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LEGALITY AND LEGITIMACY – CONFLICTING CONCEPTOPNS OF UTILIZING THE FORESTS OF THE SLAVONIAN MILITARY FRONTIER
Damir Matanović
; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Podružnica za povijest Slavonije, Srijema i Baranje, Slavonski Brod, Hrvatska
Sažetak
With the liberation of Slavonia from the Ottomans in 1699, the process of legal regulation of everyday life in this area began. One of the areas in which the inhabitants of the Slavonian Military Frontier most resisted the intrusion of the legal system into everyday life had to do with the exploitation of the forests. Since wood played a key part in the everyday life of the Frontiersmen, as it was the most important building material, used in the production of most of the artifacts necessary for sustaining life, and the only source of fuel for heating, it is obvious that the Frontiersmen would assert their “ancient rights” to unlimited and free exploitation of the forests. They considered this a matter of legitimacy. Conversely, the authorities in the Habsburg Monarchy and the Military Frontier recognized the immense commercial potential of the Frontier’s forests, thus they attempted to limit the willfulness of the Frontiersmen. These attempted limitations can be seen through the introduction of legal regulations, organs of supervision and the establishment of fines for transgressors. Yet, during the 18th and 19th centuries there are three areas in which the Frontiersmen continually breech the legal regulations. These are the unlawful cutting of trees, the unlawful clearing of forests and the lawful grazing of forests by the flocks of Frontiersmen. In spite of their desire for unlimited exploitation of the forest, the Frontiersmen were aware that they could not destroy the system in which they lived and they utilized the forests only in so far as they had to meet the needs of their own existence. The real destruction of the Frontier’s forestry resources was begun by the state in the 19th century when large tracts of forest were cleared for the production of potash or crossties used in railway construction.
Ključne riječi
Military Frontier; Slavonia; exploitation of the forests
Hrčak ID:
103027
URI
Datum izdavanja:
31.10.2003.
Posjeta: 1.641 *