Ilija Garasanin-Narcentanije 1844.ENG

8/13/2019 Ilija Garasanin-Narcentanije 1844.ENG

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Ilija GarasaninNacertanije (1844)

One of first outlines of Serbian territorial aspirations on the Balkans

The "Nacertanije" is the first written treatise to outline Serbian territorial aims on the Balkans, as

well as their "historical right" to assume a leadership position in that part of Europe. t was writtenin !## b$ lija %arasanin, who was at the time ser&ing as 'inister of nternal (ffairs of Serbia inthe go&ernment of )ing (le*ander )aradorde&ic.

lija %arasanin +!!-!#/ was &er$ acti&e in Serbian public life in the !0th centur$. 1e heldman$ go&ernment posts, including 'inister of nternal (ffairs, 2oreign 'inister and 3rime'inister, under both )ing (le*ander )aradorde&ic as well as )ing 'ilos Obreno&ic. (s one of themost prominent Serbian statesmen of the time, he was &er$ influential in shaping Serbian politicsand policies.

4hat follows are some of the ke$ points of his political program to empower Serbia.5 5 5

Serbia must place herself in the ranks of the other European states, creating a plan for her futureto compose, so to speak, a domestic polic$ to whose principles she should firml$ adhere o&er afi*ed period of time, and according to which she should go&ern herself and decide all her affairs.

(cti&it$ and agitation among the Sla&s has alread$ begun and will, indeed, ne&er cease. Serbiamust understand this mo&ement as well as the role which she must pla$ within it.

f Serbia ponders what she is now, the position in which she finds herself and the kind of peoplethat surround her, she is confronted with the undeniable fact that she is small and cannot longremain so. Onl$ through alliance with other surrounding peoples can she sol&e her futureproblems.

4ith these factors in mind, a plan ma$ be constructed which does not limit Serbia to her presentborders, but endea&ors to absorb all the Serbian people around her.

f Serbia does not faithfull$ pursue this polic$, and, worse still, rejects it, failing to arrange herproblems b$ a well- ordered plan, she will be buffetted back and forth like a small &essel b$ thecross currents of e&er$ alien tempest until finall$ she will be dashed to bits on some unsuspectedreef.

The Serbian state must stri&e to e*pand and become stronger6 its roots and foundation are firml$embedded in the Serbian Empire of the !7th and !#th centuries and the glorious pageant ofSerbian histor$. 1istoricall$ speaking, the Serbian rulers, it ma$ be remembered, began toassume the position held b$ the %reek Empire and almost succeeded in making an end of it,replacing the collapsed Eastern 8oman Empire with a Serbian-Sla&ic one. Emperor 9usan the'ight$ had e&en adopted the crest of the %reek Empire. The arri&al of the Turks in the Balkansinterrupted this change, and pre&ented it from taking place for a long time. But now, since the

Turkish power is broken and destro$ed, so to speak, this process must commence once more inthe same spirit and again be undertaken in the knowledge of that right.

The sub-structure and framework of the Serbian Empire, therefore, must be cleared of allencumbrances so that a new edifice ma$ be constructed on this solid and durable historicalfoundation. Such an enterprise would be endowed with inestimable importance and great prestigeamong European cabinets, as well as in the e$es of its own people6 for then we Serbs couldappear before that world as the heirs of our illustrious forefathers, doing nothing that is new otherthan completing their work. 1ence our present will not be without a link to the past and will



comprise one dependent, integrated, and s$stematic whole. Thus, the Serbian dea and itsnational mission and e*istence will stand under the sacred law of histor$. Our aspirations will notbe reproached as something no&el and untried, that the$ signif$ re&olution and rebellion6 but allmust acknowledge that this is politicall$ necessar$, grounded in past ages, and originating in thestate and national life of the Serbian people whose roots continuall$ send forth branches toblossom anew.

f we consider the rebirth of the Serbian kingdom from those standpoints, then others will easil$understand the South Sla& idea and accept it with jo$6 for probabl$ in no single European countr$is the memor$ of the historical past so &i&id as among the Sla&s of Turke$, for whom therecollection of the celebrated e&ents of their histor$ is especiall$ cherished and fondl$remembered. . .

The Serbs were the first, of all the Sla&s of Turke$, to struggle for their freedom with their ownresources and strength6 therefore, the$ ha&e the first and foremost right to further direct thisendea&or. E&en now in man$ places, and in certain European cabinets, it is anticipated ande*pected that a great future is imminent for the Serbs, and it is this fact which has attracted theattention of Europe. f Serbia is thought of as merel$ a principalit$, the nucleus of a future Serbiankingdom, then the world need not concern itself an$ more than it did with the 'olda&ian and4allachian principalities where there is no independent principle and whom it considers 8ussian

satellites.

( new Serbian state in the south could gi&e Europe e&er$ guarantee that it would be orderl$ andstrong, and able to maintain itself between (ustria and 8ussia. The geographic position of thecountr$, its topograph$, abundance of natural resources, the martial spirit of its inhabitants, theirele&ated and fier$ national feeling, and linguistic and ethnic homogeneit$ of all contribute to asense of permanenc$ and a promising future.

n order to determine what we can accomplish, and how we are to proceed, the go&ernment mustknow the particular conditions and circumstances of the peoples residing in the surroundingpro&inces.

t is especiall$ necessar$ to be informed on de&elopments in Bosnia, 1er:ego&ina, 'ontenegro,

and northern (lbania. (t the same time the e*act situation in Sla&onia, ;roatia and 9almatia mustbe understood and, of course into this categor$ fall Srem, Banat, and Backa as well.

4hen we take into a closer consideration the topograph$, geographic position and militar$tradition of these countries and their inhabitants, together with their mentalit$ and wa$s ofthinking, we well easil$ come to the conclusion that this is the part of Turke$ upon which Serbiacan e*ert the greatest influence. The determination and organi:ation of this influence seems to usto be the main task of Serbian polic$ in Turke$.

Serbia must propose the possible points of this polic$ to both segments of the people residingthere, Orthodo* and ;atholic, because of her prestige, $ears of e*perience and the diplomaticrecognition accorded to her. One of the main points which should be set forth is the principle ofcomplete freedom of religion established b$ law. The principle must include all ;hristians, and

who knows if in time this cannot be e*tended to some 'ohammedans as well< The$ must besatisfied and rendered complacent. 2urthermore, the hereditar$ princel$ dignit$ must become themost important and fundamental law of the state. 4ithout this principle which is the &er$embodiment of national unit$, an enduring and permanent fusion between Serbia and Serbs inneighboring areas is unthinkable.

Not onl$ must the fundamental constitutional laws of Serbia be e*tended to Bosnia and1er:ego&ina, along with the administrati&e s$stem of the 3rincipalit$ of Serbia, but a number of$oung Bosnians should be accepted into the Serbian administration to train them as political,financial and legal specialists. =ater these people would appl$ what the$ ha&e learned in Serbia in



their own countries, and put into practice the knowledge which the$ ha&e gained. 1ere it must beobser&ed that these $oung people should be speciall$ super&ised and educated in their work sothat the redeeming idea of a general unification pre&ails and remains uppermost. This re>uisitecannot be sufficientl$ emphasi:ed.

Special attention must be paid to the problem of di&erting the peoples of the 8oman ;atholic faithfrom the (ustrian influence, and e&oking a s$mpath$ for Serbia. Through the 2ranciscans therethis goal can be best achie&ed. The 2ranciscans must be won o&er to the idea of the union ofBosnia and Serbia. To this end, se&eral pra$er books and h$mnals should be printed in Belgrade,as well as pra$er books for Orthodo* ;hristians and anthologies of national songs which wouldbe =atin on one side and ;$rillic on the other. (s a third step, it would be ad&isable to print a shortand general histor$ of Bosnia, in which the names of se&eral men of the 'ohammedan faith andtheir renowned deeds would be included. t is recommended that this histor$ be written in thespirit of the Sla&ic people6 the entire work should be permeated with the spirit of the Sla&icpeople, and the national unit$ of the Serbs and Bosnians. Through the printing of these similarpatriotic works, as well as other necessar$ actions which should be liberated from the influence of

(ustria and inclined more to Serbia. ;roatia and 9almatia in this wa$ would procure books whichwould be impossible to print in (ustria. The natural result would be the merger of these two landsin a closer relationship with Bosnia and Serbia.

(t first glance it ma$ be thought that Serbia must be on friendl$ terms with those areas +Srem,Backa, and Banat/, since in origin, language, law, and custom the$ are one and the same with theSerbs of Serbia. f this is not the case then the blame falls in part, at least, upon Serbia herself,because she has not proceeded to win the friendship of these Serbs. But it is to be hoped thatbecause of the hostile influence of (ustria this weak relationship will be impro&ed in the samedegree as the 3rincipalit$ of Serbia shows that it is well-organi:ed, strong, and just state. 2or thepresent, if nothing else, at least an effort should be made to become ac>uainted with the mostimportant people in those pro&inces, and to establish one important newspaper which would actusefull$ in the interest of the Serbian cause under the 1ungarian constitution.

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Ilija Garasanin-Narcentanije 1844.ENG