A Spy in Albania: Southern Albanian Oil and Morton Frederic Eden

摘要

In 1921 Albania a major game was afoot: that of the first political elections, which took place between February and April 1921. For Albanian officials, the initiation of an electoral process before the long anticipated international recognition of the independence and integrity of Albania and the final delimitation of the Albanian-Greek frontier took place was imperative. The main reason was Albania's territorial dispute with Greece. The participation of the inhabitants of the disputed Southern Albania (Gjirokaster and Korce regions) in the elections was meant to prove their Albanian national sentiment. Conversely, their abstention from voting could be disastrous for the Albanian state, as it might prove that the region's inhabitants instead desired union with Greece. Great Britain's then-envoy in Albania, Harry Eyres, informed his government that the Muslims of the Korce region had participated in the process, while their Christian compatriots mostly abstained from voting. But he also maintained that all the inhabitants of Gjirokaster region, across the religious spectrum, took part in the electoral process normally. To that the Foreign Office (FO) replied that a certain Morton Frederic Eden, known to London as Eyres's informer, was probably a victim of propaganda. Eyres, therefore, should be more careful with the information coming from that source. Who was Morton Frederick Eden? What was he doing in Albania? Why did the FO seem to not trust his information?