This 1906 illustration, clipped from the pages of the newspaper “Drita,” is a brutal X-ray of what Albania was going through on the eve of independence.

At the center is the Albanian Lion, forcefully breaking the double chains: that of the East (the Ottoman Empire) and that of Greek influence. It is the image of a nation awakening amid an iron siege. Notice the details in the background:

The Serb lurks hidden behind the tree trunk, waiting for the moment of weakness. The Montenegrin, depicted as a black mouse on the branch, is ready to pounce in ambush.

It is impressive how, 120 years ago, our cartoonists had such a clear map of the geopolitical risks. A message that, in many ways, seems as if it has not ended even today.

Source

The periodical “Drita,” January 15, 1906.