Three British images of Herzegovina and Bosnia during the Uprising (1875–1878)

AUTOR(I) / AUTHOR(S): Radovan Subić  

Download Full Pdf  

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46793/Herzegovina.156S

SAŽETAK /ABSTRACT:

In the United Kingdom, before and during the Herzegovina and Bosnia uprising of 1875–1878, several travelogues were published. This paper aims to show how three authors presented the situation in the Bosnian Vilayet to British readers. It explores the perspectives of James Creagh, Arthur John Evans, and William James Stillman, focusing on their observations regarding socio-political conditions, interfaith relations, and the role of the Great Powers in the region. In their interpretations, the authors were torn between their upbringing and origin, loyalty to their homeland’s political interests, facts and evidence from the field, personal experiences, and both known and unknown influences. The paper reveals conflicting views on Ottoman rule and the relationships between Christians and Muslims. We pay particular attention to the impact these accounts had on British public opinion. The authors, with varying degrees of success, offered their readers insight into the state of affairs in the vilayet, the causes of the uprising, and potential solutions.

KLJUČNE REČI / KEYWORDS: 

United Kingdom, Russophobia, Turcophilia, uprising, travelogues, Herzegovina, Bosnia

PROJEKAT / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

LITERATURA/ REFERENCES:

• Berber, N. (2010). Unveiling Bosnia-Herzegovina in British Travel Literature (1844- 1912), Pisa, Plus-Pisa university press.
• Evans, J. (1943).Time and Chance. The story of Arthur Evans and his forebears, London, Longmans, Green, and Co.
• Creagh, J. (1901). Sparks from camp fires: an autobiography by Captain Creagh, London, Chapman and Hall.
• Creagh, J. (1876). Over the Borders of Christendom and Eslamiah: A Journey through Hungary, Slavonia, Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia and Montenegro to the North of Albania in the Summer of 1875, Vol 2, London, Samuel Tinsley.
• Cicektakan, N. C. (2014). Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire: British Discourses on the ‘Ottomans’ 1860-1878, University of Essex, Department of History.
• Dyson, L. S. (2014) The Last Amateur: The Life of William J. Stillman, New York State, University of New York Press.
• Stillman, W. J. (1901). The Autobiography of a Journalist Vol II, Boston, Grant Richards.
• Stillman, W. J. (1877). Herzegovina and the Late Uprising: The Causes of the Letter and the Remedies, London, Longmans, Green, and Co.
• Evans, A. (2008). Ilirska pisma, Banjaluka, Besjeda. [Evans, A. (2008). Illyrian letters, Banja Luka, Besjeda.]
• Evans, A. (1973). Kroz Bosnu i Hercegovinu pješke tokom pobune avgusta i septembra 1875, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša. [Evans, A. (1965). Through
• Bosnia and Herzegovina on foot during the uprising of August and September 1875, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša.]
• Vuković, V. G. (1985). Memoari Knjiga 1, Cetinje–Titograd, Obod–Pobjeda. [Vuković, D. G. (1985). Memoirs Book 1, Cetinje-Titograd, Obod-Pobjeda.]
• Dimon, P. (2002). Period tanzimata (1839−1878), Istorija osmanskog carstva, priredio Rober Mantran, (pp. 555-630). Beograd, Clio. [Dimon, (2002). Tanzimat Period (1839−1878), History of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Robert Mantran, (pp. 555-630). Belgrade, Clio.]
• Ekmečić, M. (1996). Ustanak u Bosni 1875–1878, Beograd, Službeni list SRJ. [Ekmečić, M. (1996). Uprising in Bosnia 1875–1878, Belgrade, Official Gazette of the FRY.]
• Ekmečić, M. (1956). Uloga don Ivana Musića u Hercegovačkom ustanku 1875– 1878. godine, Godišnjak društva istoričara Bosne i Hercegovine, VII, 141–169. [Ekmečić, M. (1956). Don Ivan Musić’s role in the Herzegovina Uprising 1875–1878. Yearbook of the Society of Historians of Bosnia and Herzegovina, VII, pp. 141–169.]
• Ković, M. (2009). Velika Britanija i Bosna i Hercegovina u Istočnoj krizi (1875–1878), Zbornik za istoriju Bosne i Hercegovine, 6, pp. 159-172. [Ković, M. (2009). Great Britain and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eastern Crisis (1875–1878), Collection of the History of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6, 172. 159-172.]
• Ković, M. (2007). Dizraeli i Istočno pitanje, Beograd, Clio. [Ković, M. (2007). Disraeli and the Eastern Question, Belgrade, Clio.]
• Radan, L. (2023). Početak ustanka u Istočnoj Hercegovini 1875 – Prva ustanička godina, u: Srbi u Habzburškoj monarhiji i Osmanskom carstvu XVIII-XX vek. Zbornik radova, (pp. 163-192). Novi Sad, Filozofski fakultet. [Radan, L. (2023). The beginning of the uprising in Eastern Herzegovina in 1875 – the first year of the uprising, in: Serbs in the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire XVIII-XX centuries. Proceedings, (pp. 163-192). Novi Sad, Faculty of Philosophy.]
• Raković, T. (2024). Artur Evans o ustancima u Bosni i Hercegovini (1875−1878), master rad u rukopisu, Banjaluka, Filozofski fakultet. [Raković, T. (2024). Artur Evans on uprisings in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875−1878), master thesis in manuscript, Banjaluka, Faculty of Philosophy.]
• Subić, R. (2025). Džejms Krig. Turkofil na Balkanu 1875. godine, Srpski istorijski časopis, VIII, (2025), pp. 155-182. [Subic, R. (2025). James Creagh. Turkophile in the Balkans, 1875, Serbian historical review, VIII, (2025), 155-182.]
• Subić, R. (2025). Između cara i knjaza. Srpski ustanak u Hercegovini 1875– 1876., u: Koncepti nacionalizma i patriotizma u srpskom političkom diskursu. Srednji vek, novi vek, savremeno doba Knj. prva, priredili Smilja Marjanović-Dušanić i Aleksandar Z. Savić, (pp. 363-377). Beograd, Univerzitet u Beogradu – Filozofski fakultet. [Subic, R. (2025). Between the emperor and the prince. Serbian uprising in Herzegovina 1875–1876, in: Concepts of nationalism and patriotism in Serbian political discourse. The Middle Ages, the New Century, Modern Times, Book the first, edited by Smilja Marjanović-Dušanić and Aleksandar Z. Savić, (pp. 363-377). Belgrade, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Philosophy.]
• Subić, R. (2016). Stilman i balkanski ustanci (1866–1878), Beograd, Phoenix Press. [Subic, R. (2016). Stillman and the Balkan Uprisings (1866– 1878), Belgrade, Phoenix Press.]
• Subić, R. (2016). Gledston i Velika istočna kriza (1875-1878), Međunarodni naučni skup istoričara, Zbornik radova. Ćorovićevi susreti 2015. godine: Hercegovački ustanak 1875–1878, Gacko, SPKD Prosvjeta, pp. 211-232. [Subic, R. (2016). Gladstone and the Great Eastern Crisis (1875- 1878), International Scientific Meeting of Historians, Proceedings. Ćorović’s meetings in 2015: Herzegovina Uprising 1875–1878, Gacko, SPKD Prosvjeta, 211-232.]
• Subić, R. (2012). Vilijam Stilman i Hercegovački ustanak (1875–1878), Glasnik Udruženja arhivskih radnika Republike Srpske 4 (2012), pp. 143-159. [Subic, R. (2012). William Stillman and the Herzegovina Uprising (1875–1878), Gazette of the Association of Archive Workers of the Republic of Srpska, 4 (2012), pp. 143-159.]
• Čubrilović, V. (1996) Bosanski ustanak 1875−1878, Beograd, Službeni list SRJ. [Čubrilović, V. (1996) Bosnian Uprising 1875−1878, Belgrade, Official Gazette of the FRY.]