MONTENEGRO (called by the natives Zernagora, and by the Turks Karadagh, all which names are derived from the dark forests with which the mountains are covered) is a small state in European Turkey, tributary to the Porte, but virtually independent. It extends from 42. 10. to 42. 56. N. Lat.; and from 18. 41. to 20. 22. E. Long.; and is bounded on the N. by Herzegovina, E. and S. by Albania, and W. by Dalmatia. Area about 1450 square miles. This country consists for the most part of a mass of mountains, forming a part of the Dinarian Alps. The slope towards the sea is very steep; so that there are no rivers of any size on that side, and very little vegetation is found on the rocky acclivities. The lowest parts of this mountainous district are probably more than 2000 feet in elevation, and many of the higher summits rise upwards of 5000 feet above the sea. The interior is intersected with numerous ridges, forming valleys, which, however, are of no great size. Towards the E. the mountains diminish in height, till they are lost in the plain of the Moratsha; and the access to the high lands from this side lies through several narrow gorges. The Moratsha is the only river of any
importance in Montenegro; it flows southward, and falls into the Lake of Skutari, which is situated in Albania, on the confines of Montenegro. The climate is healthy, but cold, owing to the elevated position of the country. The winter is long, and the spring and autumn are often very severe. Owing to the configuration of the country, there are few streams or rivers, and wells do not occur in large numbers; so that the inhabitants are obliged to collect the rain-water in cisterns to supply their wants. Except in a few well-watered spots, the fertility of the soil is not very great; and the ground is not largely cultivated. Indian corn, potatoes, cabbages, and other vegetables are raised; but the inhabitants depend for support chiefly on the live stock which they rear. Sheep, goats, and pigs are numerous, but there are few horses or cattle. Most of the mountains are covered with forests, chiefly consisting of oak and beech, which, though they do not attain their full height on the higher elevations, are often of great size in the lower regions. The Venetian sumach, a shrub, the wood of which is largely used in tanning, is found here in great abundance, and forms an important article of trade. The Montenegrins, from fear of invasion, have made no roads in their country; and internal communication is carried on by means of footpaths impassable for beasts of burden. A good deal of trade is carried on with the inhabitants of Cattaro in Dalmatia; but the Montenegrins are not allowed to carry on any intercourse with the neighbouring Turkish towns. They export live stock, smoked mutton, bacon, cheese, tallow, sheepskins, wool, &c., as well as the sumach wood and firewood; while they import wine, spirits, oil, salt, gunpowder, fire-arms, and other manufactured articles. The average value of the annual exports to Austria is L.1392, and that of the imports from that country L.434. Montenegro proper consists of four nahias or cantons—Katunaska, Rietshka, Zermnitshka, and Lieshanska; but besides these there are some other tribes which belong to the confederation. These also are divided into four cantons, called berdas, distinguished by the names of Bielopovitshka, Piperska, Kutshka, and Moratshka; and the inhabitants are called Berdiani, to distinguish them from the Montenegrins proper, or Zernagorzi. The government is in the hands of a vladika or prince, residing at Zetlinie; and the office is hereditary in the male line. The religion of the people is that of the Greek church; of which the vladika was formerly a bishop, uniting the supreme civil and ecclesiastical authority in his own person; but since 1851 these offices have been separated. There is a Senate, or council of elders, consisting of 12 members, to assist the prince. The people are tall, hardy, and athletic. They have great hospitality and a strong feeling of patriotism; but their mode of warfare is barbarous and unsparing, and they are constantly making plundering forays into the neighbouring districts. Their system of defence, when their country is invaded, consists of posting sharpshooters in various positions in the mountains, and enticing the invaders into these fastnesses, where they are gradually shot down by the unerring aim of the Montenegrin riflemen. When out of their own country, however, these mountaineers cannot stand against regular troops. The language spoken in Montenegro is a dialect of the Slavonic, the same as that spoken in Serbia. Education is in a very low state, and it is thought a great accomplishment to be able to read and write. There are only two schools, one at Zetlinie and one at Dobroskoselo, both of which have been founded since 1841. The Montenegrins were reduced under the dominion of the Turkish empire in the reign of Solyman the Magnificent, and they remained in this condition till the year 1700, when, at the instigation of the Vladika Daniel, all the Mohammedans were put to death, and the country declared independent. In 1712 the inhabitants of the canton of Katunaska took up arms in
Montenegro favour of Peter the Great, and defeated a large Turkish army. The remaining three cantons united with that of Katunsk in a confederation, after another victory gained over the Turks in 1796; and the tribes of Bielopovlitshka and Moratshka were added about the beginning of the present century. The last to join the republic was the tribe of Kutshka, which did not do so till 1831. The independence of Montenegro, however, although virtually complete, was never recognised by the Ottoman Porte, nor by any other of the European powers, with the exception of Russia. The emperor of that country took the Montenegrins under his protection, and sent to the vladika an annual remittance of L. 4000, to meet the tribute paid to the Sublime Porte. The Austrian government also was always favourable to the independence of Montenegro. In 1851, on the death of the Vladika Pierre Petrovitsch, his nephew Daniel, who was appointed by his will to succeed him, refused to assume the office of bishop, and proposed to the Senate of Montenegro that the civil and ecclesiastical power should thenceforth be disjoined. This change in the constitution was approved of by the Senate and by the Emperor of Russia; and the prince, on his return from St Petersburg, was received amid the acclamations of the people. In 1853, in consequence of the seizure by the Montenegrins of the fortress of Zabliak, on the Lake of Skutari, the country was invaded by a Turkish army of 34,000 men, under the command of Omer Pasha; but after gaining a few successes in bloody conflicts, the interference of the Austrian and Russian cabinets induced the Sultan to recall this force, and leave Montenegro in its former state of independence. The population of Montenegro is about 120,000.