Albanian Revolts of 1833–1839

The Albanian revolts of 1833–1839 took place in Albania as a reaction against the new centralizing policy of Ottoman administration.

In the beginning of July 1833 the inhabitants of Tepelenë under the leadership of Balil Nesho rose up against the new Ottoman governor Emin Pasha, son of Mehmet Reshit Pasha. The revolt was spread in the nearby regions of Gjirokastër and Delvinë. The Ottoman forces led by Emin Pasha attacked the rebels in the Peshkopi Pass. Unprepared, the rebels withdrew in the village of Luzat and, when Ottoman forces attacked them there, the Ottomans were soundly defeated. Inspired by the first successes, other regions of Vlorë, Berat and Skrapar, rose up in rebellion under the leadership of Tafil Buzi, Zenel Gjoleka and Çelo Picari. In Berat the inhabitants sieged the castle. In a sign of pacification the Ottoman government evicted Emin Pasha from his post, but the rebellion continued and spread out even more. In September 1833 the castle of Berat surrendered to the rebels. The rebels requests were to have Albanian governors and officials in the rebel districts and to abolish new taxes. Alarmed, the Ottoman government accepted the rebels' requests by nominating Albanian officials in the cities of Berat, Vlorë, Tepelenë, Përmet, and Gjirokastër, and by also declaring an amnesty.

On 10 April 1833 about 4,000 armed Albanians from Shkodër and the surrounding areas entered the city occupying the main market and asking for the abolition of taxes and the application of old privileges granted before by the Sultan to the region. Trying to calm down the rebels, the Turkish governor, Namik Pasha, promised to solve the problems. Inadvertently, in August 1833 he sent a military expedition to push the rebels out of the market which they still possessed. A fierce fighting took place and the Ottoman expedition withdrew. The rebels sent a delegation to Istanbul to ask the Sultan for the replacement of Namik Pasha. While the Albanian delegation was in Istanbul the Ottoman forces under the lead of Namik Pasha sieged the city of Shkodër and started several attacks during a three months period, but the city resisted them. After three months of siege the Ottoman forces withdraw on December 1833. Alarmed by the continuous uprisings, which were also happening in Southern Albania at that time, the Ottoman government accepted the rebel requests and replaced the unpopular governor Namik Pasha with another official.

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