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After Albanian independence [[Himara]] was achieved in liberated from the Turks, during the [[1912First Balkan War]], Himarë not by the Greek army but by a group of local volunteers led by [[Spiros Spiromilios]]. However, Chimara was included in awarded to Albania by the new state, Great Powers although in March [[1914]] the region was declared autonomous. It was occupied by Italy during the [[First World War]], when the Italians used Austro-Hungarian war prisoners to build a road running through Himarë, which greatly reduced the region's isolation. Following the war, the Protocol of Himara was agreed in [[1927]], recognizing special rights and privileges for the region. However, in [[1930]] Greek-language teaching was ended in Himarë. It was again occupied by Italians and Germans during the [[Second World War]].
→From 1799 to today
Ali Pasha's rule over Himarë lasted about 20 years until it was abruptly terminated by his murder at the hands of the Turks in his castle of [[Ioannina]]. Himarë subsequently reverted to its ''status quo ante'' of an enclave surrounded by Ottoman territory. To emphasize the region's special status, the terms that the Himariotes had reached with Sultan Suleiman were inscribed on bronze tablets at the request of their leaders, who wanted to record the agreement on a durable medium so as to stress its importance.
In [[1822]]-[[1833]] the Himariotes played an important role in the Greek [[War of Independence]], fighting in several major battles including the decisive battle of [[Messolongi]]. The [[Souli]]otes, who were major players in the war, are said by some to have been transplanted Himariotes. The One of the first Prime Minister Ministers of Greece after independence was a Souliot by the name of [[Kitsos Tzavellas]]. The contributions of the Himariotes were commemorated in verse by [[Lord Byron]], who wrote:
:Shall the sons of Chimari who never forgive
:Let those guns so unerring such vengeance forgo?
:What's mark is so fair as the breast of a foe?
The isolationist and xenophobic rule of the Communist dictator Enver Hoxha after the Second World War relegated Himarë to the status of a backwatertown, forcing many Himariotes to migrate to other parts of Albania in search of a better life. It gained a small local tourist industry as well as continuing to pursue the traditional local industry of fruit growing.
After the fall of communism in [[1992]], the people of Himarë emigrated in very large numbers, especially to [[Greece]]. Many villages were reduced to ghost towns inhabited mostly by old people. Younger people did return temporarily, though, especially during the months of summer. In recent years, the population has expanded somewhat due to a growth in the region's tourist industry. The region has benefitted from the resumption of contacts with the large Himariote diaspora around the world, with communities existing as far afield as the USA, Australia and France as well as closer to home in Greece and Italy.
