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Josip Smodlaka and Agrarian Problem in Dalmatia in the Eve of the First World War
Stijepo Obad
Sažetak
While other countries of the Habsburgh monarchy had solved their agrarian problems mainly in the 19th century, the remnants of colon (husbandman) and serf system in Dalmatia reach as far as the beginning of the 20th century. Neither did the government nor citizen parties nor the landowners show any interest for the economic liberation of the colons and serfs. Owing to the growth of the country population and non-developed town industry, the surplus of the workers had to try for their earnings in countries accross the oceans, particularly in America. Towards the end of 19th century, owing to the illness-attacked grapevines and the Wine Clause which fell heavily on the main production of the district i. e. the Dalmatian wines, the emigration process was of a much greater range.
At the beginning of the 20th century the newly founded Croatian Democratic Party, i. e. Croatian National Progressive Party (1905) with Josip Smodlaka as its leader, took interest in the abandoned Dalmatian peasantry. Public meetings, party newspapers "Sloboda (Freedom)" and "Pučka sloboda (National Freedom)", all brought to the surface the agrarian problem so forcefully that it had to be discussed on the sessions of Dalmatian Convention in Zadar and of the Imperial Council in Vienna. The action had turned into the so-called Labourers' Movement, the beginning of which can be traced down to Split, to expand then in a rather weakened form through the whole of Dalmatia.
The first step forward was to try to negotiate with the landlords of Split fields to make them reduce the imposed levies. When that failed, in Split and Dalmatia there was organized the first general strike in which citizens took part together with the labourers.
The second stage of the movement includes the peasants' demanding, through their cooperative "Labourers' Concord", the complete redemption with governmental help, consisting of offering loans without interest. There was formed a Board, Josip Smodlaka being an important member of it, and composed a chart called "Memorial", containing the list of difficulties and a proposition for the solution of the problem, namely, the landowner getting money and peasants the land. Smodlaka took on himself to get the responsible people in Viennese ministries and Dalmatian representatives there acquainted with the contents of the "Memorial"; he succeeded and they showed great interest for it and promissed to solve the problem. The decision took time to be formed, while the new events in the eve of the First World War changed the foreign policy and pushed the problem into the background.
The third stage represents the slowing down of the movement; it was the time of the growing economic crisis causing the greater emigrations to the foreign countries, particularly to America. The peasant was left to try to redeem his land how he could with his own earnings gaining thus alone his economic freedom.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
219327
URI
Datum izdavanja:
2.5.1974.
Posjeta: 1.002 *