Ilija Garašanin
Ilija Garašanin | |
---|---|
Илија Гарашанин | |
Michael I | |
Preceded by | Filip Hristić |
Succeeded by | Jovan Ristić |
Representative of the Prince of Serbia | |
In office 22 April 1852 – 26 March 1853 | |
Monarch | Alexander I |
Preceded by | Avram Petronijević |
Succeeded by | Aleksa Simić |
Personal details | |
Born | Garaši, Ottoman Empire (now Serbia) | 28 January 1812
Died | 22 June 1874 Grocka, Serbia | (aged 62)
Nationality | Serbian |
Political party | Conservatives |
Ilija Garašanin (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Гарашанин; 28 January 1812 – 22 June 1874) was a Serbian statesman who served as the prime minister of Serbia between 1852 and 1853 and again from 1861 to 1867.
Ilija Garašanin was
Early life, education and military service
Ilija was born in
Ilija was homeschooled with private teachers, he went to a Greek school in Zemun, and was for a time in
Entering politics
His father was part of the
Načertanije
The primacy Garašanin gave to inter-state consideration is most clearly elaborated in his 1844
Although written by a statesman and politician identifying Serbian needs with those of the new Principality, Garašanin was strongly influenced by broader views of the Polish émigré Adam Jerzy Czartoryski[6] and his advisers, as well as French and British attitudes toward nationality and statehood.[7] Ideologically, Garašanin combines in his Načertanije the German and French models of a nation while politically attempting to balance the interests of the present Serbian state with contemporary demographics (the fact that many Serbs were then still living under the yoke of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires) and past, medieval possessions in Old Serbia (i.e., present-day Kosovo and Metohija, and Macedonia).[7]
Insecurity, more so than Yugoslavism or Serbian nationalism, was the prevailing reasoning behind the idea of expanding Serbian borders.[8] Načertanije was a revised version of a programme entitled "The Plan" proposed to Garašanin by Czatoryski and his Czech envoy to Belgrade, František Zach.[8] Zach presented his plan for regional politics to Garašanin in December 1843, which called for the unification by Serbia of the South Slav lands (Croatia-Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Slovenian lands), thus creating a basis for Serbian resistance to both Russian and Austrian influence.[9] In his revision of Zach's plan, Garašanin envisioned a reconstruction of the medieval Serbian empire and the unification of 'Serbian lands' (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, northern Albania, parts of Dalmatia and the Habsburg Military Border) with a plan for unification of the other South Slavs (Croatians and Bulgarians) under a Serbian dynasty.[9]
The basic idea was the liberation and unification of South-Slavic lands with Serbia playing the role of a 'Piedmont' for the South Slavs.[9] Garašanin however did not put forth the idea of a broader national unification that would have encompassed Serbs in the Ottoman and Habsburg lands.[9] He assessed that because Serbia was small, its future security would be in jeopardy due to the current International system.[10] Strengthening Serbia through enlargement was the primary goal and this could be done through an alliance with her neighbours and incorporating all Serbs into that state.[10] Garašanin had to consider the imminent collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the geo-strategic interests of European great powers and the identity of the populations surrounding Serbia in order to successfully achieve this goal.[11] He did not have a single strategy for all neighbouring provinces.[12] His strategy seems to have depended on whether he thought a society in question had or did not have a national identity.[13] Hence, the non-national Catholic and Muslim South Slav population were to be assimilated into the Serbian nation where as the nationally conscious Bulgarian population was recognized as a distinct nation.[13]
Politics
Of all the Serbian politicians Garašanin's view had not only the greatest breadth but also the most realism with respect to the national problems of both Serbia and other neighbouring states in 1848. The time of great uprisings against the Turks was on the wane then, and the role of opposition to the Turks was assumed by the recently created Balkan states. Garašanin perceived that such a role could be assumed by a modern bureaucratic administration—modern for Serbia and for the Balkans—for it was harsh, arbitrary, and rapacious. It was a matter of superimposing a European model on the chaotic orient and on but recently liberated and still-self-willed and defiant Balkan people. But the model was a suitable one in that it did unite and ensure some measure of order and stability.
Just prior to the outbreak of the
Garašanin induced Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević to convoke a national assembly, which had not been called to meet for ten years. The assembly was convoked for
Garašanin was preparing a general rising of the Balkan nations against the Turkish rule, and had entered into confidential arrangements with the Romanians, Albanians, Bulgarians and Greeks. But the execution of his plans was frustrated as in 1867 Garašanin was suddenly discharged, probably because he objected to the proposed marriage of Prince Michael and Katarina Konstantinović. His dismissal caused energetic protests of Russia, and more especially by the assassination of Prince Michael a few months later (10 June 1868).[15] When the assassination took place, he was in Topčider and immediately went to Belgrade to inform the ministers about the assassination and measures were taken to preserve order. The last years of his life were spent away from politics, on his estate in Grocka.
Relationship with Njegos̆
The effective scope of Garašanin's activities extended beyond the Serbian border and opened a way to the modernization of the country. One felt in Garašanin the irrepressible pulsation of the recently pacified uprisings, but also a sober program for an effective administration and free trade.
Thanks to the Illustrious Prince and Sovereign and to you, his councillor, for whatever thought you may from time to time lend this bloody Serbian crag. This will win you the honour of posterity when our people are raised up in spirit ... I have been very ill ... I have been in Italy ... got steadily worse ... was completely worn out, and so necessity and councel prevailed and I returned to our native clime after a month. I feel rather better, but I am still weak ... My dear and estimeed Mr. Garašanin, as backward as our Serbian state of affairs is in our country, it is no wonder that I have been exhausted by this bloody cathedra to which I ascended by a curious chance these twenty years ago. Everyone is mortal and must die. I would be sorry for nothing now save for not seeing some progress among our whole people and for not being able in some way to establish the internal government of Montenegro on a firm foundation, and thus I fear that after me there will come back to Montenegro all those woes which existed before me, and that this small folk of ours, uneducated but militant and strong in spirit, will remain in perpetual misery. There is not a Serb who does more and thinks more for the Serbs than you, there is not a Serb whom Serbdom loves more sincerely and respects more than you, and there is not a Serb who loves and respects you more than I.
Awards and legacy
He was awarded the Order of Prince Danilo I.[18]
He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs.
Garašanin left behind a vast (still not published) political correspondence.
See also
- Avram Petronijević
- Toma Vučić-Perišić
- Dimitrije Davidović
- Aleksa Simić
- Milutin Savić
References
- ^ "snažan, visok, jakog glasa", vid. Dejvid Mekenzi, Ilija Garašanin, državnik i diplomata, Beograd,1987, str. 27
- ^ MacKenzie 1985, p. 15.
- ^ a b c Manetovic 2006, p. 145.
- ISBN 978-1-13756-414-6.
- ^ Trencsényi & Kopecek 2007, p. 239.
- ISBN 978-1-35186-343-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9214-9015-9.
- ^ a b Manetovic 2006, p. 160.
- ^ a b c d Trencsényi & Kopecek 2007, p. 240.
- ^ a b Manetovic 2006, pp. 161–162.
- ^ Manetovic 2006, p. 162.
- ^ Manetovic 2006, p. 163.
- ^ a b Manetovic 2006, p. 164.
- ^ a b Mijatovich 1911, p. 455.
- ^ Mijatovich 1911, pp. 455–456.
- ^ a b c d e Djilas, Milovan (1966). Njegos̆: Poet, Prince, Bishop. Harcourt, Brace & World. pp. 407–408.
- ISBN 978-0-80144-601-6.
- ^ Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 85.
Sources
- Драгослав Страњаковић (2005). Илија Гарашанин. Јефимија. ISBN 978-8-67016-053-8.
- "Илија Гарашанин". 100 najznamenitijih Srba. Princip. 1993. ISBN 9788682273011.
- Andra Gavrilović (1903). Znameniti Srbi xix veka. Vol. 2. Naklada Srpske štamparije.
- Petar II Petrović Njegoš, Cjelokupna djela, edited by Danilo Vušović, 2nd edition (Belgrade, 1936). In addition to his literary works, this volume contains a collection of letters, including the one to Garašanin, by Njegoš.
- MacKenzie, David (1985). Ilija Garašanin: Balkan Bismarck. East European Monographs. ISBN 978-0-88033-073-2.
- Trencsényi, Balázs; Kopecek, Michal (2007). National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements: Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe 1770–1945, volume II. Budapest: Central European University Press. ISBN 978-6-15521-124-9.
- Manetovic, Edislav (2006). "Ilija Garasanin: Nacertanije and Nationalism". The Historical Review/La Revue Historique. 3: 137–173. doi:10.12681/hr.201.
- public domain: Mijatovich, Chedomille (1911). "Garashanin, Iliya". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 455–456. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the