Prethodno priopćenje
https://doi.org/10.21857/yvjrdclk4y
Boka kotorska and the coast between Montenegro and the great powers 1797-1814
Saša Knežević
; Fakultet političkih nauka Univerziteta Crne Gore, Podgorica, Crna Gora
Sažetak
The main foreign policy activity of Metropolitan Petar I Petrović was directed towards the Bay of Kotor and the coast in an effort to connect them with Montenegro into one state organism. Although Montenegro's area was small and economically weak at that time, Metropolitan Petar I Petrović counted on the desire of the neighbouring coastal population to unite with Montenegro. So he directed his country's foreign policy to the struggle for the liberation and annexation of coastal Montenegro related to it ethnically, historically, economically. The connections between the mainland and the coastal part of today's Montenegro had always been alive, with intensive exchange trade, especially on the markets in Kotor and Risan. In the strategic, economic, and cultural sense, unification with Boka would have been the most valuable gain for the Montenegrin state, cramped in a small and ungenerous area with a "military camp" mentality. The Bay of Kotor was part of the Venetian and Mediterranean cultural circle and did not lag behind others in terms of civilization. But on the Adriatic coast, the interests of the great European powers also intersected. The Metropolitan tried to use the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 when Montenegro took possession of Budva for the first time. The failure of this action due to the great powers' decision did not shake Peter I, who strengthened his spiritual and political influence over the Orthodox population in Boka and the coast. French and Austrian diplomacy tried to suppress Russian influence in the Balkans and Montenegro. Peter I thought about the benefits he could derive from connecting with the French aspirations in the east, so he established communication with the French. In these diplomatic moves, an educated citizen of Dubrovnik, Secretary Franjo Dolći, significantly influenced him.
Following the Peace of Požun (Pressburg), Austria handed over this region to France. Earlier in 1806, the Russian fleet, backed by Montenegrins and the local population, had occupied the coast and held it until the middle of 1807. This was followed by a period of French rule in the Bay of Kotor, which was marked by frequent border conflicts between Montenegrins and the French and Bokelj's hostile attitude towards the French authorities. When a new anti-Napoleonic coalition was formed in 1813, Peter I came into contact with the English in order to fight against the French together. The unification of Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor was proclaimed on October 29, 1913, at the assembly in Dobrota. The commander of the English Hosta Squadron handed over the keys to Kotor to the Montenegrin Metropolitan. However, in May 1814, the Russian tsar informed Peter I that the allies had decided to make this region part of the Austrian state, which was accepted as an injustice by the Montenegrins and most of the coastal population. The three Metropolitan's military-political actions on the coast did not yield results due to unfavourable international circumstances, mutual diplomatic-political calculations and relationships, which conditioned the decisions of the great European powers. The paper is based on unpublished and published historical sources of various provenances and extensive historiographical literature.
Ključne riječi
Peter I; Boka Kotorska; Venetian Republic; Russia; Austria; Napoleon; Hoste
Hrčak ID:
268209
URI
Datum izdavanja:
23.12.2021.
Posjeta: 1.501 *