Economic Measures in the Activities of the Serbian Chetnik Organisation in the Kosovo and Bitola Vilayets, 1904–1908: A Case Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51663/pnz.66.1.04Keywords:
Ottoman Empire, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Old Serbia, Chetniks, comitadji, Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO), Bulgarian ExarchateAbstract
Economic methods played a supplementary yet highly significant role in the struggle conducted by the guerrilla units of the Serbian Chetnik Organisation (SCO) in the Kosovo and Bitola (Monastir) vilayetsof the Ottoman Empire, aiding in the achievement of national objectives. Following the example and experience of the rival comitadjiorganisations (Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation – MRO; Bulgarian-Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation – BMARO; Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation – SMARO; Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation – IMARO), the Serbian revolutionary structure in the Ottoman Empire similarly employed economic measures as a means of attracting the Orthodox population of the Bitola and Kosovo vilayetsinto its ranks. Since these activities were conducted to promote the national and state interests of the Kingdom of Serbia, they can be characterised as a form of economic nationalism.
References
Abu Jaber, Kamel S. “The Millet System in Nineteenth Century Ottoman Empire.” The Muslim World 57/3 (July 1967): 212–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1967.tb01260.x
Berger, Stefan and Thomas Fetzer, eds. Nationalism and the Economy: Explorations into a Neglected Relationship. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9789633861998
Berger, Stefan and Storm Eric, eds. Writing the History of Nationalism. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350064348
Dakin, Douglas. The Greek Struggle in Macedonia 1897–1913. Thessaloniki: Institute for Balkan Studies, 1966.
Gostović, Milena. Kosovski vilajet 1879–1900. Godišnji izveštaji (salname). Novi Sad: Matica srpska, 2021. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Ilić, Vladimir. Srpska četnička akcija 1903–1912. Beograd: Ecolibri, 2006. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Ilić, Žarko. Geografska percepcija srpske zemlje i centralnog Balkana u novom veku – ime, prostor granica. Beograd: Huk izdavaštvo, in print. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Ilić, Žarko. “Srpska zemlja na jugu – između istorije i etnografije, teorije i prakse.” In Kralj Milan Obrenović, oslobodilac i reformator. Zasluge i poricanja. Tematski zbornik radova. Edited by Suzana Rajić and Žarko Ilić, 41–57. Beograd: Istraživačko-izdavački centar “Stari Vlah,” 2025. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Jagodić, Miloš. “Nufusko pitanje. Problem zvaničnog priznavanja srpske nacije u Turskoj 1894–1910.” Istorijski časopis 57 (2008): 343–53. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Jagodić, Miloš. Srpsko-albanski odnosi u Kosovskom vilajetu 1878–1912. Belgrade: Zavod za udžbenike. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Jovanović, Jovan M. Južna Srbija od kraja XVIII veka do oslobođenja. Beograd: TANESI, 1990. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Pejčić, Predrag. Četnički pokret u Kraljevini Srbiji 1903–1918. Kragujevac: Pogledi, 2007. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Rajić, Suzana. Aleksandar Obrenović. Vladar na prelazu vekova. Sukobljeni svetovi. Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, 2014. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Rajić, Suzana. Vladan Đorđević. Biografija pouzdanog obrenovićevca. Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike, 2007. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Savić, Aleksandar M. “Od ejaleta i vilajeta do nahije – administrativna podela južnih srpskih krajeva (1834–1879).” In Novooslobođeni krajevi Srbije 1833–1878–1913. Edited by Suzana Rajić, Uroš Šešum, and Aleksandar M. Savić, 27–57. Belgrade: Centar za srpske studije, 2025. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Schultz, Helga and Eduard Kubů, eds. History and Culture of Economic Nationalism in East Central Europe. Berlin: Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2006.
Shaw, Stanford J. and Ezel Kural Shaw. History of Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Volume II: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808–1975. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614972
Simeonov, Nikolay. “Struktura, metodi i zhertvi na srabskata vaorazhena propaganda v Makedonia (1904–1908).” Anamneza I/2 (2006). Accessed: 10 February 2026. http://anamnesis.info/broi2/Simeonov.pdf. (Bulgarian Cyrillic)
Storm, Eric. Nationalism: A World History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2024.
Suesse, Marvin. The Nationalist Dilemma: A Global History of Economic Nationalism, 1776–Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917087
Šešum, Uroš. Srpska četnička akcija (1897–1908). Oružana diplomatija. Novi Sad: Matica srpska, 2019. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Šešum, Uroš. “Srpska četnička organizacija u Staroj Srbiji 1903–1908. Terenska organizacija.” Srpske studije 2 (2011): 239–58. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Šešum, Uroš. “Društvo protiv Srba 1897–1902. Metodi i mere bugarske diplomatije, Egzarhije i Bugarsko-makedonsko odrinske revolucionarne organizacije protiv širenja srpskog uticaja u Južnoj Staroj Srbiji i Makedoniji 1897–1902.” Srpske studije 4 (2013): 73–103. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Šešum, Uroš. “O broju Srba u Južnoj Staroj Srbiji 1903–1908. Godine.” Vardarski zbornik 10 (2015): 147–70. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Šešum, Uroš. “Pretpostavke srpske crkveno-prosvetne politike u Skopskoj, Veleško-debarskoj, Pelagonijskoj i Prespanskoj eparhiji i njeni rezultati 1887–1889.” In Kralj Milan Obrenović, oslobodilac i reformator. Zasluge i poricanja. Tematski zbornik radova. Edited by Suzana Rajić and Žarko Ilić, 59–84. Beograd: Istraživačko-izdavački centar “Stari Vlah”, 2025. (Serbian Cyrillic) ,
Vojvodić, Mihailo. Stojan Novaković i Vladimir Karić. Beograd: Clio, 2003. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Published sources
Dokumenti o spoljnoj politici Kraljevine Srbije 1903–1914. Iz fondova Arhiva Srbije i Arhiva Jugoslavije, knj. I, Sveska 3/II (1/14. april – 30. juni/13. juli 1905. godine). Edited by Ljiljana Aleksić-Pejković. Beograd: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 2014. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Dokumenti o spoljnoj politici Kraljevine Srbije 1903–1914. Organizacija srpska odbrana (1903–1905) iz fondova Arhiva Srbije, knj. II, Dodatak 1. Edited by Ljiljana Aleksić-Pejković, and Vasilije Krestić. Beograd: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 2008. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Dokumenti o spoljnoj politici Kraljevine Srbije 1903–1914. Organizacija srpska odbrana 1906. iz fondova Arhiva Srbije, knj. II, Dodatak 2. Edited by Ljiljana Aleksić-Pejković, and Života Anić. Beograd: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 2007. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Dokumenti o spoljnoj politici Kraljevine Srbije 1903–1914. Organizacija srpska odbrana 1907. iz fondova Arhiva Srbije, knj. II, Dodatak 3. Edited by Ljiljana Aleksić-Pejković, and Života Anić. Beograd: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 2008. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Dokumenti o spoljnoj politici Kraljevine Srbije 1903–1914. Organizacija srpska odbrana 1908. iz fondova Arhiva Srbije, knj. III, Dodatak. Edited by Ljiljana Aleksić-Pejković. Beograd: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 2011. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Krakov, Stanislav. Plamen četništva. Beograd: KIZ “Hipnos,“ 1990. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Vučetić, Biljana. “Sećanja Antonija Todorovića na revolucionarnu akciju srpskog naroda u Turskoj 1904–1914. godine.” Mešovita građa – Miscellanea 28 (2007): 256–305. (Serbian Cyrillic)
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Uroš Šešum, Miroslav Radivojević
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
