The Country Formerly Known as Yugoslavia

Though it came into existence before the start of the Cold War, Yugoslavia was a major communist player on the world stage during the 1900s. Officially and formally dissolving for good in 2006, Yugoslavia managed to last for nearly a century in some form or another.

Yugoslavia at its height.

Yugoslavia, as a country, had three distinct periods. Pre WWII Yugoslavia, Post WWII Yugoslavia, and Serbia-Montenegro Yugoslavia. However, when people talk about 'the former Yugoslavia', they are usually referring to the second incarnation--Post WWII Yugoslavia.

Today, the region that was once Yugoslavia is now the six¹ independent countries of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro. These countries have, ostensibly, very little in common. A mix of Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Muslims, Yugoslavia wasn't even composed of a singular ethnic group--a fact that led to great tension during its (relatively) short time as a country.

The greatest unifying factor of the nations that became Yugoslavia was the fact that they were 1) Southern Slavic peoples² and 2) part of someone else's empire for hundreds of years. For years Serbia³, North Macedonia, and Montenegro were a part of the vast Ottoman Empire, and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,and Slovenia were a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Though both Serbia and Montenegro had gained their independence at the time of WWI, the memories of former oppression was still strong.

It was these memories of oppression that ultimately brought these Southern Slav people together. Yugoslavian intellectuals believed that the only way to retain their freedoms and ethnic identities was to band together and protect each other from everyone else. In order to realize this idea the 'Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes' was created in 1918.

This first reincarnation of Yugoslavia went about as well as could be expected. Multiple ethnic groups with their own interests unified only by a general shared ancestry couldn't really be expected to get along well. Throw in a large minority of Albanians who really didn't want to be there, and you have a recipe for disaster. The young state was plagued with infighting and violence until it was invaded by Third Reich Germany in 1941.

As in most cases, when faced with a common enemy, the Yugoslavs managed to band together, and take out the Germans. By the end of WWII Yugoslavia was ready to go again, this time as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Josip Broz Tito, Leader of Yugoslavia from 1946-1980

In 1946 Josip Broz Tito, the Croat leader of the Yugoslav army, liberated Yugoslavia from Germany, and was installed as president. Tito was a great admirer of Stalin, and wanted to create a communist state in Yugoslavia. Basing his system on the same system used in the USSR, Tito formed a centralized government, with all six member countries having an equal say in governing. However, many constitutional changes led Yugoslavia to become a loose confederation of states largely run by independent companies working on the government's behalf.

This wasn't very communist, and Stalin didn't care for it. However, Tito, who had been declared president for life, didn't really care what Stalin thought, and divorced himself and Yugoslavia from the USSR. Though a communist country, Yugoslavia allowed tourism to, and from, the west. They experienced a post war economic boom, and the north and west of Yugoslavia did very well financially.

However, Yugoslav prosperity was built on a series of loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries. Following Tito's death in 1980, leadership of Yugoslavia was delegated to a rotating set of representatives from each country, and the IMF demanded a restructuring of the Yugoslavian economic system. That, in addition to internal violence, lead Slovenia to declare independence in 1991.

Following Slovenia's departure, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia were close behind. Only Serbia and Montenegro remained, and they banded together to become the third Yugoslavia.

However, the third Yugoslavia, now just known as Serbia and Montenegro, wasn't to last long either, in 2006 the union disbanded, breaking up Yugoslavia for good.

Yugoslavia flag

There's many reasons why Yugoslavia is no longer on the map, but the major reason is the lack of a stable leadership system. Josip Tito was president for nearly 40 years, and it was his leadership that largely kept Yugoslavia together. Lack of a workable system for deciding executive leadership after his death is what lead to the breakdown of the Yugoslav economy and unity.

Though seemingly innocuous, Yugoslavia played a major part in the Cold War. Tito was the first communist leader to defy Stalin, and his refusal to bow to the USSR or the US made Yugoslavia the first non-aligned state. As a non-aligned state, Yugoslavia was able to concentrate on its own interests instead of playing the communist vs. capitalist game for the last half of the 20th century.


¹Seven if you consider Kosovo to be its own country
²'Yugoslavia' means 'Land of the Southern Slavs'
³Serbia was actually part of both the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian Empires at one point in their history. Additionally, Serbia gained its independence from the Ottomans in 1878. Serbia then spent the next three decades being a major trouble maker on the Austro-Hungarian border until a Serbian shot Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, starting WWI

Article updated in 2019 to reflect the name change of North Macedonia. Northern Macedonia was known as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" until February of 2019.


Sources
Yugoslavia-Encyclopedia Britannica
The Breakup of Yugoslavia: 1990-1992
Yugoslavia: 1918-2003
What is the Former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia-Holocaust Encyclopedia

Dollar Princesses-Social Mobility Across the Pond

It's the late Victorian Era, and the English nobility are having a rough time of things. Many of them are trapped with vast crumbling estates, huge debts, and little to no money. There's been an economic and agricultural depression, and country landlords are finding that their tenants can no longer pay rent. Things are pretty bleak, and all around the country, and ancient noble families are having to close the doors of their country homes and downsize.

Jennie Jerome, later Lady Randolph Churchill. She

became engaged to Lord Randolph Churchill

within three days of meeting him. Their engagement

lasted about 4 months as their parents squabbled over

the marriage contract. Their eldest son, Winston, was

born just seven months after their wedding. 

Meanwhile, in the New World, it's the Gilded Age and things are booming! Americans have stopped killing each other, and instead they're building railroads, starting banks, opening factories, and making millions. New millionaires pop up in the mid-west every day, and as soon as they strike it rich, these millionaires move their families to New York City, home of high society. Unfortunately, upon arrival, these New Money families found that their millions couldn't necessarily buy them into upper echelons of society.

1870s New York Society was ruled by Mrs. Caroline 'Lina' Astor, and her crony Ward McAllister. Lina and McAllister were both part of the 'Knickerbockers', a stratification of New York society. To be a Knickerbocker, one had to be descended from the original Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam, and be very, very wealthy. Additionally, one's wealth couldn't come from something vulgar like railroads or manufacturing. It had to come from something aristocratic, like landowning and already being wealthy.

The railroad and manufacturing magnates didn't fit the mold, and the Knickerbockers were determined to keep them out. While it was possible for a noveaux riche to gain entre to society, it was extremely difficult, and the society courting system heavily favored the daughters of the Knickerbockers. This incensed many of the noveaux riche parents, particularly the mothers, who wanted their daughters to have all the privileges and advantages they themselves had never had. In order to give their daughters these advantages, their mothers decided to skip New York Society, and do one better--they decided to marry their daughters off to members of the English Aristocracy.

Consuelo Vanderbilt, later Duchess of
Marlborough, was engaged to marry Winthrop
Rutherford, a man she loved when her mother made 
her break it off. She was soon engaged to the 
Duke of Marlborough. The couple separated
after 11 years of marriage, and eventually
divorced.

Hopping across the pond was not only beneficial for the daughter's marriage prospects, but a huge 'up yours' to the gatekeepers who had kept them out of New York society. If being rich wasn't enough to make families like the Astors respect them, then a title might do the trick.

This idea was not totally unfounded. While there were still some serious ill feelings between the United States and the United Kingdom (the United Kingdom had, after all, supported the South during the Civil War, attacked the United States in 1812, and it was less than 100 years since the American Revolution), having a noble or royal title still meant something in the United States, especially among the members of New York Society. Mrs. Astor and her friends wanted to create their own sort of aristocracy, and they admired little more than actual aristocracy.²

Across the ocean, these young ladies and their iron willed mothers were surprised to find themselves received into British Society with relatively open arms. The wealth, style, and glamour of the American girl made her fascinating to the British Lords, who were used to the quiet, reserved English girls. Throw in the fact that Albert, Prince of Wales and leader of fashion, ADORED American girls, and marrying an American became all the rage.

The Prince of Wales plays a big part in the success of these American women in English society. Because Queen Victoria had largely withdrawn from society, it fell to her son to be the leader of fashion and society, and this was a role Albert reveled in. He loved big parties, heavy drinking, and lots of sex, much to the disapproval of his mother. Albert had found that the wealthy Americans were much better able to host him, and that American manners much better suited his sense of fun. He became good friends (and lovers) with many of the first Dollar Princesses, and was responsible for the introduction and popularization of most of them in society.

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, was
the son of Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert. Even after he reached his majority
his mother kept a tight grip on her reigns
of power, leaving Albert with little
to do but party.

Marrying an American heiress wasn't just popular however, it was also very convenient, and sometimes necessary for the impoverished English Lord. Because primogeniture wasn't observed in America, American girls could expect to get an equal share in their father's estates, and many of them came with an enormous dowry. Even the smallest of American dowries could pay off an English lord's debts, and set him up comfortably for a good long time. Because of this many of these marriages became little more than business transactions--the trade of millions of dollars for a title. Extra-marital affairs, already common among the upper class of that era, were even more common in these unions. Several unions were unhappy enough that they ended in divorce, such as the case of Consuelo Vanderbilt.

For this reason, as well as a few others, marriages between society heiresses and destitute noblemen weren't incredibly popular with the American people, though they were obviously popular with the families in question. Americans, for all their love of the glitter of society weddings, did not like the idea of an arranged marriage. It was common to marry for love, or at least affection in America, and the idea that a nobleman would marry an American girl for her money and not for her personality repulsed the public. Additionally, the idea that hard earned American dollars were going into funding the crumbling institutions that had so recently oppressed them was unpopular with Americans. As the 1900s dawned the prominence of international unions led many Americans to despair that the English were stealing all the American heiresses.

Despite being included in the 'Old Money'
elite of New York Society, Frances Work
married James Burke Roche, who was
set to inherit a barony. Unfortunately, the
couple divorced before James (and Frances)
inherited the title.

For about 20 years American heiresses went across the Atlantic to find a husband. The titles grew less important, but during the reign of Edward VII the transatlantic union was still very popular. However, this all changed when his son George ascended the throne in 1911. George (the current Queen Elizabeth's grandfather) and his wife Mary didn't approve of the joviality and high spending of Edward's court. They wanted a return to traditional English values, and marrying an American slowly fell out of fashion.

The 'Dollar Princess' is a major character in fiction. From Edith Wharton's Buccaneers to Lady Grantham of Downton Abbey, Dollar Princesses figure heavily in period pieces set in the Edwardian Era/Gilded Age/Belle Epoque. In real life, the descendants of these ladies still occupy a high place in British Society. Prince William, heir to the heir to the throne³, is the great-great grandson of Frances Work, the daughter of a stock-broker. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister during WWII was the son of Jennie Jerome, one of the first Dollar Princesses.

Aside from the children they left behind, the Dollar Princesses left a huge imprint on both their home and adopted countries. Not only did their marriages induce anglomania in the United States, but it also cemented alliances between the United States and United Kingdom. Though it was not the intention, these marriages functioned much as many political marriages of the time. They essentially married two countries together, forming an alliance that, to this day, is still one of the most important diplomatic ties for each country.

¹In the North that is. The South is undergoing Reconstruction  which pushed the region into an economic slump that still affects it to this day.
² In theory anyways. In practice, most Americans found members of nobility, especially the English nobility, to be severely lacking in moral fiber.
³ It is, however, unlikely that William will ever become king, as Queen Elizabeth II is seemingly immortal.

Sources
To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol Mc.D Wallace
The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
A Look Back at the 'Dollar Princess'
Dollar Princesses
Topics in Chronicling America-- 'Dollar Princess'
The Gilded Age's Real Life 'Dollar Princesses'
How American Dollar Princesses Changed British Nobility
Gilded Age Heiresses

The Hatpin Panic

The turn of the century saw a great increase in mobility for women. Women were no longer relegated to the parlor and kitchen--they could leave the home unaccompanied. They began riding public transport and taking jobs outside of the home. However, with this new mobility and freedom came the new threat of street harassment and aggression.

The harassment of women on the street continues to  be a problem to this day. Today it's called cat-calling, around the turn of the century it was called 'mashing'. It's more or less universally detested by every woman, and nearly every woman has a story about being harassed on the street. The fight against street harassment continues in government halls and online forums, but in the late 1800s/early 1900s women took matters into their own hands. Instead of trying to solve things with words these ladies stabbed the offenders with their sword like hatpins.

The hatpin was a common accessory at the time.  Large hats, festooned with ribbons, fake flowers, and wax fruit were the fashion, and to keep the millinery concoction on their heads, women secured them to their heads with steel pins known as hatpins. The average hatpin was around 9 inches in length, had a sharp point on the piercing end, and jewels, feathers, or filigree on the other. Hatpins had to be sharp in order to get through the fabric of the hat, and, due to the size of the hats, were often quite lengthy.

Women were, essentially, wearing knives in their hair. However, there are no recorded instances of women having used them as such until 1903 when Leoti Blaker, a young Kansan visiting New York City was accosted on public transportation. When an elderly man attempted to take liberties with her person, Leoti stabbed him 'in the meat of his arm', driving the man away. Leoti later stated to newspapers that “If New York women will tolerate mashing, Kansas girls will not.”

The typical headgear of an early 20th century
woman

Leoti's move against her harasser was only the first recorded of such instances. Stories about women defending themselves and others from attackers with their hatpins began to crop up around the country with increasing frequency. One woman in Chicago stopped a train robbery, one in New York stopped a man from stealing the payroll of an entire company.

With the popularity of the hatpin as a weapon of self defense, and the publication of self defense manuals for women, women were protecting their rights to exist in public spaces, and this was making the men of the time uncomfortable. Editorials in newspapers started cropping up about how women were 'attacking defenseless men', and that to avoid street harassment women should perhaps dress more modestly, or, better yet, not leave the house. Legislation to regulate hatpin length was introduced in several cities, and motions to ban them outright were discussed.

Admittedly, there had been some hatpin accidents. More than once another man or woman had suffered injury from being jostled against a lady's hatpin, and women had been known to stab policemen and police horses while resisting arrest. However, the rate of accidents was much lower than stated in newspapers of the day. Newspapers, especially the Chicago Tribune, stirred the public into a frenzy that would later become known as 'The Hatpin Panic' or 'The Hatpin Peril'.

This trend of using a hatpin for self defense spread to the United Kingdom and Australia, who all had a 'hatpin panic' too. While some legislative measures were passed, the hatpin panic ultimately died with the onset of World War One. Because of metal shortages, women no longer wore large hatpins, and after the war large hats went out of fashion. Bobs and cloche hats became the norm, and the biggest female threat to society became the flapper, not the hatpin.

Sources
The Hatpin Peril Terrorized Men Who Couldn't Handle the 20th Century Woman
With Daggers in Her Bonnet: The Australian Hatpin Panic of 1912
Early 1900s Women Had an Ingenious Method for Fending Off Gropers
When Men Feared 'A Resolute Woman, With a Hatpin in Her Hand'

Damn, Girl-Omu Okwei, Captain of Robbing Industry

Okwei was a people-person, a trait that she used enormously to her advantage. Rising from having almost nothing to become the wealthiest woman in Nigeria, she built  relationships with both native Nigerians and the British which led to her being crowned Omu, or Queen. Her political expertise and excellence in this position ensured that she would be the last to ever hold the title.

Okwei surrounded by her family

Okwei was the daughter of Prince Osuna Afubeho, a wealthy warrior. As was the practice of the time, Prince Osuna had many wives, all of whom were expected to provide for themselves through trade. Given that daughters were unable to inherit the property of their fathers, Okwei's mother insured that her daughter had a solid background in trade so that she would be able to provide for herself.

At age nine, Okwei was sent to be apprenticed to her maternal aunt in the Igala tribe. Nigeria was, and still is, a country with hundreds of tribes, each with unique languages and customs. At the time, the Igala language was very important for trade, and during her apprenticeship Okwei not only learned how to do business, but the language that would open a lot of doors for her. By the time she returned home at age fifteen, she was successfully trading in vegetables and poultry.

In 1889 Okwei married Joseph Allagoa, an influential brass trader. Okwei's family disapproved of the match, given that Joseph's family did not share the same royal status of Okwei's family. Okwei, however, didn't care, and married Joseph anyways, despite the fact that her family withheld her dowry.

Tribal and linguistic divisions of Nigeria

The dowry was an important part of marriage for an Igbo woman of the time. Because women could not inherit their father's money and property their dowry was the only way for them to build up a successful trading business after marriage. A dowry was essential for being self sufficient, and for having a successful marriage. Marriages in which the wife was not successful in her trading endeavors, and in which she did not contribute to the family financially, rarely prospered.

Despite her lack of capital, Okwei started a business in palm oil trading--a highly lucrative product at the time. She was able to make use of her husband's business connections to start building her empire, and though they divorced not a year after marrying Okwei was able to use those contacts throughout her life.

Okwei and Joseph divorced in 1890, and Okwei had custody of their son, Frances. Okwei continued her trading business, and in 1895 married again, this time to Opene of Abo, the son of a successful and wealthy trader. Okwei's family once again disliked the match, this time because of Opene's lack of work ethic, and once again Okwei ignored their protests and married despite her lack of dowry. Opene's lackadaisical attitude towards working, and his willingness to support Okwei in her trading endeavors suited her just fine, and they, reportedly had a very happy marriage, having one son, Peter.

Shortly after her second marriage, Okwei went into business with her mother in law, Okwenu Ezewene. Though Okwei later dissolved their partnership, Okwei was able to add less perishable items to her inventory. During this time Okwei diversified her stock to include cotton goods and tobacco-items in particular demand.

Unprocessed palm oil

By 1904, when Okwei dissolved her partnership with her mother in law and became an agent of the Royal Niger Trading Company, Okwei was making an astonishing amount of 400 tickets a month. The ticket system was put into place by the British colonial government because of a lack of universal currency in Nigeria at the time. Many tribes refused to trade in British pounds, preferring to trade in traditional cowrie shells or iron rods. British merchants, on the other hand, refused to accept cowrie shells and iron rods as payment. The ticket system was put into place as a compromise. Each ticket could be converted into a certain amount of oil or other goods, but ultimately amounted to about one pound sterling.

Okwei continued to grow her trading empire by starting to trade in clay and iron goods. She also grew her network of trade contacts by marrying off her maids and foster daughters to European shop owners, translators, and government officials. This, combined with her honest and open attitude, endeared her to Africans and Europeans alike.

Cowrie shells-the traditional currency of the Igbo

The palm oil industry--Okwei's bread and butter--collapsed during World War One, as the main market for palm oil was in Germany. Okwei changed her trade focus from selling palm oil to selling ivory and coral beads. Ivory was valuable to Africans and Europeans alike--used for ornamental accents in Europe, and ceremonial jewelry in Africa. Okwei not only exported and sold ivory, but she also amassed a large selection of ceremonial ivory jewelry which she rented out for a profit.

In 1918 the ticket system was abolished, and a new currency--neither pound sterling nor cowrie shell--was introduced. By this time the Nigerians had started to trust the old currency (the pound sterling), and were suspicious of the new money. Because the British paid them in new currency Nigerians turned to money changers to buy goods locally. Okwei set up a business as a money changer, taking advantage of local suspicion to pay two shillings of old currency for every five shillings of the new.

In addition to money changing, Okwei also set herself up as a landlady and a money lender. She owned some sixteen houses--fifteen of which she rented out. She provided business loans to local businesswomen, and invested in her local market. Her vast wealth also made it possible to import goods directly from England--a costly and risky venture made less risky by Okwei's vast fleet of personal trading trucks and canoes.

While she was certainly a shrewd businesswoman, Okwei was also a respected member of the community, and the core of her family. She supported her sons and their wives in their endeavors, and was often the calm, impartial mediator in family disputes. She was devoted to her traditional way of life, refusing to become a Christian and keeping up her devotion to her native religion. This, along with her support for tribal government led to her being elected Omu.

The Onitsha market--still located on the land leased out
by Okwei.

The Igbo system of government at the time consisted of an unrelated king and queen. The king was in charge of the men, foreign relations, and most warfare, while the queen was in charge of the women, the economy, and the markets. Both were appointed positions, usually given to people who were greatly respected. Okwei took her duties as Omu very seriously, and was such a good Omu that the title has never been awarded to another woman out of respect for her legacy.

Much like Andrew Carnegie or J.D. Rockefeller, Okwei rose from poverty to become a millionaire. It would be easy to classify her as a captain of industry because of the money she poured back into her community, or as a robber baron because of the high interest rates she charged her debtors, but in reality she falls somewhere in the middle. While her methods were not always ethical, Okwei contributed enormously to the Nigerian economy, and helped pave the way for the modern female entrepreneur in Nigeria.

Sources

Omu Okwei, The Merchant Queen of Ossomari--a Biographical Sketch by Felicia Ekejiuba
Women in the Economy of Igboland, 1900 to 1970: A Survey by Gloria Chuku
Okwei of Ossomari (1872-1943)