4 - Revolution (1788–1858)

Summary

This chapter explains the emergence of modern Serbia within the broader context of European and Middle Eastern revolutionary upheavals of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A largely illiterate society of peasant farmers, the Serbs of the Belgrade pashalik successfully resisted local Jannisary misrule. Despite the collapse of Karadjordje Petrović’s revolutionary statelet in 1813, by 1830 Serbia, led by Prince Miloš Obrenović, gained full autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, initially guaranteed by Russia and then collectively by the Powers. A dual Ottoman-Serb administration gradually transitioned into de facto independence for Serbia. The chapter discusses the impact of central and west European ideas on the formation of the Serbian national identity, and the role played by Austria and Russia in the regional politics. Serbia built a state administration, education and legal system and proto political parties emerged, pushing for a western-style constitution. The emancipation of the Serbs in the 1830s turned Serbia into a land of free peasants and an attractive destination for migrants from neighbouring empires. At the same time, the local Muslim population continued to emigrate.