Original scientific paper
THE POSAVINA BORDER REGION OF CROATIA AND BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: DEVELOPMENT UP TO 1918 (with special reference to changes in ethnic composition)
Ivan CRKVENČIĆ
Abstract
After dealing with the natural features and social importance of
the Posavina region in the past, presented is the importance of
this region as a unique Croatian ethnic territory during the Middle
Ages. With the appearance of the Ottomans and especially
at the beginning of the 16th century, great ethnic changes occured,
primarily due to the expulsion of Croats and arrival of
new ethnic groups, mostly Orthodox Vlachs and later Muslims
and ethnic Serbs. With the withdrawal of the Ottomans from the
Pannonian basin to the areas south of the Sava River and the
Danube, the Sava becomes the dividing line creating in its border
areas two socially and politically different environments: the
Slavonian Military Frontier on the Slavonian side and the Ottoman
military-frontier system of kapitanates on the Bosnian side.
Both systems had a special influence on the change of ethnic
composition in this region. With the withdrawal of the Ottomans
further towards the southeast of Europe and the Austrian occupation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina the Sava River remains the
border along which, especially on the Bosnian side, further
changes of ethnic structure occured.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
16121
URI
Publication date:
30.4.2004.
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