Frano Supilo and the Conquest of the Dubrovnik Municipality in 1899

Abstract

This work portrays the political circumstances in Dubrovnik at the end of
the 19th century. Firstly, the general political conditions in the city in the second
half of the 19th century, that is to say the period when the People’s Party was
in power in the Dubrovnik Municipality, are presented. The work portrays both
the Autonomist Party and the Serbian Party, which together won the elections
in 1890. The next chapter explains the Serb-Catholic phenomenon, which contributed to the popularity and influence of the Serbian Party. The evolution of
the Dubrovnik Serb-Catholic Movement is also described, from its roots until
the conquest of the Dubrovnik Municipality. Furthermore, the paper deals with
Frano Supilo and, through his childhood and youth, follows his ideological development, which takes place parallel to the rise of young Party of Right movement. The paper analyses how Supilo stood out as a leader of the Party of Rights
and describes their political activity in the magazine Red Croatia. Finally, the
paper concludes with an overview of the struggle for municipal power between
the Serbian Party and the Autonomous Party on the one hand, and the Party of
Rights and the People’s Party on the other, which ends with the return of the
municipality to Croatian rule.