known as Skenderbeg, rallied the Albanian princes and drove the Turks
out. For the next 25 years, operating out of a mountain stronghold, Sken-
derbeg frustrated every Turkish attempt to regain Albanian territory. His
brave fight against one of the mightiest powers of the time won esteem
throughout the Western world, as well as securing military and financial
support from the Kingdom of Naples, the papacy, Venice, and Ragusa (a
province in Sicily located on the southwest side). With Skenderbeg’s
death in 1468, however, Albanian resistance gradually eroded, allowing
the Turks to reoccupy the kingdom by 1506, again incorporating it into
the Ottoman Empire. Even after his death, however, Skenderbeg’s legacy
of resistance strengthened Albanian solidarity, kept alive a sense of na-
tional identity, and served as a source of inspiration in the ongoing strug-
gle for national unity and independence.
A FORGOTTEN PEOPLE
The Turks established their dominion over Albania just as the Renais-
sance was beginning in Italy. Turkish domination of the Balkans cut the
region off from contact and exchanges with Western Europe. As a conse-
quence, Albania had no chance to participate in, or benefit from, the em-
phasis on human capabilities and accomplishments that characterized the
Renaissance. Not only did the Balkans miss out on the Renaissance, but
the Turks’ conquest of Albania also caused great suffering and vast de-
struction of the economy and commerce as well as traditional art and cul-
ture. To escape persecution, about one-fourth of the Albanian population
fled to southern Italy, Sicily, and the northern part of the Dalmatian coast.
Countless others who remained converted to Islam, the religion of the
Ottoman Empire.
Although the Turks ruled Albania for more than four hundred years,
they failed to extend their authority throughout the kingdom. In the
highland regions, the Turks exercised only a formal sovereignty. Beyond
the reach of the government and the military, the Albanian highlanders
refused to pay taxes, to serve in the army, or to surrender their weapons.
They did, however, attempt to appease the Turks by offering an annual
tribute to Constantinople. Even those Albanians who did fall under Turk-
ish sway proved difficult to manage. They rose in rebellion time and again
against their conquerors.
To quell Albanian resistance, which was motivated as much by the de-
fense of Christianity as by the desire for independence, the Turks initiated
a systematic effort to convert Albanians to Islam. By the end of the sev-
enteenth century, approximately two-thirds of Albanians had embraced
2 MOTHER TERESA