthropist, she has brought the whole picture of the events,

the scenes and behind the scenes of these relations, followed by the description of

international, Balkan and local relations, combined by many simultaneously actors.

No one else has been able to bring a so clear and deep picture into a three-dimensional

view than this honorable lady.

The rst journeys in the Balkans as well as the recognition with the people and

countriesstartedbetweenAlthoughtheyBalkansstruedandpretended

that they were leading actors and protagonists of events, according to the description

thatDurhamsworksbroughtitisclearthattheseprotagonistBalkanswereeither

justsometoolsinthehandsofgreatpowersorjustsomearticiallyinatedballoons

who were injected with a dose of nationalism.

Along the 19-th century until the Congress of Berlin, the period when Albanians were

intheireorts to national awakening evenMontenegrinswithouttheir territorial

unitsandstateusedtohaveanautonomywithintheOomanEmpirebutwithout

legally certain and internationally known borders. Such circumstances are not about

authenticinterstaterelations but mainly randomandmostly conicting relations

Themaincausesoftheseconictshavebeenrobberybloodfeudsrevengereligious

and national loathing, pastoral issues and agricultural land, which were caused in the

deciencyofbordersassignmentbetweenTurkeyandMontenegro

Having briey introduced the history of the country and the Balkan peoples

Durham brought a special emphasis on the developments that include a period of

approximately a quarter of a centuryfrom the Congress of Berlin until aer the