page_title: Independent Albania
section_title: After the declaration of independence
hierarchical_section_title: Independent Albania / History / After the declaration of independence
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the participants of the Albanian Congress of Trieste
context_page_description: Independent Albania was a parliamentary state declared in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Its assembly was constituted on the same day while its government and senate were established on 4 December 1912.
  The delegation of Albania submitted a memorandum to the London Conference of 1913 requesting international recognition of independent Albania. At the beginning of the conference it was decided that the region of Albania would be under Ottoman suzerainty but with an autonomous government. The requests by the delegation for recognition based on the ethnic rights of Albanians were rejected and the treaty signed on 30 May 1913 partitioned a major part of the claimed lands between Serbia, Greece and Montenegro, leaving as independent territory only a central region, which was put under the protection of the Great Powers. The ambassadors of six Great Powers met again on 29 July 1913 and decided to constitute a new state, the Principality of Albania, as a constitutional monarchy. Finally, with the Treaty of Bucharest being signed in August 1913, this new independent state was established, leaving about 30–40% of the ethnic Albanian population outside its borders.
context_section_description: The first notification about the proclaimed independence was sent to the command of Serbian Army in Ohrid. On 29 November 1912, the army of the Kingdom of Serbia captured Durrës without any resistance and established Durrës County with four districts (Serbian: срез): Durrës, Lezha, Elbasan and Tirana. New Serbian authorities were faced with big difficulties in governing a new county because all secluded army garrisons with small number of soldiers were destroyed in a couple of days. Although some tribal chieftains proposed to organize an armed resistance against troops of Serbia in the occupied parts of Albania, the provisional government of the Independent Albania decided to avoid unnecessary casualties and concluded agreement (besa) to maintain harmony in occupied territory.
  The international relations of Albania began to function on a state level after it was proclaimed independent and the first diplomatic efforts of its government were requests for the international recognition of the Albanian state. In December 1912, a delegation of Albania submitted a memorandum to the London Conference of 1913 insisting on the ethnic rights of Albanians and requested an international recognition of the independent Albania composed of Kosovo, western Macedonia including Skopje and Bitola and the whole territory of Epirus up to Arta.
  About 120 notable politicians and intellectuals from Albania attended the Albanian Congress of Trieste from 27 February to 6 March 1913 and requested from the Great Powers a recognition of the political and economical independence of Albania. Isa Boletini and Ismail Qemali travelled to London in March 1913 to obtain Britain's support for their new country. On March 6 Ioannina was captured by forces of the Kingdom of Greece. In March 1913 a group of 130 (or 200) soldiers of the Kingdom of Serbia were killed near Prizren by Albanian irregulars in act of revenge for repression of Serbian army.
  In April 1913 the army of the Kingdom of Serbia retreated from Durrës but remained in other parts of Albania. On the other hand, Kingdom of Montenegro managed to capture Shkodër on 23 April 1913 after six months of siege. However, when the war was over, the Great Powers did not award the city to the Kingdom of Montenegro, which was compelled to evacuate it in May 1913.
  In May 1913, delegates of Albania in London requested a British sovereign and considered offering the Albanian throne to Aubrey Herbert.
caption: Participants of the congress in Trieste
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