Čedomilj Mijatović, a Leading Serbian Anglophile

Abstract

Čedomilj Mijatović (also spelled Chedomille Miyatovich/Mijatovich,1842–1932), the most prominent Serbian Anglophile in the nineteenth century, influenced the mutual perception of the British and the Serbs through his six books published in English, numerous articles in leading British papers, contributions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a dozen translations from English into Serbian. In the 1870s and 1880s, he had an influential political career, serving as minister in several Serbian governments and playing a role in establishing some important state institutions. The image of Serbia in Britain is analyzed with a special emphasis on four pro-Serbian campaigns conducted between 1862 and 1918, the third of which (1892/3) was undertaken by Mijatović and his wife Elodie Lawton Mijatovich (1825–1908).The campaign was intensified in 1906–16, when it was conducted by Č. Mijatović alone. A significant part of the paper is devoted to Mijatović’s role in the crisis in Anglo-Serbian relations following the May Coup (1903), to his contributions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,and his efforts to present British culture to the Serbs.