The Issue That Borders Could Not Solve: The Dispute Over Nationality Between the Ottoman Empire and Montenegro

Abstract

The independence of Balkan states is considered to be the partition of the Ottoman Empire in Turkish historiography. However, as can be seen in the example of Montenegro, Balkan states established an administration separate from the Ottoman Empire and defined their people as Montenegrins. On the other hand, Ottomans considered the Montenegrins, who were not the subject of any dispute, as Ottoman citizens; they did not restrain their property rights or prevent them from working. This situation continued until the Treaty of Berlin which was signed in 1878. The official independence of Montenegro after the Treaty of Berlin changed the lives of Montenegrins and the Ottomans living in Montenegro. The nationality of which state would the people whose lands were on the other side of the border prefer? How would they decide about their nationality? Would their choice of nationality lead to denial of their property rights? Or was it an obligation to choose nationality? In the face of these questions to which the public sought answers, both states' rulers prioritized protecting their sovereignty and did not want to behave unjustly towards their citizens. For this reason, they sometimes ignored border violations. Just as the Ottomans refrained from interfering with the Montenegrins in areas such as property, taxation, and work-life unless there were extraordinary situations, Montenegrins also did not interfere with the Ottoman subjects living in their lands. This article focuses on the issues of nationality between the two states in the period from the independence of Montenegro with the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 until the end of World War I. The article shows that in a period when people mostly preferred nationality within the framework of religious affiliations, property, taxation, and economic conditions were also effective in choosing nationality.