By Krzysztof Popek , Ph.D
The19th century was a tempestuous time for the Balkans. There were wars, revolts against local liege lords, battles between armed bands, and national uprisings during which Christians and Muslims were fighting each other and between their own. The effect of these conflicts was a gradual collapse of the Ottoman Empire. First Serbia gained independence from Turkey, then Greece, Bulgaria, and – at last – Albania. The path to independence for Wallachia and Moldova (the later Romania) and Montenegro was longer and gradual. The events connected with the end of Turkish rule in the region led to large migrations, which, in the history of Southeastern Europe, can be compared only to the movements during the collapse of the Medieval Balkan states and the Ottoman conquest in the 13th-15th century. An increase in human mobility in the19th century was noticed primarily among Muslims. The German historian Wolfgang Höpken noted that the situation in19th century Balkans can be summarized in the simple words: “Without a doubt, the Turks are leaving and the Christians are coming”. Between 1821 and 1922 about 5 million Muslims emigrated from the Balkan Peninsula and the coast of the Black Sea, in 1878-1913 1.7-2 million people left European Turkey. Not by accident Maria Todorova concluded that the most significant effect of the creation of national states in the region and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire were the19th century migrations. The ethnic map of the present Balkan states is the effect of the 100 years of human mobility. In the19th century it would have been hard to find an ethnically and religiously homogeneous region in the Southeastern Europe – today it is not a difficult task.
The article presents the process of Muslim emigration from the Balkan states (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Montenegro) and other territories (Bosnia and Herzegovina) that separated from the Ottoman Empire in the19th century. The process is analyzed in the context of the power takeover in these territories by Christians. The paper will focus on the period of 1804-1912. The first date is linked to the breakout of the First Serbian Uprising – the event that started the mass Muslim migrations from the modern Balkan states. In 1912 the Balkan Wars started – they led to the collapse of Turkish rule in the Balkans, heralding the beginning of a new era in the region’s history.