KOSOVO - The European Times

KOSOVOIntroductionKosovo’s Rich Past Pointsaccession and the economic and political dividendsthat this will bring.While the country looks to re-establish itself on theinternational stage, it should not be forgotten thatKosovo has long played a crucial role in the Balkansand the wider region. The land was a crucial part ofthe Roman and Byzantine Empires as well as changinghands between the Bulgarians and Byzantines inthe 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The province wasabsorbed into the Ottoman Empire in 1455 where itstayed until 1912. Kosovo was designated as a Vilayet,an Ottoman territorial entity serving as a distinctadministrative unit.The area was vital for the Sultan bloating his coffersin Istanbul with revenues from the country’s mineralwealth. The silver mines of Novo Brdo and Trepcawere particularly profitable. Beyond this, the country’smain exports were wool and leather while WesternKosovo was famous for its silk worms, fruit and Saffron.The area not only exported goods but also humancapital in the form of intellectuals and canny politicaloperators. A staggering 42 Albanians made it to thehighest imperial post of Grand Vizier, no mean feat fora small province in an Empire containing 29 provincesand stretching from the Atlantic coast in the West tothe Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea in the East.Several towns flourished under Ottoman rule not leastPrizren in the south of the territory nestled against theimposing Sharr Mountains. The town became a significanttrading post in the 15th and 16th centuries drawing inmany artisans including silversmiths, leather workers andsilk weavers. As with ports and cities on trading routesthe world over, the merchants and artisans who passedthrough Prizren left an indelible mark of diversity andrichness of culture on the town. Indeed, it has been hometo peoples of different faiths and ethnicities. Mosquesstill sit next to churches while different tongues jostle forattention on the town’s main square.In the 19th century when the country began to feel theaffects of modernisation and industrialisation, Mitrovicaand Prishtina began to eclipse Prizren as centres ofeconomic activity. Even before the first stirrings of theindustrial revolution emanated from Kosovo however,Mitrovica had established itself as an important centre.The town became a prominent trading post and militarygarrison largely because of its significance as the railheadfor the line to Salonica on the Aegean coast.However, Prizren was never completely outshone andwould play a vital role in the Albanian national awakeningwhich stirred throughout Albania and Kosovo. It washere in 1878 that the League of Prizren was formed. Thiscalled for a degree of autonomy within the OttomanEmpire as a means of protecting Albanian rights againstthe machinations of both local and international powers.The 300 delegates to this meeting reiterated their loyaltyto the Sultan but called for a defensive league and thecreation of a single Albanian Vilayet, administered byAlbanian officials, using Albanian customary law andintroducing Albanian language education.While the League’s goals only flickered briefly beforebeing extinguished by the Sultan and his forces, thecommitments made served as the equivalent of a Kosovarand Albanian Magna Carta which still resonate today. The20th century served up a chequered history for Kosovo butthe industriousness of its people and openness to trade hassurvived to the present day. Moreover, the commitmentsmade in the League of Prizren have been revived in a newmodern spirit which has bestowed independence uponthe land. Indeed, although much has passed, in manyways, the history of Kosovo is only just beginning.Prishtina by night7