Emergence Trouble begain with the
Congress of Berlin, solving the so-called
Great Eastern Crisis. After a short campaign, the Austro-Hungarian army occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, a former territory of the
Ottoman Empire. This caused resentment among the ethnically and religiously mixed population. The situation escalated at the beginning of 1882. The main reason for the uprising was the unresolved agrarian issue, taxes and the military duty imposed on the local population. It was officially decided that the population of the most recently acquired territory of the
Habsburg Monarchy should also serve in its army. This outraged locals, since Bosnia still formally belonged to the Ottoman Empire and only the
Sultan could make such a decision. The Bosniaks reacted by massively migrating to Turkish territories (especially to
Sandžak), the Serbs initially protested, which led to an armed uprising around the city of
Foča. On the night of 11 January, a group of armed peasants attacked gendarmerie barracks in
Ulog. The center of the uprising was there and the rebel government formed there. Most rebels were poor peasants. The uprising soon spread to northeast
Herzegovina and southeast
Bosnia. Between January and February, rebels commanded by
Stojan Kovačević and Salih-Salko Forta tried to attack Foča and
Trnovo (south and southeast from
Sarajevo). Their main goal was the liberation of Sarajevo. However, their units, poorly armed and operating separately, were unable to achieve success in the fight against superior enemy forces.
Suppression Austro-Hungarian forces of about 10,000 infantry and four artillery batteries mobilized against the uprising. Several thousand rebels, poorly armed and operating independently, subsequently had difficulty achieving success in the fight against superior enemy numbers. In April 1882, the Austro-Hungarian army suppressed the uprising. In smaller areas near border with
Montenegro resistance continued for a few weeks. Sporadic sabotage and guerrilla actions continued until November 1882. == See also ==