The region of Rovca is first mentioned in the 1477
defter (tax registry) of the
Sanjak of Herzegovina, which had been established in 1470.
Mariano Bolizza, a Venetian patrician, recorded in 1614 that “Riouzi” (Rovci) was inhabited by
Orthodox Christian Serbs and had a total of 50 houses. The 120
men-at-arms were commanded by Ivan Rodonjin. In 1689, an uprising broke out in Piperi, Rovca, Bjelopavlići, Bratonožići, Kuči and Vasojevići. This uprising broke out at the same time of a similar one in
Prizren,
Peć,
Priština and
Skopje, which expanded further in
Kratovo and
Kriva Palanka in October (
Karposh's Rebellion). In 1768, the Rovčani helped the Bjelopavlići, who were attacked by the Ottomans. In 1774,
Mehmet Bushatli, the
pasha of Scutari, broke into Kuči and "destroyed" it; the Rovčani housed and protected some of the refugee families. On the request of Russian Empress Catherine, the Montenegrins and Herzegovinians took arms against the Ottomans in 1788. The call was gladly accepted by the Rovčani and Moračani who equipped gunpowder and weapons for the upcoming events. However, the Ottomans heard of the intentions, and preemptively struck Morača, the centre of preparation. In 1794, the Kuči and Rovčani were devastated by the Ottomans. In 1796, the Montenegrin army under Metropolitan
Petar I Petrović-Njegoš and with the assistance of the Bjelopavlići and Piperi, defeated the Ottoman army at the
Battle of Krusi. The Montenegrin victory resulted in territorial expansion, with the tribes of Bjelopavlići and Piperi being joined into the Montenegrin state. The Rovčani, as other highlander tribes, subsequently turned more and more towards
Montenegro. Metropolitan Petar I sent letters in 1799 to the Moračani and Rovčani, advising them to live peacefully and in solidarity. During the
First Serbian Uprising (1804–13), the Drobnjaci, Moračani, Rovčani, Uskoci and Pivljani rose against the Ottomans and burnt down villages in
Herzegovina. In 1820, after the defeat of the Ottoman army at the
Morača river, the Rovčani were incorporated into Montenegro, together with the Moračani. Rovčani was one of the tribes that supported the
Montenegrin Greens, a faction that opposed what they saw was an annexation of
Montenegro to
Serbia and instead urged for a federation. The Greens still declared themselves to be ethnic Serbs. During the
Christmas Uprising (January 7, 1919) two members of Bulatović family were flayed alive in Rovca by the
Montenegrin Whites (the other political faction). ==Politics==