Era of Nationalism ; League of Prizren
Proposed boundaries of the Principality of Albania (1912-1914).
The first organization that opposed the
partition of Albania and pushed for greater autonomy was the
League of Prizren, formed on 1 June 1878, in
Prizren,
Kosovo. The League used military force to prevent the annexing of northern Albanian areas assigned to Montenegro and Serbia, and southern Albanian areas assigned to Greece by the
Congress of Berlin. After several battles with Montenegrin troops, the league was forced to give up
Ulcinj to Montenegro and then was defeated by the Ottoman army sent by the Sultan in order to prevent the league from achieving autonomy for Albania. The uprisings of 1910–1912, the Ottoman defeat in the
Balkan Wars and the advancing Montenegrin, Serbian and Greek armies into the territories where Albanians were majority, led to the proclamation of independence by
Ismail Qemali in
Vlora, on 28 November 1912.
Independence
Albania's independence was recognized by the
Conference of London on 29 July 1913, but the drawing of the borders of Albania ignored the demographic realities of the time. The short-lived
monarchy (1914–1925) was succeeded by an even shorter-lived first
Albanian Republic (1925–1928), to be replaced by another
monarchy (1928–1939). Albania was occupied by
Fascist Italy and
then by
Nazi Germany during World War II.
Communist Albania (1944–1992)
After the liberation of Albania from Nazi occupation, the country became a
Communist state, the
People's Republic of Albania (renamed "the People's Socialist Republic of Albania" in 1976), which was led by
Enver Hoxha and the
Party of Labour of Albania.
The socialist reconstruction of Albania after WWII and the national liberation was launched immediately after the annulling of the monarchy and the establishment of a "
People's Republic". In 1947, Albania's first railway line was completed, with the second completed within eight months after. After new laws of land reform, land was granted to workers and peasants who tilled it. Agriculture began to become
cooperative labour and production increased significantly, leading to Albania becoming agriculturally self-sufficient. By 1955, illiteracy was eliminated among Albania's adult population.
During this period Albania became industrialised and saw rapid economic growth, as well as unprecedented progress in the areas of education and health. The average annual rate of increase of Albania's national income was 29% higher than the world average and 56% higher than the European average. Also during this period, because of the monopolised socialist economy, Albania was the only country in the world that did not impose any tax on its people. Hoxha's political successor
Ramiz Alia oversaw the disintegration of the "
Hoxhaist" state during the wider collapse of the
Eastern Bloc in the later 1980s.
Religious freedoms were severely curtailed during this period, with many forms of worship being outlawed. In August 1945, the Agrarian Reform Law meant that large swaths of property owned by religious groups (mostly Islamic
waqfs) were nationalized, along with the estates of monasteries and dioceses. Many believers, with the
ulema, and many
priests were arrested, tortured and executed. In 1949, a new Decree on Religious Communities required that they and all their activities be sanctioned by the state alone.
In 1967 Hoxha proclaimed Albania the world's first '
atheist state'. Hundreds of mosques and dozens of Islamic libraries — containing priceless manuscripts — were destroyed. Churches were not spared either, and many were converted into cultural centers for young people. The new law banned all "fascist, religious, warmongerish, antisocialist activity and propaganda"; preaching religion carried a three- to ten-year prison sentence. Nonetheless, many Albanians continued to practice in secret.
Contemporary Albania
The People's Republic was dissolved in 1991-92 after protests beginning in 1989 and reforms made by the communist government in 1990, and the Republic of Albania was founded. The Communists retained a stronghold in parliament after popular support in the elections of 1991. However, in March 1992, amid liberalisation policies resulting in economic collapse and social unrest, a new front led by the new
Democratic Party took power. The economic crisis spread in late 1996 following the failure of some
Ponzi schemes operating in the country, peaking in 1997 in an
armed rebellion that led to another
mass emigration of Albanians, mostly to
Italy,
Greece,
Switzerland,
Germany and North America. In 1999, the country was affected by the
Kosovo War, when a great number of Albanians from Kosovo found refuge in Albania. Albania became a full member of
NATO in 2009, and is
applying to join the
European Union.
