Original scientific paper
Socio-economic features of the town of Varaždin’s urban nobility in the 17th century (Summary)
Višnja Burek
orcid.org/0000-0002-4540-7862
; Prva gimnazija Varaždin
Abstract
In the late 16th and early 17th century, the socio-economic structure of Varaždin’s population underwent significant changes. The changes were not a particularity of the town alone, but were rather, a part of the socio-economic changes visible in the towns of Southwestern Croatia at the beginning of The Modern Age. In certain towns, rich and influential social groups consisting of persons who held the most important public offices in the town administration became more prominent, and an oligarchical rule was established. The Varaždin town oligarchy built its social status and public influence on economic power and the public offices it held in the town’s administration, Varaždin county and the territory of Slavonian Krajina. During the 17th century, members of this social group received nobility titles and became urban nobility. Due to the lack of data ascertaining the exact number of citizens, it is difficult to precisely determine the percentage of urban nobility in the town’s population. Even so, the perserved 17th century town administration records provide enough information to determine the continuing increase in their numbers. Pertaining to nobility strenghtened their social status and thus began the struggle for complete control over the town’s administration and its closing to all other social groups. The conflicts were resolved with the codification of the Statute of the town of Varaždin in 1699. This gave the urban nobility, which had long held the highest public offices in town and had the majority in the Senate, a legal framework for such practices. It also paved the way for the minority to turn the rights enjoyed by the tota commutas into their own class and personal rights, and to thusly gain the ability to regulate not only the economic, but also the social and the political currents of the entire community.
Keywords
urban nobility; titling; town administration books; town administration
Hrčak ID:
127382
URI
Publication date:
3.12.2012.
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