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Radovi/Institute for Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zadar : Institute for Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zadar, No. 43, 2001.

Original scientific paper

The Behaviour of the Serbian Party towards the Dalmatian Autonomists in Austrian Dalmatia

Tihomir Rajčić

Full text: croatian pdf 168 Kb

page 375-388

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Abstract

The author in the article investigates the behaviour of the Serbian Party towards the Autonomists in Austrian Dalmatia during the eighties of the XIXth century. Initially, the author establishes that the cooperation of the Serbs and the autonomists was founded on pronounced common interests. Firstly, this was manifested in the opposition to the unification of Dalmatia with the rest of Croatia but also in the rejection of Croatianism as such. The second reason for their cooperation was the political weakness of both these parties. The public pronouncements of the Serbian party regarding the autonomists were in most instances positively intoned. These pronouncements expressed a common interest of defending the Serbian and Italian nationalities against "Croatianisation", resistance against "the political violence" of the People's party which was pictured as the extended hand of Austrian rule. Because of these reasons the Serbians rejected the accusations levelled at Italian irredentism and defended the right of the existence of a separate Serbian nationality in Dalmatia. In the political struggles the Serbs supportd the autonomist candidates Bajamonti and Lappen. In continuation, the author concludes that the relations between the Serbs and the autonomists were not always harmonious. On the contrary, the Serbs frequently accused the autonomists for the betrayal of "authentic autonomist principles" and for religious intolerance. Conflicts broke out regarding language and ethnic issues. On the basis of this, the author concludes that the Serbian party and the autonomists were opposed regarding language, ethnic and religious issues. What really brought them together was their hostility towards Croatianism ("Croatianisation"), their rejection of the uinification of Dalmatia with the rest of Croatia and the political weakness of their respective parties.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

12180

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/12180

Publication date:

19.10.2001.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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