Albanian revolt of 1910

Albanian revolt of 1910

Depiction of the revolt by The Illustrated Tribune, August 1910
DateMarch – 24 July 1910
Location
Result

Ottoman victory

  • Rebellion suppressed
Belligerents
Albanian rebels Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Isa Boletini
Idriz Seferi
Nazif Grazhdani
Dine Maqellara
Sherif Langu
Mahmud Shevket Pasha
Mehmed Pasha
Mustafa Kemal Pasha
Strength
Unknown Unknown

The Albanian revolt of 1910 (Albanian: Kryengritja e vitit 1910, lit.'Uprising of 1910', in Albanian historiography) was a reaction to the new centralization policies of the Young Turk Ottoman government in Albania.[1] It was the first of a series of major uprisings. Rebels were supported by the Kingdom of Serbia.[2] New taxes levied in the early months of 1910 led to Isa Boletini's activity to convince Albanian leaders who had already been involved in a 1909 uprising to try another revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The Albanian attacks on the Ottomans in Priştine (now Prishtinë) and Ferizovik (now Ferizaj), the killing of the Ottoman commander in İpek (now Pejë), and the insurgents' blocking of the railway to Skopje at the Kaçanik Pass led to the Ottoman government's declaration of martial law in the area.

After two weeks of fierce fighting the Albanian forces withdrew to the Drenica region, whereas the Ottoman army took possession of the cities of Prizren and Yakova (now Gjakova). The Ottomans retook İpek on 1 June 1910 and two months later they entered Shkodër. The reprisals against the Albanian population included several summary executions, and the burning of many villages and properties. Many schools were closed, and publications in the Albanian alphabet, which had been approved two years earlier, in the Congress of Manastir, were declared illegal. Journalists and publishers were fined or sentenced to death.

  1. ^ Akçam 2004, p. 129
  2. ^ John R. Lampe (28 March 2000). Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country. Cambridge University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-521-77401-7. Retrieved 22 July 2013. By 1910, an armed Albanian revolt was spreading from Pristina, ironically supported by aid of Serbia.