The Serb Liberation Response (1875–1878)

Popović, Nemanja and Obrenović, Mile (2025) The Serb Liberation Response (1875–1878). In: 150 years since the Herzegovina Uprising: impact on regional security and European geopolitics. Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd, pp. 190-203. ISBN 978-86-7067-368-7

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Abstract

The Serb uprising that broke out in Herzegovina in 1875, known as the Nevesinje Rifle, marked the beginning of the Great Eastern Crisis and laid the foundation for the Serbo–Ottoman Wars of 1876–1878. Despite initial caution, the two Serb principalities—Serbia and Montenegro—gradually extended their support to the insurgents, though not without underlying dynastic rivalry and tensions between the courts of Belgrade and Cetinje. Due to the complex relations among the Great Powers, as well as differing interests of the Serb principalities themselves, the uprising nonetheless reinforced the liberation aspirations and militant sentiments among the broader Serb population. This would culminate in intensified negotiations between Serbia and Montenegro, resulting in the signing of a treaty between the two principalities and their joint entry into war against the Ottoman Empire in 1876. The Serb liberation response was accompanied by a Bulgarian uprising, as well as Russia’s declaration of war against the Ottomans in 1877. These conflicts concluded in 1878 with the signing of the peace treaty in Berlin. This wave of liberation movements laid the groundwork for the eventual liberation of Serb territories, but it also revealed internal weaknesses within the Serb political structure, as well as the limitations of liberation efforts when not backed by coordinated strategy and clear international support.

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