In 1892, the paper “ЗАСТАВА” in its no. 33, dated 28.02.1892, published an article about a violent incident between Albanian participants in a wedding, and Montenegrins building a bridge on the Tara river.

“Near Kolašin, there was a random attack between Montenegrins and Albanians. On one occasion, forty Albanians, who were accompanying a wedding party, passed by some Montenegrins, who were busy building a bridge on the Tara River. One Albanian fired his rifle and killed a Montenegrin, whereupon the enraged Montenegrins opened fire on the Albanians, killing and wounding 19 of them.”

Critical analysis

My analysis of this article led to a few questions and theories. Firstly, why would Albanian locals celebrating a wedding open fire on Montenegrins? The article doesn’t give any details. It is probable that the Albanians fired a celebrating shot, which frightened the Montenegrins who then opened fire. Or, it could have been the reversed; the Montenegrins were military troops building a bridge to enable passage. The Albanians then opened fire, as this region, in particular Kolashin, was Albanian territory. My third theory is that this was a local tribal conflict.