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    Albanie - 1913-1914 - Postal History - Birth of Albania

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    Hervé Denis

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    THE BIRTH OF ALBANIA James Mackay This morning (Lam writing this n mid-July) two news items caught my attention. The fat a tha th §9 autonomous republic and rene bmg Yo the Rta fon are secking ther independence. With twenty sta ‘cates, from Abharya fo Usbelisnt, endy cacrging om the ney of the SS, the poops Tor lately are mind-bopaling "The second was report of an Albanian ‘get-tough’ policy with the predominantly Greck population of Southern Albania or Northern Epirus, and mouating uarest in the town of Gjrokaster. A day or two earlier unrclated news Wems reported increasing incidence of Serbian brutality nd persecution ofthe ATbantans who make wp the Bulk of the Yugoslay province of Rosove and tension between Serbia and Greece over the sovereign republic af Macedonia, one af the newest members to be admitted to the UN. Birth Pangs To anyone with an lteres in the history of the Balkans there 2 boric sense of je bw about these Gevelopmeat, 1 was fe Iminded of the fact that, Just eighty Years 20, Abania was born. Thats bith wa iether easy or attended wihow Bere Cppcetion Ts prophialy recorded nthe Ditately ofthe period chase admited {ha Pare 3 ofthe. Say Gibbons Calor tee not et all the seimpe. Which tw genuine usage nor, of 2 fourse, any of the dtoubetat or frankly Bogus. issues which swore symptomatic of [ibanats beh pang. ‘apart from a rit period inthe Bteenth entry when the alba fans ed by Stander beg won thelr Independence. from {he Turks, albania ad been dominated By Il tyra, Romans, Go, Byzantines and Ov mmone Aer the Young Albanians, the move tment for national inde pendence gathered momentun Ing inthe ising led by sa Boletin in the spring of 1912. In a series of brilliant ‘kirmishes he seized Ship (now Skopje in Macedonia) and freed much of northern and eastern Albania, The Balkan states (Serbia, Montenegro and Greece) resented these Albanian aspirations and, ater defeat ing the Turks inthe Second Balkan War, tured on the Albanians. A three pronged attack by the Balkan armies invaded north fem Albania in October 1912. Within 2 ‘month the Montenegrins and Serbs occu Pied the north and the Grecks had seized the southern districts, Provisional Government ‘when news of this partition reached Ismail Qemal Bey, an Albanian “chieftain then residing in Constantinople. he made his way with a small band to the Adriatic Seaport of Valona (Avlona, Vione, Viore) which he seized, On 28 November 1912 (ema proclaimed the resuscitation of the ancient kingdom of Albania and hoisted the black and’ ed flag of SkanderbeR. A Provisional government under his presi fncy sas set up and a conference convened fn London in December to avert the threat ofa general European war. Aus tnd Italy were alarmed the Serbs and Grecks respectively and Worried by. the intrigues of France and Russa in the Adrlaie, The London Confer: ence proposed an independent principality Sof Albania and, with the withdrawal of the Balkan armies in January 1913, the danger of war receded ‘These issues had no franking. validity ‘beyond the nebulous frontiers of Albania ‘On 16 June contemporary stamps of Turkey were overprinted with 4 double eagle Ihandstrack from a copper seal, with the name ‘SHQIPENIA’ in 3 curve underneath ‘These were the Topa. green of 1908, the series of 1909-11 (2pa.t0 10pi), the 1909 Issue with Bei (dscount) overpeit and the Ip postage due label of 1909. In addition, to meet a. sho ff 10pa. stamps, 2opa. value was sur charged "10". This Sounds complicated en eagle and. inscription ‘were overprinted in fed, blue, green oF and ‘inverted and double overprins have also been re corded. At these stamps were rather scaree, the position i TOPE rorincc conteocd vy te EMDR bostomped double ring tsne of 1915 wilh puriien value and Independence dan-gerous forgeries HMM MMROI nicrsory lnc printed from Uhre separate bandstens ‘The First Stamps ‘The government of the new sate Inberted ‘ery ite tn the way ofa postal system but the fst wampefor purely local use— Sppeared on I May 1913. These consisted CTremvelopes (ome 2443 ta al) samped tris doubicning cachet ecb i aa Capitals "MINISTRIA E. POST. TELEG SULEFONAVE" round the edge, with 4 dhield bearing the doubleneaded caplet the centre. They were sold fora plate snd ‘vere curren il the end of June 1913. On T'june second iswe appeared likewise struck on envelopes of various coos and Papers. This consisted of 2 doublesing Sarmp a» before, but withthe erin ostat e Qeverries st Perkoheshne’ (Pots of te Provisional Government) in lower use lettering round the cage ad “KE Shaipenies" (of Albania) in the centre ‘About the same humber of stamps were deruck a forthe fist sue bat 38 people tvereclpping them off the orginal cave Opes and using them as cw-ou, the post ‘fice in Dues (Duraz0) printed 80 of ‘hem in, sheets on. white. paper, chet Impert ‘or roughly” perforated by se machine and “reprints” which Still crop up. The easy soing attitude of the Albanian Post Ofice was further demon strated by the manufacture ofa few spect mmens of the 25 and S0pi, values. for Preventation to some government officials Numerous Errors The fourth issue in a8 many months appeared in October-November 1913 and Consisted of the second handstruck type ‘with the addition of 4 small double eagle above the #Sbypinis in another colour. The Seams were printed by rubber handstamps fn sheets of 45. The values, ranging from 1Opa. to 10 grosh, were inserted below the 18 Soper in violet by means of an Empice typewriter. Numerous errors in. typing ‘exist the more common variations includ: ing "grsoh' frosh's "gros “ges, “grodh’ ‘grsh’, ‘grpoh, "gers, “Brosh and 74osh! for ‘grosh, and “prara, ‘aa’, "ata" and ‘pe’ for para. Complete seis of six values were ‘only sold at Valona post office while 20pa. and Ig. stamps were on sale at Lushaje, Fe, Skrapar, Berat and Elbasan. The 10g stamp only went on sale on 25 November and all six were withdrawn three days later. "The reason for this withdeawal was the re- lease ofa Series marking the Best anniversary G.S.M. February 1994 6 ‘of Qemal’s declaration of independence. A ‘et of five stamps, from 1Opa.t0 2g, was prepared by hand as before. This must have been a laborious business as theee separate hhandstamps were involved: (1) the double ‘eagle in black, (2) the valve in black, and (3) the rest of the design in colour. Generally speaking the three components are found wwellcentred, but examples of gross cate: iesenese, such at errors of colour and the ceagle andlor value inverted or omitted fesult in limitless combinations. On spect mens with the value misplaced or omited the value may sometimes be found inserted in manuscript. They were perforated 113 and only sued at Valona, The only date of tue T have ever seen is 28 November, though its Ssoumed that they had some fon-philatclic usage on other days. Meanwhile preparations for a more permanent, less primitive, series of stamps tvere in hand. The design suggested by Isa Boletia, depicted the legendary hero of Albania, Castiota Skanderbeg, and a set of six stamps in proposed decimal currency (100 qindae = 1 frank) was eypographed at the Italian Government Printing Office in Turin and issued in December 1913. The stamps were inscribed ‘SHQIPENIA E LIRE (free Albania) at the top and ‘GJERG)I KASTRIOTI” at the foot’ On account of the failure of the new currency to mater: lise, these stamps were re-issued the following April surcharged in the old ‘Turkish currency ‘The Ruler Least Likely to Interfere (0n7 March 1914 the Skanderbeg series was re-sued with an overprint celebrating the Srvval of Abani’s newly elected ler Although the sovereignty of Albania was ‘recognised by the London Conference in December 1912, it was beset Dy the invading armies of Montenegro, Serbia and Greece and for 4 considerable time the writ ff the provisional government did not run, beyond the ancient walls of Valona, By April 1913, however, the Serbs and Monte fiegrins had been compelled through inter national pressure to evacuate the northern and central districts. An lnternational Commission of Control was appointed by the sx leading European powers to deli ‘ate Albania’s south-eastern boundary wi Greece and 4 shortlist of suitable cand aes for the title of hereditary prince Was ‘drawn up. The contenders ranged from the ‘Onleanist Duc de Montpensicr to Achmed Fuad Pasha of Faypt (ater King Fuad 1 and father of Farouk), but eventually Prince William of Wied was chosen as the ruler least key to interfere with the interests of Prince Wiliam, born in 1876, had estates at Neuwied in Rsenish Prussia and at the time of his candidacy was serving. as 2 ‘captain in the 3rd Unlans of the Guards, Easy-going and not very Bright, he was cegged on by his ambitious wife, Princess Sophie of Schoenbarg-Waldenburg, 10 3c ‘cept the Invitation to rule the Albanians, although the Kalser strongly advised him against i, On 3 December 1913 his election {o the Albanian throne was announced. On that date Ismail Qemal's provisional gov ‘ernment resigned its powers to the Inter: ‘ational Commission which superintended the nine weeks Interreynum ill 7 March 1914 when Prince Willam landed at Durres from the Austrian yacht Taurus. His arrival was enthusiastically acclaimed by the ‘people who conferred on him the ttle of ‘Mort (king) in defiance of the Great Powers Which had recognised him only as prince The Skanderbeg. stamps. were diagonally loverprinted "7. Mars’ to mark the occasion and additionally overprinted "1467 RROFTE MBRETI 1914", the dates signity {ng the end of Skanderbey’s and the start of ‘Williams reigns, with the slogan ‘Long Live the King’ Assassination and Betrayal [After the declaration of independence Essad Pasha, an Albanian official in Constant rople, was appointed. commander of the ‘Albanian garrison in Shkoder (Setar), then besieged by the Serbs and Montenegrins. In March 1913 the London Conference. a signed Shkoder to Albania and leant on the Slavs to withdraw theie forces. The Serbs id $0, but King Nicholas of Montenegro, ‘who tad set his heart on acquiring. the fportheen coast of Albania, continued the Tarabosh, Both sets were inscribed “ALBA. NIE CENTRALE” in French and “QEVERRIA E SHQIPNIS. MESME” (Central Albanian Government) and obliquely. “TARABOSH 1913". Essad’s government lasted til the beginning of Febeuary 1914 when the Taternational Commission persuaded him to resign on condition that be be alowed 10 hhead the deputation sent to Neuwied later that month to greet the Prince elect. ‘With the arrival of Prince William, Essad rasha ingratated himself at court and secured for himself the cabinet ministries Of war and the interior. This was only one series of foolish moves made by the ce whose first act was the summary dismissal of the International Commission ‘whose personnel then withdrew to Valona at the southern tp ofthe country. Wiliams biggest mistake, however, had been ‘coming to Albania in the first place, before the Powers had compelled Greece to hand lover the large area of southern Albania ‘which she had occupied since 1912. & 3 iS I 3S MMISSION |CO! ! Prince Willam of Wie: Shanderbeg issue of 1915 overprinted fo mark ea ea De Teer eae Peeler rey inane rene Sar end Tee ee Loren peryranase Tea Step nraa Nene oro siege. The Powers were on the point of blockading Montenegro when Shkoder mysteriously capitulated to the Monte- fegrin army. This was doc to Essad Pasha ‘who had the mayor of Shkoder assassinated before betraying his troops to the enemy Shkoder was occupied by the Montenegrin (on 23 April and stamps of Montenegro were tused there for thrce weeks, The Powers landed an international contingent of ‘marines at Shkoder on 13 May and forced the Montenegrins to withdraw. That there was also some. philatelic chicanery 1s proved by the existence of covers franked fwith Montenegrin. stamps bearing. the Shkoder cancellation and dated up to 26 May A Series of Foolish Moves Esad Pasha re-emerged a month later when general distisfaction withthe government 4 Valona gave him the opportunity to se ‘op a eval regime at Durres, the chief town, fof central “Albania, He had two sets of Stamps prepared in Vienna, but there is no evidence of their having been used ‘at this time, though Gibbons describe them ‘vaguely as fiscal stamps. One series, from 3pa. to Sp, depicted Lake Seuari while the other, from 10pa. 10 6pl, featured Mount During the winter of 1913-18 the Montenegrins recaptured. shkoder and it was not until 19 March 1914 that they were riven out, ‘The following month the Skanderbeg series (with surcharges in Turkish currency) was released with 4 fourline diagonal overprint showing the fate of liberation followed by "KUST. 1 NGRITJES FLAM KOMBETAR NE FORTESE SHKODRE’ (in memory ofthe raising of the ational flag over the fortess of Shkode. ‘Three stamps, further overprinted with 4 large "(Tate = postage due), were released hkoder in 1915 shortly before the town fell tothe Montenegrins for the las ume Occupied by the International ‘Commission Meanwhile Greece had been asked 10 surrender Korce (Korcha, Korisa) 10 the [Albanians ia December 1913 and eventual ‘id s0.0n 1 March 1914. The town was ‘occupied by. Dutch gendarmes of the Intemational Commission who tsswed ‘ole or black handstruck stamps inserbed. ‘COMMISSION DE CONTROIE PROVE SOIRE KORCA’ round the sles with the ‘Albanian eagle in the centre. Ie willbe noted that the word "CONTROLE” was misspelled G.S.M. February 1994 ‘The denominations, 10 and 25pa., were struck separately in red ink. These stamps ‘were in use from 19 March il theit replacement on 16 April by stamps of the tegular Skanderbeg series. Devious Tactics Although the Greeks had theoretical ‘withdrawn from the town they left behind 2 number of "wounded" in the hospital ‘These men, with Greck agents (led BY the Orthodox bishop of Koritsa), attempted (0 size control of the town during the night fof 11 Apri, Although they were s00n backed ‘up by units of the Greek army which mysteriously appeared, the insur ents were defeated by the Dutch ge SSarmes and the Albanian inhabitants ‘The ‘coup was abortive, butt fanned the flames fof insurrection all over southern Albania— fr northern Epirus to give i Ws alternative "As the likelihood of taking over this area by legal means receded, the Greeks turned UASIPOE FO, to the devious tactics which had proved 80 successful in Crete Bifteen years eater. te February 1914, when the Albanian deputa tion was on its way {0 Neuwied, Epirote Irregulars, led by Cheistaki Zographos and abetted by Colonel M Doulis seconded from the Royal Greek Army, seized the port of CChimara (Cheimarra) some twenty miles south of Valona, Cretan criminals and Professional brigands, enrolled nto the Andart (holy battalions), terrorised the Moslem communities of southern Albania [At Valona the Grecks Issued four weird looking stamps in value of 1 t0 25 lepta These depicted the doublesheaded Byzan- tine eagle and the skull and_crossbones, with Greek inscriptions, signifying. Greek Autonomous Epieus and ‘In defence of the ‘motherland’ A control mark inthe fora of 1 blue seal bearing the Greek monogram 8S (Spi Spiromantios) was applied to each samp, But specimens without the seal are known "The revolutionary goverament of Epicus was established at Gjirokaster (Argyro- Castro) and stocks of contemporary Turk Ish stamps were overprinted ‘Autonomous Epirus" in Greek capitals and surcharged in denominations from §lepea to drachmae, G.S.M. February 1994 ‘These were followed in March by 2 series lidhogeaphed by Aspiots of Cort, barely 4 ‘couple of miles off the coast ofthe disputed teretory, showing an Evzone aiming his file, Six values, from i. to Sd, were inscribed ‘Autonomous Epirus’, while two values, 10 and 251, were simply inscribed Epirus By May 1914 the precarious position of Prince William's government had deteror: ated. In that month the Montenegrin army invaded the country from the northeast and. seized Shkoder yet again. Philatclically this was marked by the ase of the Skanderbeg, stamps cancelled with a Montenegrin ouble-ciecle datestamp inscribed. "SCU ‘TARE and ‘SKADAR’ in Cyrillic letering ‘The Albanians retook the town after Sree fighting a few weeks later In the south, the small Albanian army advanced from’ Valona and almost recap tured. Gjirokaster, but the Greeks. with hheavy artillery, beat them off At the end fof May the Albanians re-entered Tepelea, er Leama red Aes (rain twenty miles southeast of Valona, which had been sacked by the Greeks. A prov sonal Igr stamp was used there, consisting ‘of an official cachet with the Albanian eagle Struck in blue. A variety is known with the ale struck in vole. High-handed Action tn Durres itself trouble was. brewing. ‘Agitation. by "Auuran. agents led to 20 attempt on the life of Estad Pasha on 19 May." Athough he eluded death he was abducted and. put aboard the. Austrian bhateship Sear This high Nanded action Blmont precipitated war between Austria and lly, but the former backed down before shots were exchanged. Evenualy nad was handed over othe alan on the Understanding. that he would be con

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