Давид Уркарт, Писац Прве Енглеске Историје Србије

Veselin, Kostić

Историјски часопис

53

235

262

0350-0802

https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=575909

2006-2020/03/09/13:08:48

The article is a discussion of the work of David Urquhart (1805- 1877), British diplomat and publicist whose numerous publications include A Fragment of the History of Serbia (published in London in 1843). The opening part of the paper discusses the general conditions in the Balkans and the Near East prevailing at the time of Urquhart's appearance on the diplomatic scene and focuses on the political and commercial aspects of the Anglo-Russian rivalry in the region. This is followed by a brief account of the early life of David Urquhart, of his participation in the Greek war for independence in 1827-1829 and of his subsequent transformation into an ardent admirer of Turkey and a bitter enemy of Russia.. In 1831 Urquhart accompanied Sir Stratford Canning on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople, and there are some indications that during Canning's negotiations with the Porte he visited Serbia and even spent some time in it. He returned to England towards the end of 1832 and published a book on Turkey and Its Resources which gained him the favour of the King and some other influential people. As a result, he was sent in 1833 on a mission to the East to explore the possibilities for the promotion of AngloTurkish trade. Although his instructions were that he should travel as an ordinary commercial agent without disclosing that he was on an official mission, his letters and reports sent to England claim that he conducted important political talks with Prince Miloš of Serbia and his leading statesmen during the two weeks he spent in Serbia before proceeding to Turkey. The paper suggests that Urquhart's reports are of doubtful veracity and that they were probably intended to be taken as evidence of the writer's diplomatic acumen and political ability. The main part of the paper is a discussion of the possible role of Urquhart in the establishment of the first diplomatic relations between Britain and Serbia and to an analysis of Urquhart's unfinished account of the history of Serbia. In 1832 Urquhart suggested indirectly in one of his letters, purportedly sent to his mother, but intended for his patrons at the court, that it would be opportune to keep a British consul in Prince Miloš's Serbia and hinted vaguely that he would be the right person for the office. There seems, however, to be no more substantial evidence that he was instrumental in the establishment of Anglo-Yugoslav diplomatic relations five years later. The analysis of Urquhart's Fragment of the History of Serbia seeks to place that account in the context of Urquhart's general view of the Eastern Question and of the leading ideas consistently expressed in his other publications. It is argued that Urquhart considered the events from Serbian history mainly as useful material for the illustration and confirmation of his obsessive Rusophobia and of his admiration of Turkey, belief in the possibilities of her renewal and praise of her institutions. This treatment of Serbian history often leads either to the adjustment of historical events to preconceived conclusions or to their neglect in favour of matter which is irrelevant but supports the author's obsessive vilification of Russia. The reason why Urquhart left his history unfinished, breaking off literally in mid-sentence, is not known. Another mystery is why he chose to have it published it in that form. The Fragment as it is may be said to be noteworthy as the first English work on Serbian history, but its contribution to the knowledge of Serbia and its past was not great, partly because it offered little new or detailed information, and partly because it seems to have been received as just another polemical work dealing with aspects of the Eastern Question. Indeed, it did not much differ from the run-of-the-mill journalistic production of that type. A heated piece of political propaganda rather than a sober-minded historical survey, unfinished and published, apparently, in a very limited number of copies, it attracted little attention at the time and is very rarely mentioned in the later accounts of Urquhart and his work. Another probable explanation why Urquhart's history left no more lasting mark was the fact that it could not stand comparison with Leopold Ranke's history of Serbia, published in Germany about fifteen years earlier. Even the English readers unable to read German could get a fairly good idea of Serbian history from the detailed and very flattering reviews of Ranke published in the British periodicals of the time. A few years after the publication of the Fragment there appeared the English translation of Ranke's book (1847), and Urquhart's history fell into deep oblivion. The concluding part of the paper deals briefly with Urquhart's later career and with the divided contemporary views of him.