Professional paper
LITTORAL BANOVINA IN THE POLITICS OF ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Branko Dubravica
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
At present, when we are once again faced with the question: quo vadis Bosnia
and Herzegovina, towards new integration or towards further disintegration?
– it is undoubtedly useful to show how and when the process was initiated of
its administrative-territorial division and its connecting with the neighbour
states in the 20th century; in this case, with Dalmatia in 1929 within the Littoral
Banovina, and with the Banovina of Croatia ten years later. This paper
provides a detailed account of the size of territory and population with regard
to various denominations on the level of 8, i.e. 13 districts which comprised
38, i.e. 70 municipalities of BiH. The population data based on the 1931 census,
the last carried out in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, are the starting point of
an attempt to establish the ratio between the Catholic majority and the Islam
and Orthodox minorities. In the period of the Littoral Banovina, the Catholic
population in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian districts had the absolute majority
of 63%, and in the Banovina of Croatia – 53%. Beside the Catholics, the same
counties were inhabited by minorities of Islam and Orthodox denominations,
which were in the majority in some municipalities and districts. In Dalmatian
districts of the Littoral Banovina, 84% of the population were Catholics, while
the percentage in BiH districts was 63%, which means that the percentage
on the level of the Banovina as a whole was 75%. Consequently, many were
right to perceive and proclaim that the Littoral Banovina was Catholic by denomination,
and Croatian by ethnicity, although this became a fact only when
it joined the Banovina of Croatia together with the Sava Banovina.
Keywords
politics; administrative division of BiH; provinces (Banovina); districts; municipalities; Catholics – Croats; Orthodox – Serbs; Islam – Bosniaks; borders; territorial scope
Hrčak ID:
77808
URI
Publication date:
14.2.2012.
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