Kosovo Colonial Records

Serbian Colonization (13th and 14th Centuries-1455)
During the 13th and 14th centuries, Kosovo became a center of the Serbian Kingdom. In the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, Ottoman forces defeated a coalition led by Serbia. However, Serbian statehood survived for another seventy years.

Ottoman Colonization (1455-1912)
The Ottoman conquered the area in 1455. They lost control in 1912 after a coup within the Ottoman Empire.

Serbia and Yugoslavia Colonization (1912-1974)
Serbia acquired the territory in 1912. A new country was formed in 1918 immediately after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Later, the government renamed the country leading to the first official use of Yugoslavia in 1929. The Constitution of Yugoslavia in 1974 granted Kosovo major autonomy.

Serbian Colonization (1974-2008)
By the 1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was granted major autonomy. Serbia was one of the republics that made up the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Serbia contained the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Serbia does not recognize this independence, however.