Negotiations and Agreements for Population Transfers in the Balkans from the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century until the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913

Authors : Mehmet HACISALİHOĞLU

Pages : 31-75

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Publication Date : 2018-12-26

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The history of population transfers on the basis of decisions by ruling authorities dates back to ancient times. In moderns times, however, the establishment of nation-states played a decisive role in forcible population transfers in the Balkans. Balkan historiographies tend to date back bilaterally agreed population transfers and population exchanges to the Balkan Wars in 1912/13. However, the process of establishing autonomous and independent states in the Ottoman Balkans saw multiple cases of forcible population transfer based on agreements and treaties. Some of them are well known cases, for example, the forcible emigration of Muslims from the newly independent Greek state in 1830, the forcible emigration of Muslims from Serbian principality in 1862 and several cases of negotiations on the emigration of Muslims from different regions, such as Crete or newly established Bulgaria. This paper deals with these processes in the Balkans beginning already as early as in the 19th century. 
Keywords : population exchange, forced migration, Ottoman Empire, Russia