Bjelopavlici (clan)
Encyclopedia
Bjelopavlići is a Serb clan and region in central Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 (Brda clan, Highlanders). The clan is situated around Danilovgrad
Danilovgrad
Danilovgrad is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 5,208 . It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two largest cities, Podgorica and Nikšić.The town of Danilovgrad is located in the fertile valley of the Zeta River,...

.

History

The Bjelopavlići are first mentioned Serbian documents dated to 1411, when they, together with Malonšići, Ozrinići and Maznići loot a ship from Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

. The eponymous founder, Bijeli Pavle (eng. White Paul), is sourced as having fled Metohija
Metohija
Metohija , is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo.It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo, namely the historical :* District of Peć * District of Đakovica * District of Prizren...

 (in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

) from the Turks, and settling in Zeta
Zeta
-Science:* Zeta functions, in mathematics** Riemann zeta function* Zeta potential, the electrokinetic potential of a colloidal system* Tropical Storm Zeta , formed in December 2005 and lasting through January 2006* Z-pinch, in fusion power...

.

According to geneaologist Dušan Vucurović and dr Sreten Vuković who analysed archives of Dubrovnik and Ottoman defters, Pavle, a Serbian Orthodox, was born around 1280, in Hvost, in Metohija
Metohija
Metohija , is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo.It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo, namely the historical :* District of Peć * District of Đakovica * District of Prizren...

, between Peć
Pec
Peć or Pejë is a city and municipality in north-western Kosovo and Metohija - Serbia, and the administrative centre of the homonymous district. Governor of city is Ali Berisha....

 and Prizren
Prizren
Prizren is a historical city located in southern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.The city has a population of around 131,247 , mostly Albanians...

. Pavle settled Upper Zeta in 1300-1303, during the rule of King Stefan Milutin.

Pavle had two sons:
  • Šćepan, had 2 sons, which families composed
    • Vražegrmci
    • Martinići

  • Mitar, had 4 sons, which families composed
    • Petar - Petrušinovići
    • Pavko - Pavkovići
    • Nikola - Matijaš and Tomaš
    • Kaleta - Kalezići


The tomb of Bijeli Pavle is found in the "Gradac Jovanovica"-Serbian Orthodox church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

.

Medieval Times

The Venetians
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 fought Stefan Vukčić in the 15th century, Zeta
Principality of Zeta
Zeta was a medieval state, which territory encompassed parts of present-day Montenegro and Northernwestern Albania. From 1360. to 1421. Zeta was independent state administered by local noble family Balšić. From 1185. to 1360. and from 1421. - 1451, Zeta was province of medieval Serbia...

 was not able to defend themselves and all Serb clans
Serb clans
Serb clans is a general term referring to what are known as plemena and bratstva , traditional geo-political units of the Western Balkans that now richly attest social anthropology and family history . The descendants of the clans are divided by regional and lately, national affiliation...

, including Bjelopavlići, were to pay taxes to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

.

In 1496, the Ottomans conquered majority of Montenegro and surrounding area called "Hills" (Brda).

In the late 16th century, Damjan and Pavle, two monks of Mileševa
Mileševa monastery
Mileševa is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Prijepolje, in southwest Serbia. It was founded by King Vladislav, in the years between 1234 and 1236...

, sent a letter to the pope explaining "What is Serbia"; Bjelopavlići is one of the clan regions.

In the early 17th century, when the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 ruled most of Montenegro, Bjelopavlići consisted of 360 houses which were Serb (ethnic Serb, Orthodox Christian).

In 1612 the Sultan sent the son of Mehmet Pasha to Podgorica to tackle the uprisings by the people. The Pasha remained in Podgorica for three months and then decided to ravage Bjelopavlići, taking 80 women and children as slaves, setting the village on fire and stealing animals. The males were hiding in other villages and upon the department of the Ottoman soldiers, the tribesmen attacked and killed 300 sipahis with their horses and baggage stolen.
In 1613, the Ottomans launched a campaign against the rebel tribes of Montenegro. They reached an agreement with the people for one thousand ducats and twelve slaves.
In the Ottoman registers of 1614, the region was under the command of the army of Podgorica. 800 men in arms of Bjelopavlići were commanded by Neneca Latinović and Bratič Tomašević.

They are mentioned as a "Serbian Orthodox clan" in a historical-geographical survey from 1757 and a letter sent by the Clan federation to Russia from 1789.

Modern

Knjaz Danilo
Knjaz Danilo
Prince Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš , , , son of Stiepo/Sava Petrović-Njegoš and wife Angelika Radamovich.Prince Danilo I, was the prince-bishop and later prince of Montenegro from 1851 to 1860...

 was assassinated in August, 1860 as he was boarding a ship at the port of Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....

. The assassin, Chief Todor Kadić of the Bjelopavlići, was said to be assisted by Austrian authorities in carrying out the assassination. Some speculate that there was a personal feud between the two, the fact that Danilo had an affair with Todor's wife and the ongoing mistreatment of the Bjelopavlići tribe by Danilo's guards and his forces.

During Nikola I, the Bjelopavlici had bad relations with the rule as a member of the tribe, Andrija Radović, was sentenced to 15 years in a bombing trial and the trials in 1908-1909 further damaged relations.

Christmas Uprising

Montenegro was unified with Serbia on November 26, 1918.
During the Christmas Uprising
Christmas Uprising
The Christmas Uprising or Christmas Rebellion refers to the uprising of Montenegrin guerrilla fighters aimed against the planned unification of Montenegro with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...

 in 1919, when the "Greens" (backed by the Kingdom of Italy sought Montenegro as a federal unit instead of an annexed Montenegro and instigated a rebellion, the Bjelopavlići were on the pro-Serb ("Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...

") side of the Montenegrin Whites (Bjelasi, The opponents were the Greens, Zelenaši
Zelenaši
The Zelenaši were a group of Montenegrin dissidents, most notable for instigating the 1919 Christmas rebellion and later for supporting the existence of the fascist Kingdom of Montenegro during World War II....

).

World War II

On 11 February 1942, Chetnik Colonel Bajo Stanišić revolted against the Yugoslav Partisans of KPJ in the villages of Bjelopavlici.

Notables

  • Andrija Radović
    Andrija Radovic
    Andrija Radović was a Montenegrin and Yugoslavian politician & statesmen, former Prime Minister and leader of the People's and then Democratic Party, fighter for parliamentary democracy and chief proponent of Montenegro's unification with Serbia.-Youth:Andrija Radović was born to father Jagoš in...

  • Jovica Stanišić
    Jovica Stanišic
    Jovica Stanišić is a former head of the State Security Service now BIA within the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. He is facing trial at the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for his role in the wars in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina...

    , former head of the State Security Service within the Serbian Ministry of the Interior now on trial at the ICTY for involement in the wars in Croatia
    Croatian War of Independence
    The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...

     and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  • Bajo Stanišić, Chetnik commander during WWII
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