Greek authorHecataeus of Miletus mentions that around 500 BC, the Eastern Adriatic region was inhabited by local tribes such asHistrians,Liburnians, andIllyrians.[7] Greek colonization saw settlers establish communities on of Issa (Vis), Korkyra Melaina (Korčula) and Pharos (Starigrad on Hvar) islands[8] as well as trading outposts of Tragurion (Trogir) and Epetion (Stobreč).[9] Somewhere in 3rd century by, Greek colony of Issa formed an alliance with then emergingRoman Republic. As Isseian maritime trade became affected by Illyrianpirating activities, they asked for Roman intervention against theIllyrian kingdom, leading to the First Illyrian War in 229. BC and beginning of Roman expansion on the Eastern Adriatic.[9]
Before the Roman expansion, the eastern Adriatic coast formed the northern part[10] of theIllyrian kingdom from the 4th century BC to theIllyrian Wars in the 220s BC. In 168 BC, theRoman Republic established its protectorate south of theNeretva river. The area north of the Neretva was slowly incorporated into Roman possession until theprovince of Illyricum was formally establishedc. 32–27 BC.
These lands then became part of the Roman province ofIllyricum. Between 6 and 9 AD, tribes including theDalmatae, who gave name to these lands, rose up against the Romans in theGreat Illyrian revolt, but the uprising was crushed, and in 10 AD Illyricum was split into two provinces—Pannonia and Dalmatia. Theprovince of Dalmatia spread inland to cover all of theDinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast. Dalmatia was the birthplace of the Roman EmperorDiocletian, who, when he retired as Emperor in 305 AD, built alarge palace nearSalona, from which the city ofSplit later developed.[11][12]
A map of the Istrian peninsula from the Roman mapTabula Peutingeriana, made sometime in the 4th century
Historians such asTheodore Mommsen andBernard Bavant argue that all of Dalmatia was fully Romanized andLatin-speaking by the 4th century.[13] Others, such asAleksandar Stipčević, argue that the process ofRomanization was selective and involved mostly the urban centers but not the countryside, where previous Illyrian socio-political structures were adapted to Roman administration and political structure only where necessary.[14]Stanko Guldescu [hr] has argued that theVlachs, or Morlachs, were Latin-speaking, pastoral peoples who lived in the Balkan mountains since pre-Roman times. They are mentioned in the oldest Croatian chronicles.[15]
The Roman period ended with theAvar andCroat invasions in the 6th and 7th centuries and the destruction of almost all Roman towns. Roman survivors retreated to more favorable sites on the coast, islands, and mountains.[18] The city ofRagusa was founded by survivors fromEpidaurum.[19] According to the workDe Administrando Imperio, written by the 10th-century Byzantine EmperorConstantine VII, the Croats arrived in what is today Croatia fromsouthern Poland andWestern Ukraine in the early 7th century. However, that claim is disputed and competing hypotheses date the event between late the 6th-early 7th (mainstream) or the late 8th-early 9th (fringe) centuries.[20][21] Recent archaeological data established that the migration and settlement of the Slavs/Croats occurred in the late 6th and early 7th centuries.[22][23][24]
From the middle of the seventh century until the unification in 925, there were two duchies on the territory of today's Croatia,Duchy of Croatia andPrincipality of Lower Pannonia. Eventually, adukedom was formed, theDuchy of Croatia, ruled byBorna, as attested by chronicles ofEinhard starting in the year 818. The record represents the first documented Croatian realms,vassal states ofFrancia at the time.[26] The most important ruler of Lower Pannonia wasLjudevit Posavski, who fought against theFranks between 819 and 823. He ruled Pannonian Croatia from 810 to 823.[27]The Frankish overlordship ended during the reign ofMislav two decades later.[28] Duke Mislav was succeeded byDuke Trpimir, the founder of theTrpimirović dynasty. Trpimir successfully fought againstByzantium, Venice andBulgaria. Duke Trpimir was succeeded byDuke Domagoj, who repeatedly led wars against the Venetians and the Byzantines, and the Venetians called this Croatian ruler "the worst Croatian prince" (dux pessimus Croatorum)[29][30] According to Constantine VII, theChristianization of Croats began in the 7th century, but the claim is disputed and generally, Christianization is associated with the 9th century.[31] In 879, underBranimir, the duke of Croatia,Dalmatian Croatia received papal recognition as a state fromPope John VIII.[32]
A map of 10th-century Croatian counties (županije), as they were mentioned inDe Administrando Imperio. The counties marked in blue represent the territories governed by the Croatian Ban.
Other important Croatian rulers from that period are:
Mihajlo Krešimir II, 949–969, who conqueredBosnia and restored the power of the Croatian kingdom. Two Croatian queens are also known from 10th century. The first one isDomaslava[36] and the second one isHelen of Zadar, whose epitaph was found in theSolin area at the end of the 19th century during archeological excavations conducted byFrane Bulić. The latter was also a mother of KingStjepan Držislav, 969–997. He sided withByzantium in a war againstBulgarian emperorSamuil, so Bulgarians, in response,raided Croatia and ravaged it as far asZadar before retreating back to Ohrid.[37] Byzantine emperorBasil II in return named Stjepan Držislav a hereditary King of Croatia and Dalmatia and sent him royal insignia.[37]
Stjepan, 1030–1058, restored the Croatian kingdom and founded thediocese inKnin.[38][39]
The medieval Croatian kingdom reached its peak in the 11th century during the reigns of Petar Krešimir IV (1058–1074) and Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089).[40] From the time ofPetar Krešimir IV kingdom was officially called "Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia".[41] He usedThe Great Schism of 1054 which weakened the Byzantine rule over Dalmatian cities to assert his own control over them.[42] He left the cities a certain amount of self-rule, but also collected a certain amount of tribute and demanded their ships in the case of war.[42] Except for croatization of old cities such as Zadar and Split, Petar Krešimir IV encouraged the development of new cities such as Biograd, Nin, Karin, Skradin and Šibenik.[42] He also encouraged the foundation of new monasteries and gave donations to the Church.[42] Historians such as Trpimir Macan consider that during Krešimir's reign medieval Croatian kingdom reached its greatest extent.[42] Modern historians also consider that his rule probably ended when he was captured by Norman countAmicus of Giovinazzo.[43]
TheSplit pluteus with the figure of a king, dating from the 11th century. It is hypothesized to depict a Croatian king, probablyPetar Krešimir IV orZvonimir.[44] It was originally situated inHollow Church.[45]
I Demetrius, also called Zvonimir, by God's mercy duke of Croatia whom you Gebizon - the deputy of Holy See, after receiving the authority from our pope Gregory [...] crowned with a flag, sword, scepter and crown [...] - I pledge to you [...] to fullfill everything His Honourable Holiness orders me. [...] I shall respect justice, defend the churches, take care of everything that belongs to Church, [...] I shall protect the poor, widows and impoverished [...] I shall object to selling people [...] After counselling with my best men I order that each year on Easter my kingdom pays a tribute of 200 Byzantine golden coins to the Saint Peter and I confirm that this will be continued forever by those who succeed me. [...] I also donate and confirm the monastery of St. Gregory, also called Vrana with all its treasures to the Holy See, that is; with a silver box, [...] two crosses, grail, [...] and two golden crowns decorated by jewelry [...] may it forever be a resting place for the deputies of the Holy See and in their complete control [...] which I as well as my successors shall defend. -
Krešimir IV was succeeded byDemetrius Zvonimir who married Hungarian princessHelen and ruled fromKnin as his capital. Zvonimir's rule was marked by stability.[47] He was a papal vassal and enjoyed a papal protection as seen when his kingdom was threatened by an invasion of knight Wezelin, who was deterred after pope threatened to excommunicate him.[48] He had a son named Radovan who died at young age, so Zvonimir left no male heir when he died in 1089.[48][49]
Meanwhile, in 1096, a group of crusaders led byRaymond of Toulouse going on first crusade passed through mountainous parts of Croatia. The crusaders were met with hostile locals who attacked crusader columns, while Raymond of Toulouse brutally retaliated by mutilating those attackers whom they managed to capture. Historians explains these hostilities by the "state of anarchy" which was then in Croatia.[50]
King Zvonimir was succeeded byStjepan II who died in 1091, ending theTrpimirović dynasty. As Kingdom of Croatia descended in another feudal power struggle, Zvonimir's widowJelena (Helen), who was the daughter of Hungarian kingBéla I, invited her brotherLadislaus I of Hungary to come to Croatia and claim Croatian royal crown. Meanwhile, in Croatia,Petar Snačić, another pretender to the royal throne arose,[51][52] but his army was defeated by Hungarians inBattle of Gvozd Mountain where Snačić was killed. Hungarian king Coloman continued to lay claims on throne of Croatia and eventually apersonal union between Croatia and Hungary was created in 1102 with Hungarian king as its ruler.[53] This meant that Croatia and Hungary still remained separate kingdoms which are connected only by a common king,[54][55] therefore from the reign of Coloman onwards, Hungarian kings bore official title of "king of Hungary, Dalmatia and Croatia".[56] Another example was a coronation process as new kings of Hungary continued to be separately crowned kings of Croatia from the times of Coloman, untilAndrew II.[57] There was also an institution ofban (viceroy) of Croatia representing a royal deputy, separate tax system, money and army.[54] According to one group of historians, during this interregnum, Croatia was simply conquered by Hungarians, while another group of historians thinks that king Coloman and Croatian nobility possibly reached some kind of agreement.[58]
Personal union with Hungary (1102–1527) and the Republic of Venice
TheLaw Code of Vinodol from 1288, written inGlagolitic script, is the earliest legal text written in the Croatian language. This code regulated relations between inhabitants of the town ofVinodol and their overlords, thecounts of Krk.
One consequence of entering a personal union with Hungary under the Hungarian king was the introduction of afeudal system. Later kings sought to restore some of their influence by giving certain privileges to the towns.[59] Somewhere betweenSecond andThird Crusade,Knights Templars andHospitallers[60] appeared in Croatian lands for the first time.[61] According to historian Lelja Dobronić the purpose of their arrival appears to be to secure transport routes and protect travelers going from Europe towards the Middle East.[61]
After the proclamation of theFourth crusade in 1202, the crusader army could not afford to pay the agreed amount of money to the Venetians who were supposed to provide the maritime transport to the Holy Land. The Venetians in turn requested that the crusaders compensate this difference by capturing the town ofZadar (Zara) which was then supposed to be handed over to Venice. The pope issued sharp warnings against this kind of attack and some crusaders refused to participate. When the Venetian-crusader army arrived before Zadar, its citizens posted signs of cross on their town walls to demonstrate their catholic faith. Despite everything, in November 1202 the crusader-Venetian armylaunched an attack on Zadar, captured it and then looted it.[62] In response, Popeexcommunicated the entire crusader army.[62]Hungarian-Croatian king Emeric also provided no real help to the town. He merely wrote a letter to the popeInnocent III, where he asked him to make the crusaders return Zadar to its legitimate ruler.[62]
In year 1217, the Hungarian kingAndrew II took thesign of the cross and vowed to go on theFifth Crusade. After assembling his army king marched by so-called"via exercitualis" (English: the military road) from Hungary proper southwards toKoprivnica and further towards:Križevci,Zagreb,Topusko,Bihać and thenKnin, eventually reaching town ofSplit on the Adriatic coast.[63] As Andrew lacked needed naval fleet to take his army to the Holy Land, he decided to arrange transport with Venetians. In return, Andrew II decided to completely give up the Hungarian kings' rights on Zadar, whom Venetians had captured during the Fourth crusade.[64] After staying in Split for three weeks for logistical reasons and realising that Croatians will not be joining his crusade, king and his army sailed off tothe Holy Land.[65] Historian Krešimir Kužić attributes this low desire of Croatians to join king Andrew's crusade to earlier bad memories related to destruction and looting of Zadar in 1202.[66] When king Andrew II returned from the crusade, he brought back a number ofrelics, some of which remain stored in thetreasury of Zagreb Cathedral.[67][68]
Andrew's sonKing Béla IV was forced to deal with troubles brought by thefirst Mongol invasion of Hungary. Following the Hungarian defeat in theBattle of the Sajó River in 1241, the king withdrew to Dalmatia, hoping to take refuge there, with the Mongols in pursuit. The Mongol army followed the king to Split hinterland, which they ravaged.[69] The king took refuge in nearby town ofTrogir, hoping to make use of its island-like fort which offered some protection from Mongol onslaught.[69]
Meanwhile, Mongols thinking that the king is hiding inKlis fortress attempted to clib up the steep cliffs of Klis, while the fort defenders hurled rocks on their heads.[69] Eventually hand-to-hand combat ensued inside the fortress, but upon realising that king isn't in Klis, the Mongols abandoned their attempts to take the fort and headed towards Trogir. As Mongols prepared to attack Trogir, king Bela prepared boats in an attempt to flee across the sea.[69]
This decisive Mongol attack on Trogir never happened as they withdrew upon receiving news about the death ofÖgedei Khan. As Croatian historian Damir Karbić notes, during Béla's stay in Dalmatia, members of the Šubić noble family earned merit for sheltering him, so in return, the king granted them the County ofBribir in hereditary possession, where their power grew until reached the peak in the time ofPaul I Šubić of Bribir.[70]
This period, therefore, saw the rise of theFrankopans and theŠubićs, native nobility, to prominence. Numerous future Bans of Croatia originated from these two noble families.[71] The princes of Bribir from the Šubić family became particularly influential, as they asserted their control over large parts of Dalmatia,Slavonia, and even Bosnia.
One of the seats of 14th-century magnatePaul Šubić, inBribir. Paul held the hereditary titles of theBan of Croatia andLord of Bosnia. Croatian historians sometimes refer to Paul as "the uncrowned king of Croatia".[72]
By the early 14th century lordPaul Šubić accumulated so much power, that he ruled as a de facto independent ruler. He coined his own money and held the hereditary title of Ban of Croatia. Following the death of kingLadislaus IV of Hungary, who had no male heir, a succession crisis emerged, and in 1300, Paul invitedCharles Robert of Anjou to come to theKingdom of Hungary and take over its royal seat.[73] A civil war ensued, in which Charles' party prevailed after winning a decisive victory in theBattle of Rozgony in 1312.
Coronations of the kings of Croatia gradually fell into abeyance as a custom. Charles Robert was the last to be separately crowned as King of Croatia in 1301, after which Croatia had a separate constitution. Lord Paul Šubić died in 1312, and his sonMladen inherited the title of Ban of Croatia. Mladen's power was diminished due to the new king's policy of centralization, after he and his forces were defeated by the royal army and its allies in theBattle of Bliska in 1322. The power vacuum caused by the downfall of Mladen Šubić was used by Venice to reassert control overDalmatian cities. Following downfall of Croatian magnates and restoration of royal authority over Croatia, around 1350, first instance of Croatian-DalmatianAssembly (hrvatski Sabor), attested by historical sources, took place nearBenkovac.[74] The assembly was summoned byban of Croatia in August and it gathered members oftwelve Croatian noble families. In subsequent period, the Croatian-Dalmatian assembly most often took place inKnin.[75]
The ensuing reign of KingLouis the Great (1342–1382) is considered the golden age of medieval Croatian history.[76] Louis launched a campaign against Venice, with aim of retaking Dalmatian cities, and eventually succeeded, forcing Venice to sign theTreaty of Zadar in 1358. The same peace treaty caused theRepublic of Ragusa to gain independence from Venice.[77]
After king Louis The Great died in 1382, the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia descended into a period of destructivedynastic struggles called The Anti-Court movement. The struggle was waged between two factions, one of which was centered around late king's daughterMary, her motherqueen Elizabeth, and her fiancéSigismund of Luxemburg. The faction which opposed them was a coalition of Croatian nobility which supportedCharles of Durazzo to become a new king of Hungary and Croatia.[78] This faction consisted of powerfulJohn of Palisna, andHorvat brothers, who opposed the idea of being ruled by a female and, secondly, of being ruled by Sigismund of Luxemburg whom they considered alien.[79] As alternative, they arranged forCharles of Durazzo to come to Croatia and crowned him as new king of Hungary-Croatia inSzekezfehervar in December 1385. Charles' opponents - queen Elizabeth and princess Mary, responded by organizing Charles' assassination inBuda in February 1386.[80] Enraged anti-court supporters then retaliated by making an ambush for two queens near Gorjani in July 1386, where their escort was eliminated and both queens were taken to captivity inNovigrad Castle nearZadar.[81] Once in Novigrad, queen Elizabeth was strangled to death, but her daughter Mary was eventually rescued by her fiancé Sigismund.[82]
Novigrad Castle, nearZadar was a place where anti-court supporters held queens Mary and Elizabeth in captivity.Velebit mountain can be seen in castle's background.
In 1387, Sigismund of Luxemburg crowned himself a new king of Hungary-Croatia. In following period he too became engaged in power struggle against opposing Croatian and Bosnian nobility in order to assert his rule over the realm. In 1396, Sigismund organized a crusade against the expanding Ottomans which culminated inBattle of Nicopolis. When the battle ended, it was unclear whether Sigismund got out alive or not, soStephen II Lackfi proclaimedLadislaus of Naples a new king of Hungary-Croatia. When Sigismund, nonetheless did returned to Croatia, he summoneddiet in Križevci in 1397, where he confronted his adversaries and eliminated them.[83] Sigismund was again forced fight for the control, but by 1403 entire southern Croatia and Dalmatian cities defected toLadislaus of Naples.[83] Sigismund eventually managed to crush anti-court movement by winning1408 Battle of Dobor in Bosnia.[83] Sinceanti-king Ladislaus lost hope of prevailing in struggle against Sigismund, he sold all his nominal possessions in Dalmatia toRepublic of Venice for 100 000Ducats in 1409.[84] The Venetians asserted their control over most of Dalmatia by 1428.[85] The rule of Venice over most of Dalmatia continued on for nearly four centuries (c. 1420–1797) until the end ofThe Republic byTreaty of Campo Formio.[86] Another long term consequence of Anti-Court struggles was arrival of Ottomans to neighbouringKingdom of Bosnia at the invite of powerful Bosnian dukeHrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić to help him fight against forces of king Sigismund.[87] The Ottomans gradually strengthened their influence in Bosnia until finally completely conquering the kingdom in 1463.
Serious Ottoman attacks on Croatian lands began after the fall ofBosnia to the Ottomans in 1463. At this point main Ottoman attacks were not yet directed towards Central Europe, withVienna as its main objective, but towards renaissance Italy with Croatia standing on their way between.[88] As theOttomans launched expansion further into Europe, Croatian lands became a place of permanent warfare. This period of history is considered to be one of the direst for the people living in Croatia. Baroque poetPavao Ritter Vitezović subsequently described this period of Croatian history as "two centuries of weeping Croatia".
Armies of Croatian nobility fought numerous battles to counter the Ottomanakinji andmartolos raids.[89] The Ottoman forces frequently raided the Croatian countryside, plundering towns and villages and captured the local inhabitants as slaves. These "scorched earth" tactics, also called "The Small War", were usually conducted once a year with intention to soften up the region's defenses, but didn't result in actual conquest of territory.[89] According to historianJames Tracy, the armies Croatian ban could muster proved too few to counter akinji raids along the long border with the Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, armies of Croatian nobility could never mobilize fast enough to intercept akinji raids "head on", instead, Croatians hoped to intercept Ottoman raiders on their return, as they were slowed down by their booty and hostages.[90]
And after conqueringGreece andBulgaria,Bosnia and Albania, [Turks] flocked onto people of Croatia by sending many armies. Many warlords started frequent battles with Christian people fighting on the fields and in mountain passes and on river fords. That's when all Croatian and Slavonian lands were enslaved all the way toSava river andDrava and evenMons Claudius, all settlements ofCarniola all the way to sea, by enslaving, robbing, burning houses of Lord and crushing Lord's altars. They attacked old people using weapons, young women [...] widows and even squealing children; not only that they took people of God in violent sorrow, shackled in chains, but they also sold people on markets like it is accustomed to do with the cattle.
Meanwhile, after kingMathias Corvinus died in 1490, asuccession war ensued, where supporters ofVladislaus Jagiellon prevailed over those ofMaximilian Habsburg, another contester to the throne of Kingdom of Hungary-Croatia. Maximilian gained many supporters among Croatian nobility and a favourable peace treaty he concluded with Vladislaus enabled Croatians to increasingly turn towards Habsburgs when seeking protections from the Ottoman attacks, as their lawful king Vladislaus turned out unable to protect his subjects in Croatia.[92] On same year, the estates of Croatia also declined to recognizeVladislaus II as a ruler until he had taken an oath to respect their liberties and insisted that he strike from the constitution certain phrases which seemed to reduce Croatia to the rank of a mere province. The dispute was resolved in 1492[93] when according toLujo Margetić, king Vladislaus recognised the autonomy of both Croatia and Slavonia, whose nobility gave a separate confirmation to the succession agreement between Vladislaus and the house of Habsburg, enabling Croatians and Slavonians to have their say in future interregnum periods.[94]
A decisive battle between Hungarian army and theOttomans occurred on Mohács in 1526, where Hungarian kingLouis II was killed and his army was destroyed. As a consequence, in November of the same year, the Hungarian parliament electedJános Szapolyai as the new king of Hungary. In December 1526, another Hungarian parliament elected Ferdinand Habsburg as King of Hungary.[95]
According to historianMilan Kruhek [hr], the crucial decision determining next four centuries of Croatian history happened when Croatian noblesassembled in Cetingrad in 1527 and choseFerdinand I of theHouse of Habsburg as the new ruler of Croatia. Albeit Habsburg delegation composed of Pavao Oberstein,Nikola Jurišić and Ivan Puchler arrived inCetingrad, Croatia, as early sChristmas Eve 1526, they had to wait, as Croat high dignitaries spent Christmas holidays at home. After finally assemblying on New Year's Eve 1526, Croats publicly proclaimed their decision on a mass held next day in Francisian Monastery in Cetin.[96] In turn, the present Habsburg delegation confirmed that new Habsburg rulers will contribute to the defense of Croatia against the Ottomans, and respect its political rights.[59][85][97]
As Assembly of neighbouring Slavonia, on the other hand, elected Szapolyai - a civil war between the two rival kings ensued, but later both crowns united as the Habsburgs prevailed over Szapolyai. The Ottoman Empire used these instabilities to expand in the 16th century to include most of Slavonia, western Bosnia (then calledTurkish Croatia), andLika. Those territories initially made up part ofRumelia Eyalet, and subsequently parts ofBudin Eyalet,Bosnia Eyalet, andKanije Eyalet.[citation needed]
"Remnants of the Remnants" (Reliquiae Reliquiarum), shown on this map in yellow, represent the territory under the jurisdiction of Croatian-SlavonianSabor at the height of the Ottoman advance[98]
Croats and Slavonians fought an increasing number of battles, but lost increasing swathes of territory to the Ottoman Empire, until being reduced to what is commonly called in Croatian historiography the "Remains of the Remains of Once Glorious Croatian Kingdom" (Reliquiae reliquiarum olim inclyti regni Croatiae), or simply the "Remains of the Remains".[98] By the late 16th century Remnants of the Remnants stretched at around 18200 km2. The eastern border towards the Ottoman Empire went through thePitomača - Rača -Moslavina line. Southern border towards the Ottoman Empire went a bit below the lineSisak -Petrinja -Karlovac and continued southwest towards theAdriatic. The western border towardsCarniola andStyria were riversKupa andSutla, whileMura andDrava rivers made frontier towards the Hungary.[99]
Amalgamation of medieval Croatia and medieval Slavonia
Medieval Croatia (dark green) south ofGvozd Mountain shown in relation to medieval Slavonia (green) centered aroundDiocese of Zagreb.
The area spanning between riversSava andDrava on north–south axis and riverSutla andPožega valley on west–east axis,[100] during medieval period came to be known as Slavonia.[101] Its first recorded Assembly of nobles was held in 1273 in Zagreb.[101] Albeit Slavonia shared certain ties with medieval Croatia, it was more tightly connected to Hungary than Croatia Proper was.[102] In 15th century, during the rule ofVladislaus Jagiellon, Slavonia was granted the status of Kingdom.[101] At the same time, ongoing Ottoman attacks on Croatia, coupled with famines, diseases, and a cold climate, led to widespread depopulation and a refugee crisis as people fled to safer areas. Croatian historianIvan Jurković points out that due to the combination of these factors, Croatia "lost almost three-fifths of its population" and the compactness of its territory. Consequently, the center of the medieval Croatian state gradually shifted northwards into westernSlavonia, around Zagreb.[89] As both nobility and commoners migrated from Croatia to Slavonia, the territory also gradually began to be called Croatia.[102] On 1 September 1558, due to Ottoman pressure, the two assemblies ofKingdom of Slavonia andKingdom of Croatia were permanently merged into one single assembly then called The Assembly of Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia (Croatian: Sabor Kraljevine Hrvatske i Slavonije), held in Zagreb.[103][104] On assembly session held on 7 March 1577,Zagreb was for the first time called the capital city of Croatia-Slavonia.[105]
Later in 16th century, Croatia was so weak that its parliament authorized Ferdinand Habsburg to carve out large areas of Croatia and Slavonia adjacent to the Ottoman Empire for the creation of theMilitary Frontier (Vojna Krajina, German:Militaergrenze) - a buffer zone for the Ottoman Empire managed directly by theImperial War Council in Austria.[106] This buffer area became devastated and depopulated due to constant warfare and was subsequently settled bySerbs,Vlachs, Croats, andGermans. As a result of their compulsory military service to the Habsburg Empire during the conflict with the Ottoman Empire, the population in the Military Frontier was free of serfdom and enjoyed much political autonomy, unlike the population living in the parts managed by the Croatian Ban and Sabor.[107] They were considered free peasant-soldiers who were granted land without the usual feudal obligations, except for the military service.[108] This was officially confirmed by an Imperial decree of 1630 calledStatuta Valachorum (Vlach Statutes).
The territory of Military Frontier was initially subdivided into Slavonian Frontier (subsequently known asVaraždin Generalate), Croatian Frontier (subsequently known as Karlovac Generalate) and Žumberak District.[109] The area between villages of Bović and Brkiševina was called Banska Krajina (or subsequently Banovina, Banija).[110][111][112] The difference between latter and remaining Military Frontier was that Banska krajina (Ban's Frontier) was under command and financing of ban of Croatia so its defense was basically the responsibility of Croatia.[113] Unlike remaining Military Frontier which was under direct command of Imperial Military Authorities, Banska Krajina was not taken away from Croatia.[114]
As Ottomans concludedtheir War against Safavid Persia in 1590, the belligerentTeli Hasan Pasha was appointed new governor of OttomanBosnian Eyalet. He launched his great offensive on Croatia, aimed at completely conquering Croatian "Remnants of the Remnants". In order to do that, he mobilized all available troops from his Bosnian Eyalet. Although his offensive did achieve substantial success against Croatians and their allies, such as victories inSiege of Bihać (which Croatians never managed to retake again) or inBattle of Brest, his campaign was ultimately stopped inJune 1593 Battle of Sisak. Not only the Ottomans lost this battle, but Hasan Pasha got killed in the fray. News of Bosnian Pasha's defeat near Sisak caused outrage in Constantinople. Now, the Ottomans officially decided to declare war to Habsburg Monarchy, triggering the start ofLong Turkish War.[115] In strategic sense, the Ottoman defeat near Sisak led to stabilization of border between Croatia and the Ottoman Empire. HistorianNenad Moačanin [hr] claims that this stability of Croatian-Ottoman border was a general characteristic of the 17th century, as Ottoman Empire's might started declining.[88]
During the 17th century, distinguished Croatian nobleNikola Zrinski became one of the most prominent Croatian generals in the fight against the Ottomans. In 1663/1664 he led a successful incursion into Ottoman-controlled territory. The campaign ended in the destruction of the vitalOsijek bridge, which served as a connection between the Pannonian plain and the Balkan territories. As a reward for his victory against the Ottomans, Zrinski was commended by French kingLouis XIV, thereby establishing contact with the French court. Croatian nobility also constructedNovi Zrin castle which sought to protect Croatia and Hungary from further Ottoman advances. At the same time, emperorLeopold of Habsburg sought to impose absolute rule on the entire Habsburg territory, which meant a loss of authority for the Croatian parliament and Ban and caused dissatisfaction with Habsburg rule among Croats.[118]
In July 1664, a large Ottoman armybesieged and destroyed Novi Zrin. As this army marched on Austrian lands, its campaign ended at theBattle of St. Gotthard, where it was destroyed by the Habsburg imperial army. Given this victory, Croatians expected a decisive Habsburg counter-offensive to push the Ottomans back and relieve pressure on Croatian lands, but Leopold decided to conclude the unfavorableVasvar peace treaty with the Ottomans because it solved problems he had on the Rhine with the French at the time. In Croatia, his decision caused outrage among leading nobles and sparked a conspiracy to replace the Habsburgs with different rulers. AfterNikola Zrinski died under unusual circumstances while hunting, his relativesFran Krsto Frankopan andPetar Zrinski supported the conspiracy.[118]
The conspirators established contact with theFrench,Venetians,Poles, and eventually even the Ottomans, only to be discovered by Habsburg spies at the Ottoman court who served as the sultan's translators. The conspirators were invited to reconcile with the emperor, to which they agreed. However, when they came to Austria, they were charged with high treason and sentenced to death. They were executed inWiener Neustadt in April 1671. Their families, whose history was intertwined with centuries of Croatian history, were subsequently eradicated by imperial authorities, and all of their possessions were confiscated.[118]
Croatian borders similar to those established with thePeace of Karlowitz in 1699. Although the peace treaty meant relief from Ottoman pressure, Croatia lost the compactness of its territory.
Despite the decline of Ottoman might in the 17th century, the Ottoman high command decided toattack the Habsburg capital of Vienna in 1683, as theVasvár peace treaty was about to expire. Their attack, however, ended in disaster, and the Ottomans were ultimately routed near Vienna by joint Christian armies defending the city. Soon thereafter, theHoly League was formed and theGreat Turkish War was launched. In the Croatian theater of operations, several commanders distinguished themselves, including friarLuka Ibrišimović, whose rebels defeated the Ottomans inPožega, andMarko Mesić, who led the anti-Ottoman uprising inLika.Hajduk leaderStojan Janković distinguished himself by leading troops inDalmatia. Croatian BanNikola (Miklos) Erdody led his troops inSiege of Virovitica, which was liberated from the Ottomans in 1684.Osijek was liberated by 1687,Kostajnica was liberated by 1688, andSlavonski Brod was liberated by 1691.[119] An attemptto retake Bihać was also made in 1697 but was eventually called off due to lack a of cannons.[120] In the same year, generalEugene of Savoy led a 6500-strong army from Osijek into Bosnia, where he raided the seat ofBosnia Eyalet,Sarajevo, burning it to the ground.[121] After this raid, large groups of Christian refugees from Bosnia settled in what was then an almost empty Slavonia.[122] After the decisive Ottoman defeat in theBattle of Zenta in 1697 by the forces ofEugene of Savoy, thePeace of Karlowitz was signed in 1699, confirming the liberation of all of Slavonia from the Ottomans. For Croatia, nonetheless, large chunks of its late medieval territories between the riversUna andVrbas were lost, as they remained part of the OttomanBosnia Eyalet.[123] In the following years, the use of the German language spread in the new military borderland and proliferated over the next two centuries as German-speaking colonists settled in the borderlands.[124]
By the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire had been driven out of Hungary, and Austria brought the empire under central control. Since the emperorCharles VI had no male heirs, he wanted to leave the imperial throne to his daughterMaria Theresa of Austria, which eventually led to theWar of Austrian Succession of 1741–1748. The Croatian Parliament decided to accept Maria Theresa as a legitimate ruler by drafting thePragmatic Sanction of 1712, asking in return that whoever inherited the throne recognize and respect Croatian autonomy from Hungary. The king unwillingly granted this.[125] The rule of Maria Theresa brought limited modernization in education and health care. Croatian Royal Council (Consilium Regni Croatiae), which served as the de facto Croatian government, was founded in Varaždin in 1767, but it was abolished in 1779 and its authority was passed to Hungary. The foundation of the Croatian Royal Council inVaraždin made this town the administrative capital of Croatia, however, a large fire in 1776 caused significant damage to the city, so these major Croatian administrative institutions moved to Zagreb.[126]
AsNapoleon's armies started to dominate Europe, Croatian lands came into contact with the French as well. When Napoleon abolished theRepublic of Venice in 1797, former Venetian possessions inDalmatia came under Habsburg rule. In 1809, as Napoleon defeated the Austrians in theBattle of Wagram, French-controlled territory eventually expanded to theSava river. The French founded the "Illyrian Provinces" centered inLjubljana and appointed MarshalAuguste de Marmont as their governor-general. The French presence brought the liberal ideas of theFrench Revolution to the Croats. The French foundedMasonic lodges, built infrastructure, and printed the first newspapers in the local language in Dalmatia. CalledKraglski Datmatin/Il Regio Dalmata, it was printed in both Italian and Croatian.[129] Croatian soldiers accompanied Napoleon in his conquests as far as Russia. In 1808, Napoleon abolished theRepublic of Ragusa.[130] Ottomans from Bosnia raided French Croatia and occupied the area ofCetingrad in 1809. Auguste de Marmont reacted by occupying Bihać on 5 May 1810. After the Ottomans promised to stop raiding French territories and withdraw from the Cetingrad, he withdrew from Bihać.[131]
With the fall of Napoleon, the French-controlled Croatian lands came back under Austrian rule.
Croatian national revival and the Illyrian Movement
The 1835 issue of the magazineDanicza, with lyrics of what would later become the Croatian national anthem "Lijepa naša domovino" ("Our Beautiful Homeland").
Under the influence of Germanromanticism, French political thought, andpan-Slavism, Croatianromantic nationalism emerged in the mid-19th century to counteract theGermanization andMagyarization of Croatia.Ljudevit Gaj emerged as a leader of the Croatian national movement. One of the important issues to be resolved was the question of language, where regional Croatian dialects had to be standardized. Since theShtokavian dialect, widespread among Croats, was also common with Serbs, this movement likewise had a South-Slavic characteristic.[132] At the time, "Croatian" only referred to the population in southwestern parts of what is today Croatia, while "Illyrian" was used throughout the south-Slavic world; wider masses of people were attempted to attract[clarification needed] by using the Illyrian name.[132] Illyrian activists chose the Shtokavian dialect overKajkavian as the standardized version of Croatian language. The Illyrian movement was not accepted by the Serbs or the Slovenes, and it remained strictly a Croatian national movement. In 1832, Croatian countJanko Drašković wrote a manifesto of Croatian national revival calledDisertacija (Dissertation). The manifesto called for the unification of Croatia with Slavonia, Dalmatia, Rijeka, the Military Frontier, Bosnia, and Slovene lands into a single unit inside the Hungarian part of theAustrian Empire. This unit would have Croatian as the official language and would be governed byBan.[132] The movement spread throughout Dalmatia, Istria and among BosnianFrancisian monks. It resulted in the emergence of the modern Croatian nation and eventually the formation of the first Croatian political parties.[132] On Croatian Parliament of 1843, the two political parties appeared for the first time. The first party was pro-IllyrianPeople's Party, while the other one was pro-HungarianCroatian-Hungarian Party.[133] As the usage of Illyrian name became banned in 1843; the proponents of Illyrianism changed their name from Illyrian to Croatian.[132]
On 2 May 1843,Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski held the first speech onCroatian language in the Croatian Sabor, requesting that the Croatian language be made the official language in public institutions. At this point, this was a significant step, becauseLatin was still in use in public institutions in Croatia. In the Sabor in 1847 Croatian was proclaimed as an official language in Croatia.[134][135]
According to Croatian historian Nenad Moačanin, appearance of Romanticism also affected portion ofVlachs settled in Croatian depopulated areas who declared themselves as Serbs.[136]
In theRevolutions of 1848, the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, driven by resistance toMagyar nationalism, sided with Habsburg royal court against Hungarian revolutionary forces.
BanJosip Jelačić at the opening of the first Croatian civic Parliament (Sabor) whose deputies were elected on 5 June 1848. In earlier Sabors, members represented feudal estates rather than citizens. The Croatian tricolor flag can also be seen in the background. Dragutin Weingärtner, 1885.
In March 1848 news ofrevolution in Paris and collapse ofMetternich's regime in Vienna, mobilizedPeople's Party supporters in Zagreb.[137] During a session of the Croatian Sabor held on 25 March 1848 a petition called "Demands of The People" (Zahtjevanja naroda) was drafted to be handed over to the Austrian Emperor. The first of these demands was request for Military Frontier colonelJosip Jelačić to be appointed Ban of Croatia. Other liberal demands asked for unification of Croatia and Slavonia with Dalmatia, a Croatian government responsible to the Croatian parliament - independent of Hungary, financial independence from Hungary, the introduction of the Croatian language in official use, freedom of the press, religious freedom, abolishment of serfdom, abolishment of nobility privileges, the foundation of a people's army, and equality before the law.[138] King Ferdinand fearing pro-Hungarian ban of Croatia agreed and appointed Jelačić ban of Croatia.[139]
As the Hungarian government denied the existence of the Croatian name and nationhood and treated Croatian institutions like provincial authorities, Jelačić severed ties between Croatia and Hungary.[140] In May 1848, Ban's Council was formed which had all the executive powers of the Croatian government. The Croatian parliament also abolished feudalism,[135] serfdom and demanded that the Monarchy become a constitutional federal state of equal nations with independent national governments and one federal parliament in the capital ofVienna. The Croatian parliament also demanded the unification of theMilitary Frontier andDalmatia withCroatia proper. Sabor also asked for an undefined alliance withIstria,Slovene lands andparts of southern Hungary inhabited with Croats and Serbs.[141] Jelačić was also appointed the governor ofRijeka andDalmatia as well as the "Imperial Commander of Military Frontier", thus practically having most of the Croatian lands under his command. The breakdown of negotiations between Croats and the Hungarians eventually led to war.[142] Jelačić declared war to Hungary on 7 September 1848. On 11 September 1848, the Croatian army crossed theDrava river and annexedMeđimurje. Upon crossing Drava, Jelačić ordered his army to switch Croatian national flags with Habsburg Imperial flags.[143]
Despite the contributions of its BanJosip Jelačić in quenching theHungarian war of independence, in the aftermath, Croatia was not treated any more favorably by Vienna than the Hungarians and therefore lost its domestic autonomy.
The dual monarchy ofAustria-Hungary was created in 1867 through theAustro-Hungarian Compromise. Croatian autonomy was restored in 1868 with theCroatian–Hungarian Settlement, which was comparatively favorable for the Croatians, but still problematic because of issues such as theunresolved status of Rijeka.[citation needed] In 1873, the territory ofMilitary Frontier was demilitarized and in July 1871 a decision was made to incorporate it into Croatia[144] with Croatian banLadislav Pejačević taking over the authority.[145] Pejačević's successorKároly Khuen-Héderváry caused further problems by violating the Croatian-Hungarian Settlement through his hardlineMagyarization policies in period from 1883 to 1903. Héderváry's Magyarization of Croatia led to massive riots in 1903, when Croatian protesters burnt Hungarian flags and clashed with the gendarmes and the military, resulting in the death of several protesters. As a consequence of these riots, Héderváry left his position as Ban of Croatia, but was appointed prime minister of Hungary.[146]
A year earlier, in 1902,Srbobran, the newspaper ofZagreb Serbs, published an article titled "Do istrage naše ili vaše" (Until us, or you get exterminated).[clarification needed (seetalk)] The article was filled withGreater Serbian ideology; its text denied the existence of the Croatian nation and the Croatian language and announced Serbian victory over "servile Croats", who would, the article proclaimed, be exterminated.[147][148]
The article sparked major anti-Serb riots in Zagreb, in which barricades were raised and Serb-owned properties were attacked. Serbs of Zagreb eventually distanced themselves from the opinions published in the article.[148]
Two parts of the Triune Kingdom: Croatia-Slavonia (number 17) and Dalmatia (number 5) within Austria-Hungary
The Kingdom underwent a crucial change in 1921 to the dismay of Croatia's largest political party, theCroatian Peasant Party (Hrvatska seljačka stranka). The new constitution abolished historical/political entities, including Croatia and Slavonia, centralizing authority in the capital ofBelgrade. The Croatian Peasant Party boycotted the government of the SerbianPeople's Radical Party throughout the period, except for a brief interlude between 1925 and 1927, when external Italian expansionism was at hand with her allies,Albania,Hungary,Romania, andBulgaria, threatening Yugoslavia as a whole. Two differing concepts of how the new common state should be governed became the main source of conflict between Croatian elites led by the Croatian Peasant Party and Serbian elites. Leading Croatian politicians sought a federalized new state in which Croats would have certain autonomy (similar to what they had before in Austria-Hungary), while Serb-centered parties advocated unitarist policies, centralization, and assimilation. The new country's military was also a predominately Serbian institution; by 1938 only about 10% of all Army officers were Croats. The new school system was Serb-centered with Croatian teachers being either retired, purged, or transferred. Serbs were also posted as high state officials.[150] The replacement of oldAustro-Hungarian krones was conducted through an unfair rate of four Krones for oneSerbian Dinar.[150]
In the early 1920s, the Yugoslav government of Serbian prime ministerNikola Pašić used police pressure on voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets,[151] andelection-rigging to keep the opposition, mainly theCroatian Peasant Party and its allies, in the minority in the Yugoslav parliament.[152] Pašić believed that Yugoslavia should be as centralized as possible, creating aGreater Serbian national concept of concentrated power in the hands of Belgrade in place of distinct regional governments and identities.[153]
The assassination of Croatian MPs in the National Assembly in Belgrade was one of the events which greatly damaged relations between Serbs and Croats in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
During a Parliament session in 1928,Puniša Račić, a deputy of the Serbian Radical People's Party, shot at Croatian deputies, resulting in the killing ofPavle Radić andĐuro Basariček and the wounding ofIvan Pernar and Ivan Granđa.Stjepan Radić, a Croatian political champion at the time, was wounded and later succumbed to his wounds. These multiple murders caused the outrage of the Croatian population and ignited violent demonstrations, strikes, and armed conflicts throughout Croatian parts of the country. The Greater Serbian-influenced Royal Yugoslav Court even considered "amputation" of Croatian parts of the country, while leaving Yugoslavia only insideGreater Serbian borders, however,Croatian Peasant Party leadership rejected this idea.[150] While Račić was subsequently tried for multiple murders, he served his sentence in a luxurious villa inPožarevac, where he had several servants at his disposal and was allowed to leave and return at any time.[154]
In response to the shooting at the National Assembly,King Alexander abolished the parliamentary system and proclaimed aroyal dictatorship. He imposed anew constitution aimed at removing all existing national identities and imposing "integral Yugoslavism". He also renamed the country from the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The territory of Croatia was largely divided among theSava Banovina and theLittoral Banovina. Political parties were banned and the royal dictatorship took on an increasingly harsh character.Vladko Maček, who had succeeded Radić as leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, the largest political party in Croatia, was imprisoned. Ante Pavelić was exiled from Yugoslavia and created theultranationalistUstaše Movement, with the ultimate goal of destroying Yugoslavia and making Croatia an independent country. According to the British historianMisha Glenny, the murder in March 1929 of Toni Schlegel, editor of the pro-Yugoslavian newspaperNovosti, brought a "furious response" from the regime. InLika and westHerzegovina in particular, described as "hotbeds of Croatian separatism", Glenny wrote that the majority-Serb police acted "with no restraining authority whatsoever".[155] In the words of a prominent Croatian writer, Schlegel's death became the pretext for terror in all forms. Politics was soon "indistinguishable from gangsterism".[156] In 1931, the royal regime organized the assassination of Croatian scientist and intellectualMilan Šufflay on the streets of Zagreb. The assassination was condemned by globally renowned intellectuals such asAlbert Einstein andHeinrich Mann.[157] In 1932, the Ustaše Movement unsuccessfully planned theVelebit uprising in Lika. Despite the oppressive climate, few rallied to the Ustaša cause and the movement was never able to gain serious support among the Croatian population.
In 1934, King Aleksandar was assassinated during a state visit toMarseille by a coalition of the Ustaše and the BulgarianInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), thus ending the Royal dictatorship. The government of Serbian RadicalMilan Stojadinović, which took power in 1935, distanced Yugoslavia from its former allies of France and the United Kingdom and moved the country closer to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In 1937 Yugoslav gendarmes led by Radical Party member Jovo Koprivica killed dozens of youth members of the Croatian Peasant Party inSenj because they sang Croatian patriotic songs.[158][159] With the rise of Nazis in Germany and the looming possibility of another European war, Serbian political elites decided that it was time to fix relations with the Croats, the second largest ethnic group in the country, so that in the event of a new war the country would be united and without ethnic divisions. Negotiations started, resulting in theCvetković–Maček Agreement and the creation ofBanovina of Croatia, an autonomous Croatian province inside Yugoslavia. Banovina of Croatia was created in 1939 out of the two Banates, as well as parts of the Zeta,Vrbas,Drina, and Danube Banates. It had a reconstructed Croatian Parliament which would choose a CroatianBan and Viceban. This Croatia included a part ofBosnia, most ofHerzegovina, andDubrovnik and its surroundings.
World War II and the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945)
TheAxis occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941 allowed the Croatian radical rightUstaše to come into power, forming the "Independent State of Croatia" (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH), led byAnte Pavelić, who assumed the role ofPoglavnik. Following the pattern of other fascist regimes in Europe, the Ustaše enacted racial laws and formed eightconcentration camps targeting minority Serbs,Romas, and Jewish populations, as well asCroatian andBosnian Muslim opponents of the regime. The biggest concentration camp wasJasenovac in Croatia. The NDH had a program, formulated byMile Budak, to purge Croatia ofSerbs, by "killing one third, expelling the other third andassimilating the remaining third".[160] The main targets for persecution were the Serbs, of whom approximately 330,000 were killed.[161][162]
The anti-fascist communist-ledPartisan movement, based on a pan-Yugoslav ideology, emerged in early 1941 under the command of Croatian-bornJosip Broz Tito, and spread quickly into many parts ofYugoslavia. The1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, often hailed as the first armed anti-fascist resistanceunit in occupied Europe, was formed in Croatia, in theBrezovica Forest near the town of Sisak. As the movement began to gain popularity, the Partisans gained strength from Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, Slovenes, and Macedonians who believed in a unified, but federal, Yugoslav state.
By 1943, the Partisan resistance movement had gained the upper hand and in 1945, with help from the SovietRed Army (passing only through small parts such asVojvodina), expelled theAxis forces and local supporters. TheState Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) functioned since 1942 and formed an interim civil government by 1943. NDH's ministers of War and Internal SecurityMladen Lorković andAnte Vokić tried to switch to the Allied side. Pavelić was, in the beginning, supporting them but when he found that he would need to leave his position he imprisoned them in Lepoglava prison where they were executed.[citation needed]
Following the defeat of the Independent State of Croatia at the end of the war, a large number of Ustaše, civilians supporting them (ranging from sympathizers, young conscripts or anti-communists), Chetniks and anti-Communists attempted to flee in the direction of Austria, hoping to surrender to British forces and to be given refuge. Following theBleiburg repatriations, they were instead interned by British forces, and returned to the Partisans where they were subject to mass executions.
Croatia was one of six constituentsocialist republics of theSocialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. Under the new communist system, privately owned factories and estates werenationalized, and the economy was based on a type of plannedmarket socialism. The country underwent a rebuilding process, recovered from World War II, went through industrialization, and started developing tourism.
The country's socialist system also provided free apartments from large companies, which with theworkers' self-management investments paid for the living spaces. From 1963, the citizens of Yugoslavia were allowed to travel to almost any country because of the neutral politics. No visas were required to travel to eastern or western countries or capitalist or communist nations.[165] Such free travel was unheard of at the time in theEastern Bloc countries, and in some western countries as well (e.g., Spain orPortugal, both dictatorships at the time). This proved to be helpful for Croatia's inhabitants who found working in foreign countries more financially rewarding. Upon retirement, a popular plan was to return to live in Croatia (then Yugoslavia) to buy more expensive property.[citation needed]
In Yugoslavia, the people of Croatia were guaranteed free healthcare, free dental care, and secure pensions. The older generation found this very comforting as pensions would sometimes exceed their former paychecks.[citation needed][166] Free trade and travel within the country also helped Croatian industries that imported and exported throughout all the former republics.
Students and military personnel were encouraged to visit other republics to learn more about the country, and all levels of education, including secondary education and higher education, were free. In reality, the housing was inferior with poor heat and plumbing, the medical care often lacking even in the availability of antibiotics, schools were propaganda machines and travel was a necessity to provide the country with hard currency. The propagandists, who want people to believe "neutral policies" equalized Serbs and Croats, severely restricted free speech and did not protect citizens from ethnic attacks.[citation needed]
Membership in theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia was as much a prerequisite for admission to colleges and government jobs as in the Soviet Union underJoseph Stalin orNikita Khrushchev. Private sector businesses did not grow as the taxes on private enterprise were often prohibitive. Inexperienced management sometimes ruled policy and controlled decisions by brute force. Strikes were forbidden, and owners/managers were not permitted to make changes or decisions which would impact their productivity or profit.[citation needed]
The economy developed into a type of socialism calledsamoupravljanje (self-management), in which workers controlled socially owned enterprises. This kind of market socialism created significantly better economic conditions than in the Eastern Bloc countries.[citation needed] Croatia went through intensive industrialization in the 1960s and 1970s with industrial output increasing several-fold and with Zagreb surpassing Belgrade in industry. Factories and other organizations were often named afterPartisans who were declarednational heroes. This practice also spread to street names, as well as the names of parks and buildings.
Before World War II, Croatia's industry was not developed, with the vast majority of the people employed in agriculture. By 1991, the country was completely transformed into a modern industrialized state. At the same time, the CroatianAdriatic coast had become a popular tourist destination, and the coastal republics (but mostly SR Croatia) profited greatly from this, as tourist numbers reached levels still unsurpassed in modern Croatia.[citation needed] The government brought unprecedented economic and industrial growth, high levels of social security, and a very low crime rate. The country completely recovered from WWII and achieved a very high GDP and economic growth rate, significantly higher than those of the present-day republic.[citation needed]
The constitution of 1963 balanced power in the country between the Croats and the Serbs and alleviated the imbalance coming from the fact that the Croats were again in a minority position. Trends after 1965 (like the fall ofOZNA andUDBA chiefAleksandar Ranković from power in 1966),[167] however, led to theCroatian Spring of 1970–71, when students in Zagreb organized demonstrations to achieve greater civil liberties and greater Croatian autonomy. The regime stifled public protest and incarcerated the leaders, but this led to the ratification of anew constitution in 1974, giving more rights to the individual republics.
RadicalUstaše cells of Croatian émigrés based in Australia and Western Europe planned and attempted to carry out acts of sabotage within Yugoslavia, including anincursion from Austria of 19 armed men in June 1971, who unsuccessfully aimed to incite a popular Croatian uprising against what they called the "Serbo-communist" regime in Belgrade.[168][169][170]
In 1980, afterTito's death, economic, political, and religious difficulties started to mount and the federal government began to crumble. The crisis inKosovo and, in 1986, the emergence ofSlobodan Milošević in Serbia provoked a very negative reaction in Croatia andSlovenia; politicians from both republics feared that his motives would threaten their republics' autonomy. With the climate of change throughout Eastern Europe during the 1980s, the communist hegemony was challenged (at the same time, the Milošević government began to graduallyconcentrate Yugoslav power in Serbia, and calls for free multi-party elections were becoming louder).[171]
In June 1989, theCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was founded by Croatian nationalist dissidents led byFranjo Tuđman, a former fighter in Tito's Partisan movement and aJNA General. At this time, Yugoslavia was still a one-party state and open manifestations of Croatian nationalism were considered dangerous, so a new party was founded in an almost conspiratorial manner. It was only on 13 December 1989 that the governingLeague of Communists of Croatia agreed to legalize opposition political parties and hold free elections in the spring of 1990.[171]
On 23 January 1990, at its 14th Congress, the Communist League of Yugoslavia voted to remove its monopoly on political power. The same day, it effectively ceased to exist as a national party when theLeague of Communists of Slovenia walked out after SR Serbia's PresidentSlobodan Milošević blocked all their reformist proposals, which caused theLeague of Communists of Croatia to further distance themselves from the idea of a joint state.[172]
On 22 April and 7 May 1990, thefirst free multi-party elections were held in Croatia.Franjo Tuđman'sCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won by a 42% margin againstIvica Račan's reformed communistParty of Democratic Change (SDP) who won 26%. Croatia'sfirst-past-the-post election system enabled Tuđman to form the government relatively independently, as the win translated into 205 mandates (out of 351 total). The HDZ intended to secure independence for Croatia, contrary to the wishes of some ethnic Serbs in the republic and federal politicians in Belgrade. The excessively polarized climate soon escalated into complete estrangement between the two nations and spiraled into sectarian violence.
On 25 July 1990, a Serbian Assembly was established inSrb, north of Knin, as the political representation of the Serbian people in Croatia. The Serbian Assembly declared "sovereignty and autonomy of the Serb people in Croatia".[173] Their position was that if Croatia could secede from Yugoslavia, then the Serbs could secede from Croatia.Milan Babić, a dentist from the southern town ofKnin, was elected president. The rebel Croatian Serbs established some paramilitary militias under the leadership ofMilan Martić, the police chief in Knin.
On 17 August 1990, the Serbs of Croatia began what became known as theLog Revolution, where barricades of logs were placed across roads throughout the South as an expression of their secession from Croatia. This effectively cut Croatia in two, separating the coastal region ofDalmatia from the rest of the country. The Croatian government responded to the road blockades by sending special police teams in helicopters to the scene, but they were intercepted bySFR Yugoslav Air Force fighter jets and forced to turn back toZagreb.[citation needed]
TheCroatian constitution was passed in December 1990, categorizing Serbs as a minority group along with other ethnic groups. On 21 December 1990, Babić's administration announced the creation of aSerbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina (orSAO Krajina). Other Serb-dominated communities in eastern Croatia announced that they would also join SAO Krajina and ceased paying taxes to theZagreb government.
OnEaster Sunday, 31 March 1991, the first fatal clashes occurred when police from the CroatianMinistry of the Interior (MUP) entered thePlitvice Lakes National Park toexpel rebel Serb forces. Serb paramilitaries ambushed a bus carrying Croatian police into the national park on the road north ofKorenica, sparking a day-long gun battle between the two sides. During the fighting, one Croat and one Serb policeman were killed. Twenty other people were injured and twenty-nine Krajina Serb paramilitaries and policemen were taken prisoner by Croatian forces.[174][175] Among the prisoners wasGoran Hadžić, who would later become the President of theRepublic of Serbian Krajina.[176]
On 2 May 1991, theCroatian parliament voted to hold an independence referendum.[177] On 19 May 1991, with a turnout of almost 80%, 93.24% voted for independence.Krajina boycotted the referendum. They had held their referendum a week earlier on 12 May 1991 in the territories they controlled and voted to remain in Yugoslavia. The Croatian government did not recognize their referendum as valid.
On 25 June 1991, theCroatian Parliament declared independence from Yugoslavia. Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on the same day.[178]
During theCroatian War of Independence, the civilian population fled the areas of armed conflicten masse, with hundreds of thousands of Croats moving away from the Bosnian and Serbian border areas. In many places, masses of civilians were forced out by theYugoslav National Army (JNA), which consisted mostly of conscripts from Serbia and Montenegro, and irregulars from Serbia, participating in what became known asethnic cleansing.[179]
The border city ofVukovar underwent a three-month siege during theBattle of Vukovar. It left most of the city destroyed and a majority of the population was forced to flee. The city was taken over by the Serbian forces on 18 November 1991 and theVukovar massacre occurred.
SubsequentUnited Nations-sponsored cease fires followed, and the warring parties were mostly entrenched. The Yugoslav People's Army retreated from Croatia intoBosnia and Herzegovina where a new cycle of tensions was escalating—theBosnian War was about to start. During 1992 and 1993, Croatia also handled an estimated 700,000 refugees from Bosnia, mainlyBosnian Muslims.
Armed conflict in Croatia remained intermittent and mostly small-scale until 1995. In early August, Croatia embarked onOperation Storm, an attack that quickly reconquered most of the territories from theRepublic of Serbian Krajina authorities, leading to a mass exodus of the Serbian population. Estimates of the number of Serbs who fled before, during and after the operation range from 90,000 to 200,000.[180][181]
As a result of this operation, a few months later the Bosnian War ended with the negotiation of theDayton Agreement. A peaceful integration of the remainingSerbian-controlled territories in eastern Slavonia was completed in 1998 under UN supervision. The majority of the Serbs who fled from formerKrajina did not return due to fears of ethnic violence, discrimination, and property repossession problems; and the Croatian government has yet to achieve the conditions for full reintegration.[182] According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, around 125,000 ethnic Serbs who fled the 1991–1995 conflict are registered as having returned to Croatia, of whom around 55,000 remain permanently.[183]
Croatia became a member of theCouncil of Europe in 1996.[184] Between 1995 and 1997 Franjo Tuđman became increasingly more authoritiarian and refused to formally acknowledge local election results in City of Zagreb, leading to theZagreb crisis.[185] In 1996 his government attempted to shut downRadio 101, a popular radio station which was critical towards HDZ and often made fun of HDZ and Tuđman himself. When Radio 101's broadcasting rights were revoked in 1996, some 120,000 Croatian citizens protested inBan Jelačić Square against the decision.[186] Tuđman gave the order to suppress the protest with ariot police, but then-minister of the internal affairs Ivan Jarnjak disobeyed his order for which he was subsequently dismissed from his position.[186] While the years 1996 and 1997 were a period of post-war recovery and improving economic conditions, in 1998 and 1999 Croatia experienced an economic depression resulting in the unemployment of thousands.
Franjo Tuđman's government started to lose popularity as it was criticized for its involvement insuspicious privatization deals in the early 1990s, as well as for international isolation. The country experienced a mild recession in 1998 and 1999.
The new government also started several large building projects, including state-sponsored housing, more rebuilding efforts to enable refugee return, and the building of theA1 highway connenting Zagreb and Split - two of Croatia's largest cities. The country achieved notable economic growth during these years, while the unemployment rate continued to rise until 2001 when it finally started falling. Croatia became aWorld Trade Organization (WTO) member in 2000 and started theAccession of Croatia to the European Union in 2003.
Sanader was reelected in the closely contested2007 parliamentary election. Other complications continued to stall the EU negotiating process, most notablySlovenia's blockade of Croatia's EU accession in 2008–2009. In June 2009, Sanader abruptly resigned from his post and namedJadranka Kosor in his place. Kosor introducedausterity measures to counter the economic crisis and launched an anti-corruption campaign aimed at public officials. In late 2009, Kosor signed an agreement withBorut Pahor, the premier ofSlovenia, that allowed the EU accession to proceed.
In November 2012, a court in Croatia sentenced former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, in office from 2003 to 2009, to 10 years in prison for taking bribes. Sanader tried to argue that the case against him was politically motivated.[189]
In 2011, the accession agreement was concluded, giving Croatia the all-clear to join.[190]
The accession of Croatia to NATO took place in 2009. The country entered into Partnership for Peace in 2000, which began the process of accession into the alliance. It received an invitation to join at the 2008 Bucharest summit and became a full member on April 1, 2009.
^Jacqueline Balen (December 2005)."The Kostolac horizon at Vučedol".Opvscvla Archaeologica Radovi Arheološkog Zavoda.29 (1). University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy, Archaeological Department:25–40.ISSN0473-0992. Retrieved15 October 2011.
^Tihomila Težak-Gregl (December 2003)."Prilog poznavanju neolitičkih obrednih predmeta u neolitiku sjeverne Hrvatske" [A Contribution to Understanding Neolithic Ritual Objects in the Northern Croatia Neolithic].Opvscvla Archaeologica Radovi Arheološkog Zavoda (in Croatian).27 (1). University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy, Archaeological Department:43–48.ISSN0473-0992. Retrieved15 October 2011.
^Hrvoje Potrebica; Marko Dizdar (July 2002)."Prilog poznavanju naseljenosti Vinkovaca i okolice u starijem željeznom dobu" [A Contribution to Understanding Continuous Habitation of Vinkovci and its Surroundings in the Early Iron Age].Prilozi Instituta Za Arheologiju U Zagrebu (in Croatian).19 (1). Institut za arheologiju:79–100.ISSN1330-0644. Retrieved15 October 2011.
^Matijašić, Robert (2009).Povijest hrvatskih zemalja u antici do cara Dioklecijana. Zagreb: Leykam international. pp. 30–47.ISBN978-953-7534-31-8.
^John Wilkes (1995).The Illyrians. Oxford, UK:Wiley-Blackwell. p. 114.ISBN978-0-631-19807-9. Retrieved15 October 2011.in the early history of the colony settled in 385 BC on the island Pharos (Hvar) from the Aegean island Paros, famed for its marble. In traditional fashion they accepted the guidance of an oracle...
^abZaninović, Marin (1996). "Delmatsko-grčki odnosi na Jadranu".Od Helena do Hrvata. Zagreb: Školska knjiga. pp. 195–196.
^Cheyne, Thomas Kelly; Black, John Sutherland (1899).Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religious History, the Archaeology, Geography, and Natural History of the Bible.
^Fabijanić, Tomislav (2013). "14C date from early Christian basilica gemina in Podvršje (Croatia) in the context of Slavic settlement on the eastern Adriatic coast".The early Slavic settlement of Central Europe in the light of new dating evidence. Wroclaw: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. pp. 251–260.ISBN978-83-63760-10-6.
^Antun Ivandija (April 1968)."Pokrštenje Hrvata prema najnovijim znanstvenim rezultatima" [Christianization of Croats according to the most recent scientific results](PDF).Bogoslovska smotra (in Croatian).37 (3–4). University of Zagreb, Catholic Faculty of Theology:440–444.ISSN0352-3101. Retrieved18 October 2011.
^"Jedinstvena rekonstrukcija života vladara koji je ujedinio Hrvatsku".www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved18 June 2023.Spomen kralja Tomislava nalazi se u tek jednom znanstveno relevantnom dokumentu. Riječ je o pismu pape Ivana X. (914. – 928.) kojim je 925. godine sazvan Prvi splitski crkveni sabor. Prijepis pisma nalazi se u dodatku poznate kronike Historia Salonitanorum pontificum atque Spalatensium (skraćeno: Historia Salonitana) u kojoj je splitski arhiđakon Toma (?1200/1. – ?1268.) sredinom 13. stoljeća opisao povijest salonitanske i splitske Crkve od rimskog doba do 1266. godine.
^"RUŠIMO HRVATSKE MITOVE Je li Tomislav stvarno bio prvi hrvatski kralj?".www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved18 June 2023.Kronološki najbliža vremenu Tomislava jesu pisma pape Ivana X. vezana uz održavanje crkvenog sabora u Splitu 925. u kojima se Tomislav eksplicitno titulira kraljevskim naslovom (rex).
^"Hungary - Politics and Society under Stephen's Successors".countrystudies.us. Retrieved27 July 2023.In 1090 Laszlo I (1077-95) occupied Slavonia, and in 1103 Kalman I (1095-1116) assumed the title of king of Croatia. Croatia was never assimilated into Hungary; rather, it became an associate kingdom administered by a ban, or civil governor.
^"Bribir: Napušteni grad Šubića, hrvatska Troja".www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved17 August 2022.Stjepkov sin Pavao I., najznačajnija osoba obitelji Šubića i hrvatski ban od 1273.-1312., svoju vlast proširio je na cijelu Hrvatsku, Bosnu i Hum. Pavao je bio neokrunjeni kralj Hrvatske koji je kovao čak i svoj novac. Umro je 1. svibnja 1312. i pokopan u Bribiru.
^abcJurković, Ivan (2019). "Migracije. Raseljenička kriza za osmanske ugroze: "U bašćini mojoj ne dadu mi priti"".Vrijeme sazrijevanja, vrijeme razaraja (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. pp. 99–111.ISBN978-953-341-144-6.
^Ramet, Sabrina P. (1997).Whose democracy? : nationalism, religion, and the doctrine of collective rights in post-1989 Eastern Europe. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 83.ISBN0-585-08084-4.OCLC44953841.
^Ritter Vitezović, Pavao (2019). Blažević, Zrinka (ed.).Dva stoljeća uplakane Hrvatske (in Croatian). Matica hrvatska. pp. 290–291.
^Drago Roksandić (2008). "Controversy on German Cultural Orientation". In Ingrao; Szabo (eds.).The Germans and the East. Purdue University Press. p. 134.
^Pavičić, Stjepan (1962), "Seobe i naselja u Lici",Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slavena (in Croatian),41 (III),Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts: 17,86–88, 99, 103,120–121,130–131, 136, 144,230–231
^"'Prije 19. stoljeća nema koncepcije velike Srbije. Korijen sukoba je u 20. stoljeću'".www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved9 February 2023.Uz ukorjenjivanje visoke hijerarhije Srpske pravoslavne crkve, više ne u Turskoj, nego u Ugarskoj, dolazi do stvaranja kulturne elite. Dositej Obradović, prosvjetiteljska strujanja... Pismenost je na nuli, ali počinju prvi skromni koraci, knjige se tiskaju i pomalo se širi pismenost, od središta do središta. Onda je s romantizmom i Vukom Karadžićem u 19. stoljeću došlo konačno formiranje vlaškoga identiteta kao srpskoga
Kaser, Karl (1997).Slobodan seljak i vojnik: rana krajiška društva, 1545–1754 [Free Peasant and Soldier: Early Krajina Societies, 1545–1754] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Naprijed.
Patterson, Patrick Hyder. "The futile crescent? Judging the legacies of Ottoman rule in Croatian history".Austrian History Yearbook, vol. 40, 2009, p. 125+.online.
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