Disa të dhëna të reja mbi fillimet e nacionalizmit shqiptar
Some new information on the beginnings of Albanian Nationalism

Summary/Abstract: One of the most complex subjects in Albania's modem history is the study of Albanian nationalism. Up to our days, deep academic treatment of the subject has not been possible and its roots still keep uncovered many elements. It seems that the two principal factors for these difficulties have been the historical fate of the Albanians during the 19th and the 20th century, as well as the transformation of nationalism into an ideology during the period of Communism. The genesis of a nationalist movement of a nation is marked when a person or a group of people declare that this nation exists and these, one or more, people, part of this nation, undertake to find the proofs for such reality. That is to say, that the genesis of a nationalist movement appears when the political thought of living apart and the idea of national independence are bom. During the 1820s, after the annihilation of Ali Pasha, the region of Epirus met with important changing. This is perfectly testified by the correspondence that is found in the Turkish archives and involved Ottoman authorities, the Albanian Muslim elite and leaders of the Greek Revolution. Beyond the relations between the center and an ottoman province, this documentation reflects the rapports between a Muslim country and the Albanians, one of the ethnic communities constituting this country, however having a dominating Muslim majority. This documentation reveals that the most conspicuous representatives of the Albanian elite are, for the times, truly advanced in their nationalist thought. The powerful economic and political position made the Albanian elite very sensitive towards any evolution that would bring transformations to the geopolitical balances of the region. Furthermore, every change on this situation would naturally turn them, not only into factors, but also into its protagonists. This is the reason why they would closely follow the evolutions that were taking place, even inside the Greek territories, during the first two decades of the 19th century.

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