Montenegro
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an independent European principality. It faces the Adriatic Sea between Turkey and Austria-Hungary. A short coast line is under Austrian police supervision. The surface is one of mountain ridges and peaks, with fertile plains and valleys. The mountain sides are covered with oak, holly, ash, poplar, willow, alder, beech, and fir. The copses yield hazelnuts and walnuts. Sumach for tanning is gathered. The fertile areas produce Indian corn, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, and tobacco. Orchard trees bear apples, peaches, olives, pomegranates, figs, quinces, and almonds. The mulberry tree and the vine flourish. The Lake of Scutari, the largest in the Balkans, affords carp-fishing. Smoked carp is an article of commerce. Large trout are taken in the mountain streams. Cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs run in the forests and on the mountain sides. Wool, smoked meats, honey, wax, hides, tallow, butter, and cheese are exported. The chief imports are tobacco, salt, wine, coffee, sugar, and implements. Montenegro was a part of ancient Illyria, and in the Middle Ages it was a part of the Slavonic kingdom of Servia. Like other Balkan states, Montenegro was subjected by the Turks. In 1697 the Prince-bishop shook off the Turkish yoke and placed the country under the protection of Russia. In 1878 entire independence was agreed to by the signatory powers to the Treaty of Berlin. The capital is the village of Gettinje. The Montenegrins are an erect, robust mountain people. They profess the Greek religion and speak a Slavonic tongue. Austrian money is in use. They are said to be cheerful, and are hospitable to all but Turks. The girls are said to possess the beauty of health; but the women work at out-of-door employments, and soon grow masculine, seemingly much coarser than their husbands. The men go armed. The inhabitants live in villages. Houses are built of stone and are thatched or shingled. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: Land area, square miles 3,630 Population 250,000 Greek orthodox 210,000 Number villages 300 Number districts 56 Members of state assembly 74 Salary of Prince-bishop $25,000 State revenue $600,000 Bonded indebtedness $350,000 Exports $4,000,000 Number postoffices 21 Horses 3,000 Cattle 60,000 Sheep and goats 500,000 Swine 8,000 Schools 80
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's called Montenegro an "independent European principality" of 3,630 square miles ruled by a Prince-bishop from "the village of Gettinje" — and within months of that printing, in 1910, Prince Nicholas proclaimed himself king. The kingdom lasted eight years: after the Balkan Wars enlarged it and the First World War overran it, Montenegro was folded in 1918 into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia, and spent most of the twentieth century as a Yugoslav republic with Podgorica (renamed Titograd from 1946 to 1992) as its capital. Independence returned only after a referendum on 21 May 2006 dissolved the state union with Serbia; the country joined NATO in 2017 and, though not in the EU, uses the euro. Cetinje survives as the ceremonial "old royal capital" of a state of roughly 620,000 people, with a real coastline of its own — Bar and Ulcinj were won in 1913 — rather than one under Austrian police supervision.
Written for this edition, 2026.