In the long history of Herzegovina, among the numerous uprisings and rebellions over the centuries, an event called the Herzegovina Uprising, also known as the Nevesinje Rifle, stands out. The date is most often associated with July 9, 1875, when the first major battle between Serbian insurgents and the Turkish army took place near Krekovo, on the outskirts of Nevesinje Field, and which soon spread to the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The insurgents were supported, with weapons and volunteers, by the Principality of Montenegro and Serbia, which led to the beginning of the Serbian-Turkish War. The Nevesinje Rifle, however, also has its much broader historical significance – it marks the beginning of a major Balkan and international crisis, the so-called Great Eastern Crisis of 1875-1878. which represents an important turning point in the history of the Serbian national movement and Southeast Europe as a whole. The Great Eastern Crisis refers to the withdrawal of Turkey from the Balkans and the struggle over its legacy, and Nevesinje was the hearth of that movement.
It is undeniable that social and political circumstances were among the main causes of this uprising. The Ottoman Empire, burdened with debts, introduced new taxes and increased old ones, and abuses in tax collection were a regular occurrence. The peasant, under Ottoman rule, had difficult living conditions. He lived unjustly and insecurely, and, pressed by all possible misfortunes, he entered into a struggle with the state that for him meant both an enslaver and an exploiter, seeking his economic and political freedom. The consequence of the uprising and the wars waged against the Ottoman Empire was the Berlin Congress (1878), at which Montenegro and Serbia gained independence and territorial expansion, and Austria-Hungary took over the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 30 years.
The higher historical meaning of the uprising is that the fight for a free country meant the fight for a national state. Moreover, it can be freely said that in the entire history of the world there is no example of a smaller number of people fighting for a longer period of time under more difficult circumstances against a larger number of enemies than was the case in this uprising. The period from 1875-1878 is considered the historical achievement of the Nevesinj Rifles, reflected in the greatness of patriotic energy and in the general enthusiasm, in the psychology of the Serbian masses this uprising is still without parallel, and as such should have been an inspiration to later generations.
