Montenegro as perceived by a British diplomat : the report of colonel Hugh Rose in 1852

Abstract

The following article deals with the image of Montenegro, a little country
from the South-east European periphery, as perceived by a member of the
nineteenth century British political élite. The history of this petty entity, less
populated than an average English city, became especially important on the
eve of the Holly Places Crises (of Palestine, 1853). A single dispute over the
Montenegro-Ottoman border threatened to turn into European war, just a year
before the Crimean War commenced. In regard the Montenegrin question, the
always sensitive European "balance of power" was upset with the appearance
of the unexpected alliance between Russia and Austria. The unique interest of
the British Empire then started, for a short period of time, to be tied in with
this almost unknown principality. The attitude of British diplomacy to Montenegro, image of the principality reconstructed in the Colonel Hugh Rose’s
report and its sources, could contribute not only to the advance the history of
British foreign relations, but also to the development of the history of
Montenegro.