A History of Yugoslavia, Part Three
By Russell Shortt

During World War One, Serbia and Montenegro were overrun by the Central Powers. In exile on Corfu, representatives of the South Slavic peoples proclaimed their proposed union under Peter I. Montenegro's last monarch, Nicholas I, was deposed in 1918 and Montenegro was united with Serbia. In December 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formally proclaimed. It included Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro while the regions of Kosovo, Vojvodina and Macedonia were consumed by Serbia. From it's very beginnings it was known as by its colloquial name, Yugoslavia, meaning land of the southern Slavs. Both Pan-Slav nationalists and Serb nationalists supported it's creation, the Pan-Slavs hoped that everybody would get behind the new state, unite as Slavs and banish all past differences.

For the Serbs, the long desired goal of uniting all the Serb people from all across the Balkans into a united state, was at long last achieved. However, from the beginning countless difficulties were encountered in trying to unite the fledgling country economically and politically because of the diversity of languages, cultures and religions. In 1929, King Alexander I banned all political parties, assumed executive power and re-named the country yugoslavia in an attempt to curb separatism. However, it had the effect of alienating non-Serbs from the idea of unity, it also encountered opposition from Germany, Italy and Russia. Alexander was assassinated during an official visit to France in 1934 by a marksman with links to a Croatian separatist group. He was succeeded by his eleven year old son Peter II and a regency council headed by his cousin Prince Paul.

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net

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