ABSTRACT
1878 was the year when Montenegro, which for many decades had already defied Ottoman rule, became internationally recognized as an independent state. In that year, its ruler was 37-year-old Nikola I of the house of Petrović-Njegoš. Born in 1841, Nikola served as his country’s knjaz (prince) and gospodar (lord) for well over half a century, becoming Montenegro’s first – and, practically speaking, only – king in 1910. In 1921, he died in exile at Cap d’Antibes, France, at the age of 79. It was during Nikola’s long reign that Montenegro evolved from a fragmented, clan-dominated land into a more modern, albeit chronically impoverished, polity and an active participant in European political life.
