Revolutionary Serbia


Revolutionary Serbia or Karađorđe's Serbia refers to the state established by Serbian revolutionaries in Ottoman Serbia after successful military operations against the Ottoman Empire and establishment of government in 1805. The Sublime Porte first officially recognized the state as autonomous in January 1807, however, the Serbian revolutionaries rejected the treaty and continued fighting the Ottomans until 1813. Although the first uprising was crushed, it was followed by the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815, which resulted in the creation of the Principality of Serbia, as it gained semi-independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1817.

Political history

First Serbian Uprising

Stratimirović's Memorandum

Between July and October 1806 Petar Ičko, an Ottoman dragoman and representative of the Serbian rebels, negotiated a peace treaty known in historiography as "Ičko's Peace". Ičko had been sent to Constantinople twice in the latter half of 1806 to negotiate peace. The Ottomans seemed ready to grant Serbia autonomy following rebel victories in 1805 and 1806, also pressured by the Russians, who had taken Moldavia and Wallachia; they agreed to a sort of autonomy and clearer stipulation of taxes in January 1807, by which time the rebels had already taken Belgrade. The rebels rejected the treaty and sought Russian aid to their independence, while the Ottomans had declared war on Russia in December 1806. A Russian-Serbian alliance treaty was signed on 10 June 1807.

Russian–Serbian Alliance

On 10 July 1807, the Serbian rebels under Karađorđe signed an alliance with the Russian Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. After the Ottoman Empire had allied itself with Napoleon in late 1806, and was attacked by Russia and Britain, it sought to meet the demands of the Serbian rebels. At the same time, the Russians offered the Serbs aid and cooperation. The Serbs chose alliance with the Russians over autonomy under the Ottomans. Karađorđe was to receive arms, and military and medical missions, which proved to be a turning point in the Serbian Revolution.

Proclamations

Government

Rule was divided between Grand Vožd Karađorđe, the Narodna Skupština and the Praviteljstvujušči Sovjet, established in 1805.

Ruling Council

The Ruling Council was established by recommendation of the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Czartoryski and on the proposal of some of the dukes. The idea of Boža Grujović, the first secretary, and Matija Nenadović, the first president, was that the council would become the government of the new Serbian state. It had to organize and supervise the administration, the economy, army supply, order and peace, judiciary, and foreign policy.
DateMembers
August 1805Mladen Milovanović, Avram Lukić, Jovan Protić, Pavle Popović, Velisav Stanojlović, Janko Đurđević, Đurica Stočić, Milisav Ilijić, Ilija Marković, Vasilije Radojičić, Milutin Vasić, Jevto Savić-Čotrić, Dositej Obradović and Petar Novaković Čardaklija
End of 1805Archpriest Matija Nenadović, and members Jakov Nenadović, Janko Katić, Milenko Stojković, Luka Lazarević and Milan Obrenović.
November 1810Jakov Nenadović, and members Pavle Popović, Velisav Perić, Vasilije Jović, Janko Đurđević, Dositej Obradović, Ilija Marković, and secretaries Stevan Filipović and Mihailo Grujović.

Ministries

In 1811, the government system was reorganized, with the formation of ministries instead of nahija-representatives.
MinistriesMinisters
PresidentKarađorđe
International AffairsMilenko Stojković ; Miljko Radonić
EducationDositej Obradović ; Ivan Jugović
MilitaryMladen Milovanović
Internal AffairsJakov Nenadović
LawPetar Dobrnjac ; Ilija Marković
FinanceSima Marković
SecretariesMihailo Grujović and Stevan Filipović