The reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe

SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE

_ literature and the adoption of the idiom spoken by great numbers of the Serbo-Croat people in Dalmatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia and South Hungary, as the official and literary language of the nation. The Croats, without exception, adopted this suggestion and since that time their literary language has been the same as that of the Serbs. Gaj’s task was rendered comparatively easy by the fact that the works of Vuk Karadjic, the father of the new Serbian literature, had already exemplified all the beauty and richness of this Slav idiom, and that the Serbian national songs and ballads collected and published by Vuk Karadji¢ had evoked the admiration of Europe and won a high place beside the greatest achievements of the literary and artistic genius of the European race.

In the meantime the Serbs in Turkey, utterly disappointed in their hope of seeing their liberation brought about by co-operation with the forces of Austria, and convinced that Austria, whilst using them as catspaw in her wars with Turkey, was quite indifferent to their national welfare and looked only for the aggrandisement of the Hapsburg dominions, resolved to work out their own destiny for themselves. They took the first opportunity that presented itself, and in 1804 began their first successful insurrection under the leadership of Karageorge. During nine years of incessant fighting the Serbs succeeded in clearing out the Turks from a portion

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