BOOK "UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SERBIA AND NAPOLEON, 1809-1814" PRESENTED

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 25 /SRNA/ - The book "Unpublished Correspondence between Serbia and Napoleon, 1809-1814" was presented in Banja Luka today, featuring valuable archival material and shedding light on the diplomatic relations between Serbia and Napoleonic France during one of the most significant periods in Serbian history.

The book's particular documentary value comes from the work of translator Saša Miljković, Honorary Consul of France in Niš, who has access to original documents from French historical archives.

Miljković told SRNA that the book was created thanks to the efforts of former French Ambassador Auguste Boppe during the Great War.

"At the time, as a young diplomat, he joined the French diplomatic service and worked as an archivist. Boppe thus came across diplomatic records, and he was a passionate admirer of Napoleon. He went through a huge archive, and what was crucial was that France at that time controlled a vast territory encompassing Istria, the Adriatic coast, a large part of BiH and Kotor, and was almost a neighbour of Serbia," Miljković said.

He stressed that this was the period of the First Serbian Uprising, when Karađorđe tried to seek a new ally after failing to secure Russia's support. The correspondence with the French Empire began through Rado Vučinić, a hero from Karlovac, and through his fate, letter by letter, one can follow the attempts to establish the first communication between insurgent Serbia and the French Empire.

"That was the foundation of the future relationship with France, which today we call relations or cooperation," Miljković said.

Director of the Student Cultural Centre in Niš Predrag Jelenković told SRNA that the book had achieved great success in Serbia and that Serbian associations from Ljubljana, Pula and other cities had contacted them, expressing interest in promoting the book in those cities.

Following the presentation at the National and University Library of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka, he added, the book will be presented in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Vrnjačka Banja.

"It is obvious that we will have to publish a second, expanded edition. Given that the topic is extremely interesting, an initiative to adapt the book for the screen will be launched next year," Jelenković said.

The book was published last year by the Student Cultural Centre in Niš, with the support of the Serbian Ministry of Culture.

The author of the book, Auguste Boppe, was a French diplomat and historian who left a profound mark on French-Serbian relations.

As a French envoy, he visited Serbia on several occasions, and during the First World War he remained with the Serbian government and people and took part in the retreat through Albania in 1915.

His works represent valuable testimony to the political and historical circumstances in the Balkans.