Albania (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Albanian Republic Republika Shqiptare Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum OTL equivalent: Albania
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Ti Shqipëri, më jep nder, më jep emrin Shqipëtar (Albanian) ("You Albania, give me honour, give me the name Albanian")
Anthem:  Himni i Flamurit
Location of Albania
Capital		Tirana
Official languages		Albanian
Ethnic groups		Albanians; Serbs; Greeks; Macedonians
Religion		Islam; Christianity
Demonym		Albanian
Government		Unitary state; Semi-presidential constitutional republic
-	President
-	Prime Minister
Legislature		Kuvendi of Albania
Establishment
-	Independence from the Ottoman Empire	November 28, 1912
-	Ascension of Charles I to the Throne of Albania	February 19, 1921
Population
-	estimate	2,876,591
Currency		Euro (EUR)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
Internet TLD		.al
Calling code		+355

Albania (Albanian: Shqipëri or Shqipëria), officially the Albanian Republic (Albanian: Republika Shqiptare), is a state in South-Eastern Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Serbia to the east, Greece to the south and maritime borders with Greece, Serbia and Italy to the west.

Albania is the largest Muslim nation in continental Europe; despite its secularism, political Islam grows significantly in the political scene of Albania in recent years. It possesses remarkable diversity with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps as well as the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea.

History

Independence (1912–1914)

Albania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire on November 28, 1912. Its sovereignty was recognized by the Conference of London. On July 29, 1913, the Treaty of London delineated the borders of the country and its neighbors, leaving many Albanians outside Albania, predominantly partitioned between Montenegro, Serbia and Greece. Headquartered in Vlorë, the International Commission of Control was established on October 15, 1913 to take care of the administration of newly established Albania, until its own political institutions were in order. Prince Wilhelm of Wied was selected by the European Great Powers to rule over the newly independent Albania.

Meanwhile, the revolt of Albanian peasants against the new Albanian regime erupted under the leadership of the group of Muslim clerics gathered around Essad Pasha Toptani, who proclaimed himself the savior of Albania and Islam. In order to gain support of the Mirdita Catholic volunteers from the northern part of Albania, Prince Wilhelm appointed their leader, Prênk Bibë Doda, to be the foreign minister of the Principality of Albania. In May and June 1914, the International Gendarmerie was joined by Isa Boletini and his men, mostly from Kosovo, and northern Mirdita Catholics, were defeated by the rebels who captured most of Central Albania by the end of August 1914. Wilhelm's regime collapsed, and he left the country on September 3, 1914.

Interregnum era (1914–1920)

The Albanian people split along religious and tribal lines after the prince's departure. Muslims demanded a Muslim prince and looked to Ottoman Empire as the protector of the privileges they had enjoyed, hence many beys and clan chiefs, recognized no superior authority. Albania's political confusion continued in the wake of World War I. The country lacked a single recognized government, and Albanians feared, with justification, that Italy, Serbia and Greece would succeed in extinguishing Albania's independence and carve up the country. The Albanian National Assembly, anxious to keep Albania intact, expressed willingness to accept Italian protection and even an Italian prince as a ruler so long as it would mean Albania did not lose territory.

The National Assembly appointed a four-man regency to rule the country in the absence of a monarch. In February 1920, the government moved to Tirana, which became Albania's capital. In 1920, the noted cricketer and polymath Charles Burgess Fry, who had working as an assistant to the Indian delegates at the League of Nations, was offered the crown of Albania by the Albanian delegates in Geneva. After initial contemplation and with support from his former teammate Maharaja Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar, Fry accepted it. Fry arrived at Tirana on February 19, 1921 and was given regnal name Charles I of Albania (Albanian: Çarls I).

Interbellum years (1920–1939)

King Charles I of the Albanians (1872–1956; r. 1920–1939)

One of the most pressing problems Charles had to deal with was the constant feuding between different political factions in Albania. Modeled after the Belgian monarchs, Charles declared himself as "King of the Albanians" (Mbret i Shqiptarëve) rather than "King of Albania" (Mbret i Shqiperise), emphasizing the territorial claims outside the then-borders such as Kosovo. Under the 1921 constitution, the king ascended the throne and exercised royal powers only after taking an oath before Parliament; Charles himself swore an oath on the Bible and the Qur'an in an attempt to unify the Muslims and Christians of the country.

Because of his non-aristocratic background and had no links to any other European royal families, King Charles was somewhat ignored by other monarchs in Europe. Despite his non-Albanian, non-royal and Anglican background, Charles, however, was very popular among the Albanians at this period who proudly adopted the king as their own. His extensive travel through Albania and passion on learning Albanian culture endeared Charles to his people. In 1929, the king limited the implementation of Islamic law for personal issues and adopted in its place a civil code based on the Swiss one, similarly as what Turkey had done in the same decade. He managed to stand as a unifying figure and moral authority to the Albanians, personally played part in creating the Albanian national identity.

Among his cultural policies, Charles passionately promoted sports for the Albanians as a mean to create national solidarity. He decided to introduce cricket as a national sport in Albania, which soon developed into a form that would match Trobriand cricket in its colorfulness. In 1929, the first-class cricket championship Charles Trophy was introduced by the king, creating a nation-wide craze for cricket. On June 6, 1930 the Football Association of Albania (FSF) was established, becoming a member of FIFA in 1932 and a founding member of UEFA in 1954. The Albanian Royal Championship began in 1930 with 6 teams. The cricket and football matches were broadcasted throughout Tirana via Radio Tirana for the first time in 1937.

Influenced by British liberalism, Charles proclaimed Albania a constitutional monarchy. Albeit vested with almost dictatorial powers constitutionally, the king confined himself to ceremonial roles without interfering in politics rather than actively involved in the country's governance. The Albanian government also allied closely with the British under Charles' influence, much to dismay of pro-Italian politicians, such as Ahmet Zogu and Shefqet Verlaci. Benito Mussolini also considered Albania having strategic position in the Balkans and made several attempts to force the Albanian government to give in to the Italian influence and away from the British.

After Germany invaded Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939 without notifying Mussolini in advance, the Duce decided to proceed with his own annexation of Albania. Rome delivered Tirana an ultimatum on March 25, 1939, demanding that it consent to Italian occupation of Albania; Prime Minister Fan Noli, however, blatantly rejected it. On April 7, 1939, Italy invaded Albania to which the king called for a national resistance. After more than a week resisting, smaller Albanian army was overwhelmed by the Italians, forcing the royal family and the government to be evacuated to Greece on April 16, 1939. Pro-Italian members of Albanian parliament then declared Victor Emmanuel III as the king of Albania, creating a personal union with Italy.

Further readings