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another scholar who writes that the area of today’s Albania did not have any state-boundaries
in the early 19 th century so therefore we cannot speak about nationalities in that period.
2.4.10. Formation of the Albanian Nation-State and the Protocol of Corfu (1914)
On 28 November 1912, when Ismael Qemali declared Albanian independence, the
autonomous state of Albania was founded. This declaration, which took place in Qemali’s
hometown Vlorë, happened in the time of the First Balkan War between Greek and Ottoman
armies (1912-1913). In May 1913, when the First Balkan War ended, Greek troops occupied
Ioannina and most of today’s Southern Albania. Shkodra was taken by the Montenegrian
troops (Winnifrith 2002: 129). In the period between the First (1912-1913) and the Second
Balkan War (1913), which was provoked by the invasion of Bolgarian army to Serbia and
Greece, people living in the area of today’s Albania generally held different opinions about
their future (ibid.). Some of them wanted to remain under the Ottoman government while
others felt connected to Greece. Amongst the latter were mainly the people living in Southern
Albania. In 1913, when the present Albanian state-borders were confirmed by the Great
Powers (France, Russian Empire, British Empire and United States), people of
Himarë/Himara and its neighbouring places protested against this declaration and expressed
their wish to join Greece.
In October 1914 Greek troops officially entered Southern Albania and established their
administration in districts of Himarë/Himara, Gjirokastër and Korça (see Jacques 1995: 359).
While Winnifrith (2002: 131) reports that people living in the occupied areas of Southern
Albania seemed to accept the Greek administration quite willingly, Jacques (referring to
Grameno) describes the brutality of the Greek army towards the local population. Soon after
these events the Protocol of Corfu was signed and the autonomous Republic of the Northern
Epirus was declared. The latter included Himarë/Himara area, Gjirokastër and today’s Epirus
of Greece. The new Republic was approved by William the Weid, the German prince to
whom the Principality of Albania was given for a short time between February 21 and
September 3, 1914. The Republic of Northern Epirus had blue-and-white colour flag,
surmounted by a double-headed black eagle (pointing ambiguously both to Skanderbeg and
Byzantium). It appeared only on few postage stamps (ibid.). The Corfu agreement did not last
long, because it was interrupted by the World War I which initially began in July 1914.
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