Attempts to Introduce the Hungarian Language in Croatian Schools in the First Half of the 19th Century

Review article

Abstract

In the first half of the 19th century, the national conflict between Croatians and Hungarians manifested itself most prominently in the language issue, particularly in the matter of introducing Hungarian as the official language in the whole territory of Hungary, including Civil Croatia. This paper will depict Hungarian attempts to introduce the Hungarian language in Croatian schools, based on an analysis of conclusions of the Croatian Diet, various reports and other documents of this period. Hungarians were partially successful in their attempt. In 1833, Hungarian became a compulsory school subject in Croatian schools, but Hungarians did not manage to introduce it as the language of instruction, which gave rise to disputes in the 1840s. In spite of all Hungarian efforts, the attempt to spread Hungarian through schools in Civil Croatia remained futile.