Bosnian Uprising - The Road To Uprising

The Road To Uprising

In the late 1820s, Sultan Mahmud II reintroduced a set of reforms that called for further expansion of the centrally controlled army (nizam), new taxes and more Ottoman bureaucracy. These reforms weakened the special status and privileges Bosnian beys had enjoyed under the Ottoman Empire and coupled with the growing power and position of other European people under Ottoman control caused much anger and alarm. Contrary to popular belief, however, the future leader of the autonomy movement, Husein Gradaščević, then just a local official, was not greatly opposed to these reforms.

In 1826, when the Sultan issued a decree abolishing the janissaries in Bosnia, Gradaščević's immediate reaction was not unlike that of the rest of the Bosnian aristocracy. Gradaščević threatened that he would use military force to subdue anybody opposed to the Sarajevo janissaries. When the janissaries killed nakibul-ešraf Nuruddin Efendi Šerifović, however, his tone shifted and he rapidly distanced himself from their cause.

For the rest of the 1820s, Gradaščević generally maintained good relations with imperial authorities in Bosnia. When Abdurrahim-paša became vizier in 1827, Gradaščević was said to have become one of his more trusted advisors. This culminated in Gradaščević's large role in the Bosnian mobilization for the Russo-Ottoman war. Following a riot in the Sarajevo camp during these preparations, Gradaščević even provided shelter for the ousted Abdurrahim-paša in Gradačac before assisting him in his escape from the country. Gradaščević was also relatively loyal to Abdurrahim's successor, Namik-paša, reinforcing Ottoman garrisons in Šabac upon his orders.

The turning point for Gradaščević came with the end of the Russo-Ottoman War of 1828–1829 and the Treaty of Adrianople on September 14, 1829. According to the provisions of the treaty and a subsequent Hatt-i Sharif, the Ottoman Empire granted suzerainty to Serbia as a result of the Serbian revolution. In a move that outraged Bosniaks and launched numerous protests, newly autonomous Serbia was also given six districts (Bosnian: nahijas) that had traditionally belonged to Bosnia. Following this move, seen as the confiscation of historically Bosnian lands, the Bosnian autonomy movement was born.

Between the 20th and 31 December 1830, Gradaščević hosted a gathering of Bosniak aristocrats in Gradačac. A month later, from January 20 to February 5, another meeting was held in Tuzla to prepare for the revolt. From there, a call was issued to the Bosnian populace asking them to rise up to the defense of Bosnia. It was then that the popular Husein-kapetan was unofficially chosen to head the movement.