Serbia as Piedmont and the Yugoslav Idea, 1804-1914.
by David MacKenzie

Reborn as an autonomous principality in 1830 after four centuries of Turkish rule, Serbia played a role among the South Slavs like Piedmont--Sardinia among Italians and Prussia in Germany. In all three cases the eventual result was unification of most areas claimed by these three great national movements. Unification was achieved in each case by the most cohesive and dynamic political unit with a combination of diplomacy and force. Because they were small and weak militarily, Serbia and Piedmont--Sardinia required major external aid by a great power to reach their goal; Prussia achieved its destiny unaided after insuring the neutrality of powerful neighbors. In all three cases "Piedmont's" methods and policies in achieving unity provoked opposition by rivals, produced serious sectional rivalries, and in Serbia's case also ethnic divisions after unification. This essay traces Serbia's development as the South Slav Piedmont from its revolt in 1804 until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. When did Serbia assume consciously the role of Piedmont among Serbs and other South Slavs? How important were individual leaders, and how aware were they of Serbia's mission and the Piedmontese example? Was the goal of Belgrade's leaders a Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia?* How did political freedom, military success, and cultural primacy influence Serbia's progress toward unity?

The history of the modem Serbian national movement includes several phases: a. the struggle to achieve autonomy and extend autonomous Serbia's narrow boundaries (1804-42); b. setting goals of all-Serb and all-Yugoslav unity (1843-6; c. a brief lull followed by a partially successful war of liberation with Russian support (1868-7; d. temporary renunciation of unity and dependence on Austria-Hungary (1878-1903); and e. a conscious and accelerating drive for unification (1903-1. The sacrifices of Serbia, the support to her by the Triple Entente, and the latter's eventual triumph in WW1.