History
Montenegro’s history is one of dogged independence battled for against greater forces, which have crashed in failure against its rocky fortress interior. For 500 years Montenegro was the only country to defeat the Turkish forces that overran southeast Europe, and remain independent. While the size of its territory waxed and waned it was always centred on the central mountain fastness of Cetinje.
Only twice has the country not been master of its own affairs: first from 1166 for about 200 years when it was taken over by the Serbian kingdom of Raska, and second in 1916 during WWI when the Austrians invaded. On the back of that event Montenegro’s ally Serbia took the opportunity to occupy Montenegro and then annex it in 1922.
Montenegro’s development from tribal society to a modern state started with the vladike, the prince-bishops who ruled from the end of the 17th century; these vladike were supposedly celibate so the line of succession went from uncle to nephew.
During Vladika Petar 1’s rule and that of his successor, Petar II Petrovic Njegos, Montenegro was moulded into a state with the establishment of a central government supported by a taxation system.
Under Petar II’s successors, Montenegro finally secured its territories with the defeat of the Turks in the Russo-Turkish war and recognition at the subsequent Congress of Berlin in 1878.
By the turn of the 19th century, Montenegro was developing into a modern state with a legal framework, education system, a telegraph and postal service and the development of roads and railways. Cetinje was also becoming a social capital of southeastern Europe. Nikola I Petrovic, Montenegro’s ruler, married six of his daughters into European royal and aristocratic families, and several embassies and diplomatic missions were established in Cetinje. Their fine buildings can still be seen today.
In 1910, Montenegro became a constitutional monarchy with Nikola as king, but within four years the country was at war and eight years later a Serbian satrapy. A popular revolt, the Christmas Uprising, erupted in 1919 and rumbled on until the exiled King Nikola withdrew his support. This period is marked by a large Montenegrin diaspora, mainly to the USA.
As a reward for its stalwart support of the partisans during WWII, Tito gave Montenegro republic status in the postwar Yugoslav federation. From then on Montenegro was a loyal member of all of Yugoslavia’s incarnations culminating in the loose union of Serbia and Montenegro that came to an end with the pro-independence vote in May 2006.
Montenegro is now fully independent for the first time since 1916, and became the 192nd member of the UN on 28 June 2006.
