[2] The tax-paying lower class (rayah, made up of Christian and Muslim peasants) in the Bosnia Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire experienced harsh economic conditions in the previous century.

[3] The failure of the 1874 crop and plight of peasants and external influence in Pan-Slavism and Pan-Serbism and also Austrian aspirations on further South Slavic lands were leading causes of the ensuing rebellion.

The Serbian leaders of the people of Herzegovina: Jovan Gutić, Simun Zečević, Ilija Stevanović, Trivko Grubačić, Prodan Rupar and Petar Radović, at the end of August and beginning of September 1874, met and decided to start preparing a rebellion.

The group entered in talks with Montenegrin ruler Nikola I Petrović, but he was unwilling to break and risk the unreadiness of Russia in its war with the Ottomans.

The plans began with firstly liberating the villages of Kozara; Prosara and Motajica, then attacking the communications and blocking the cities of the Sava river, later to take over Banja Luka.

British consul in Sarajevo, William Holmes, on 9 July 1875 reported that a "band" of rebels, had blocked the bridge over the Krupa river and road between Metković and Mostar.

The Ottomans had 4 battalions of the regular army (Nizami) with a total of 1,800 soldiers, situated in Mostar, Trebinje, Nikšić, Foča and the border posts, also a larger number of başıbozuk were present all over the province.

In the end of August, fighting broke out in Bosnia, and Serbia and Montenegro promised aid, sparking an intensification of the uprising.

Prince Nikola sent Petar Vukotić, while a large number of Montenegrin volunteers arrived at the command of Peko Pavlović.

The Serbian government dared not to publicly assist because of international pressure but secretly sent Mićo Ljubibratić (who took part in the 1852–1862 uprising) among others.

As a systemically organised insurrection in Bosnia was impossible, the rebels pursued and drove back the "Turk" (Muslim) population into their towns.

The bands protected and helped the exiles into hiding in the woods and leading unarmed men, women and children, to reach the frontier of Austria or Serbia through safe conduct.

[14] According to Mackenzie and Irby who travelled the region in 1877, the state of the common Christian people was serious, and the number of fugitives exceeded 200,000 all round the frontier by January 1877.

[15] The rebels in South Bosnia had cleared the region of Muslims, presently under the command of Despotović, between the Austrian frontier and the Ottoman fortresses of Kulen Vakuf, Ključ and Glamoč.

[18] The unrest rapidly spread among the Christian populations of the other Ottoman provinces in the Balkans (notably the April Uprising in Bulgaria) setting off what would become known as the Great Eastern Crisis.

[19] In 1963, a Yugoslav film by Žika Mitrović about the Nevesinje rebellion was released, titled in Serbian as Невесињска пушка and in English as Thundering Mountains.