Black Society for Salvation

The Black Society for Salvation (Albanian: Shoqëria e zezë për shpëtim) was a secret Albanian nationalist society established in 1909. Its main task was to organize uprisings in southern Albania and Macedonia struggling for the unification of the four Ottoman vilayets with the substantial Albanian population (Kosovo Vilayet, Scutari Vilayet, Monastir Vilayet and Janina Vilayet) into one autonomous political unit with its own government and parliament. The members of the society considered the armed rebellions as legitimate means for achieving their aims.

According to Nebi Dervishi, the society somehow dates back to 1878 in Istambul. Dervishi explained that its seal contains a gun and dagger, with the name of the society on top, and number 18 and 78 (left and right), showing a connection with the League of Prizren period. The society got reorganized and got its real structure in 1909 in Monastir (today's Bitola in Macedona), in the same building which hosted the Alphabet Congress. Monastir was a cradle of irredentist movements, not only Albanian ones. The main contributor was Themistokli Gërmenji. The later, had several trips to visit the Albanian colonies, and found great support especially in the colonies of Sofia and Bucharest. Other main members of this were Thoma Avrami, Nikolla Ivanaj, and Pandeli Cale. The statute of the society (Albanian: Rregullore) was printed in a local print shop owned by the Qiriazi (Kyrias) family, and had 47 articles. The society established branches throughout the vilayets, in Korçë, Yannina, Gjirokastër, Vlorë, Filat, Delvinë, Përmet, Elbasan, Tiranë, Ohër, Strugë, Dibër, Shkup, Shkodër, as well as in diaspora. The branches used a similar seal, without the letter "Q" that was present in the Monastir's one for distincting the "headquarters" (Albanian: Qendra). The intended name from the beginning was "The Black Hand" (Albanian: Dora e Zezë), in resonance with other secret societies that carried similar name in Europe, but was shifted later for avoiding misunderstandings regarding the society's programme and activity. A correspondence of Fan Noli to one of the founders, Nikolla Ivanaj, shows Noli's disagreement with these naming convention which sounded to him like the Mano Nera. Despite the efforts of Ivanaj for changing the name to "National Organization of Albania" (Albanian: Organizacionit Kombëtar të Shqipërisë), the name did not change due to objections from the branches.

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