Expulsion of the Albanians, 1877–1878
The expulsion of the Albanians, 1877–1878 refers to events of forced migration of Albanian populations from areas that became incorporated into the Principality of Serbia and Principality of Montenegro in 1878 after their initial expulsion from 1830–1876. These wars, alongside the larger Russo-Ottoman War (1877–78) ended in defeat and substantial territorial losses for the Ottoman Empire which was formalised at the Congress of Berlin. This expulsion was part of the wider persecution of Muslims in the Balkans during the geopolitical and territorial decline of the Ottoman Empire.
| Expulsion of the Albanians, 1877–1878 | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and Serbian–Ottoman Wars (1876–1878) | |
| Location | Sanjak of Niş (now southern Serbia), Sanjak of İşkodra (partially in contemporary Montenegro), Ottoman Empire |
| Date | 1877–1878 |
| Target | Albanians |
Attack type | Ethnic cleansing, expulsion, forced migration |
| Victims | Serbian claim: 30,000 Albanian refugees Modern estimates: 200,000–350,000 Albanian refugees |
| Perpetrators | Serbian Army, Montenegrin army |
| Motive | |
On the eve of conflict between Montenegro and the Ottomans (1876–1878), a substantial Albanian population resided in the Sanjak of İşkodra. In the Montenegrin-Ottoman war that ensued, strong resistance in the towns of Podgorica and Spuž toward Montenegrin forces was followed by the expulsion of their Albanian and Slavic Muslim populations who resettled in Shkodër.
On the eve of conflict between Serbia and the Ottomans (1876–1878), a substantial, at times compact and mainly rural Albanian population alongside some urban Turks (some of Albanian heritage) lived with Serbs within the Sanjak of Niş. Throughout the course of the war, the Albanian population depending on the area reacted differently to incoming Serbian forces by either offering resistance or fleeing toward nearby mountains and Ottoman Kosovo. Although most of these Albanians were expelled by Serbian forces, a small number were allowed to remain in the Jablanica valley where their descendants live today. Serbs from Lab moved to Serbia during and after the first round of hostilities in 1876, while incoming Albanian refugees thereafter 1878 repopulated their villages. Albanian refugees also settled alongside the north-eastern Ottoman-Serbian border, in urban areas and in over 30 settlements located in central and south-eastern Kosovo.
Ottoman authorities had difficulties accommodating to the needs of the refugees and they were hostile to the local Serbian population committing revenge attacks. The expulsion of the Albanian population from these regions was done in a manner that today could be classed as ethnic cleansing as the victims included civilians. These Albanian refugees and their descendants became known in Albanian as Muhaxhir; plural: Muhaxhirë, a generic word for Muslim refugees (borrowed from Ottoman Turkish: Muhacir and derived from Arabic: Muhajir). The events of this period led to tense relations and conflict between the Serbian and Albanian peoples.