Greater Croatia
Encyclopedia
Greater Croatia is a term applied to certain currents within Croatian nationalism
. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Croatian people
, emphasising the ethnicity of those Croats living outside Croatia
. In the political sense, though, the term refers to an irredentist belief in the equivalence between the territorial scope of the Croatian people and that of the Croatian state
.
, a cultural and political campaign of Croatian national
revival in the first half of the 19th century. Although this movement arose in the developing European nationalist context of the time, it particularly arose as a response to the more powerful nationalist stirrings in the then-Kingdom of Hungary
, of which Croatia was a part
.
Because the kingdom was so large, Hungary attempted processes of Magyarisation on its constituent territories. As a reaction, Ljudevit Gaj
led the creation of the Illyrian movement. This movement aimed to establish Croatian national presence within Austria-Hungary
through linguistic and ethnic unity among South Slavs
. This was the first and most prominent Pan-Slavic
movement in Croatian history.
An early proponent of Croatian-based Pan-Slavism was the politician, Count Janko Drašković
. In 1832, he published his Dissertation to the joint Hungarian-Croatian Diet, in which he envisioned a “Great Illyria” consisting of all the South Slav provinces of the Habsburg Empire.
Likewise, the influential Bishop
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
, although a supporter of the Habsburg Monarchy
, nonetheless advocated merging the Kingdom of Dalmatia
with Croatia.
and Eugen Kvaternik
, who founded the nationalist Party of Rights
(HSP) in 1861. Unlike Strossmayer and the proponents of the Illyrian movement, HSP advocated a united Croatia that stood independently of a Pan-Slavic umbrella state. Starčević was an early opponent of Croatia's unification with Serbs and Slovenes (chiefly the Kingdom of Serbia
); their ideologies gradually gained popularity during the interwar period as tensions grew in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
between the Croatian and the more influential Serbian political leaders. Ensuing events surrounding the ideology culminated in the World War II conflict between the Independent State of Croatia
and its opponents including Chetnik
Serbs and Communists of all ethnicities (including Croatian).
The first modern development of a Greater Croatia came about with the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia
( NDH). Following occupation of the country by Axis forces in 1941, Slavko Kvaternik
, deputy leader of the Ustaše
proclaimed the establishment of the NDH.
The Ustaša, a fascist
movement founded in 1929 supported a Greater Croatia that would extend to the River Drina
and to the edge of Belgrade
. Ante Pavelić
, the Ustaše's Poglavnik
(leader) had been in negotiations with Fascist Italy since 1927. These negotiations included Pavelić supporting Italy's annexation of its claimed territory in Dalmatia
in exchange for Italy supporting an independent Croatia. In addition, Mussolini
offered Pavelić the right for Croatia to annex all of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Pavelić agreed to this controversial exchange.
in 1992, Bosnian Serb political representatives, who had boycotted the referendum, established their own government of Republika Srpska
, whereupon their forces attacked the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
The subsequent war was principally a territorial conflict, initially between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Bosnian Croat forces on the one side, and Bosnian Serb forces on the other. However, the Croats also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. With the 1991 Karađorđevo agreement
between Croatia
n president Franjo Tuđman and Serbia
n president Slobodan Milošević
, and with the Graz agreement
of 1992, the Serb and Croat political leaderships agreed on a partition of Bosnia, resulting in the Croat forces turning on the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to the Croat-Bosniak war
.
The policies of Croatia and Franjo Tuđman towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were never totally transparent and always included Tuđman's aim of expanding Croatia's borders. After Tuđman's death, his successor, Stjepan Mesić
, revealed thousands of documents and audio tapes recorded by Tuđman about his plans in regards to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tapes reveal that both Milosević and Tuđman ignored pledges to respect Bosnia's sovereignty, even after signing the Dayton accord. In one conversation Tuđman told an official: Let's make a deal with the Serbs. Neither history nor emotion in the Balkans will permit multinationalism. We have to give up on the illusion of the last eight years... Dayton isn't working. Nobody- except diplomats and petty officials - believes in a sovereign Bosnia and the Dayton accords.
Croatian nationalism
Croatian nationalism is the nationalism of Croats or of Croatian culture. It arose in the 19th century in response to Magyarization of Croat territories under Hungarian rule, especially under the influence of Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik,...
. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Croatian people
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, emphasising the ethnicity of those Croats living outside Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. In the political sense, though, the term refers to an irredentist belief in the equivalence between the territorial scope of the Croatian people and that of the Croatian state
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
Background
The concept of a Greater Croatian state has its modern origins with the Illyrian movementIllyrian movement
The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...
, a cultural and political campaign of Croatian national
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
revival in the first half of the 19th century. Although this movement arose in the developing European nationalist context of the time, it particularly arose as a response to the more powerful nationalist stirrings in the then-Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, of which Croatia was a part
Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)
The Kingdom of Croatia was an administrative division that existed between 1527 and 1868 within the Habsburg Monarchy . The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years...
.
Because the kingdom was so large, Hungary attempted processes of Magyarisation on its constituent territories. As a reaction, Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement.-Origin:...
led the creation of the Illyrian movement. This movement aimed to establish Croatian national presence within Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
through linguistic and ethnic unity among South Slavs
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
. This was the first and most prominent Pan-Slavic
Pan-Slavism
Pan-Slavism was a movement in the mid-19th century aimed at unity of all the Slavic peoples. The main focus was in the Balkans where the South Slavs had been ruled for centuries by other empires, Byzantine Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Venice...
movement in Croatian history.
An early proponent of Croatian-based Pan-Slavism was the politician, Count Janko Drašković
Janko Draškovic
Janko Drašković was a Croatian national reformer, politician and poet. He was a member of the Drašković family, one of the oldest Croatian noble families.-Biography:Janko Drašković was born in 1770 in Zagreb...
. In 1832, he published his Dissertation to the joint Hungarian-Croatian Diet, in which he envisioned a “Great Illyria” consisting of all the South Slav provinces of the Habsburg Empire.
Likewise, the influential Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
, although a supporter of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, nonetheless advocated merging the Kingdom of Dalmatia
Kingdom of Dalmatia
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1815 to 1918. Its capital was Zadar.-History:...
with Croatia.
Alternative concept
Other ideas of Greater Croatia were developed by Ante StarčevićAnte Starcevic
Ante Starčević , was a Croatian politician and writer whose activities and works laid the foundations for the modern Croatian state.His works are base for Croatian nationalism, he is often referred to as Father of the Fatherland by Croats.-Life:...
and Eugen Kvaternik
Eugen Kvaternik
Eugen Kvaternik was a Croatian politician and revolutionary. Kvaternik and Ante Starčević formed the original Croatian Party of Rights together....
, who founded the nationalist Party of Rights
Party of Rights (1861–1929)
The Party of Rights or Party of the Right was an influential Croatian political party in the 19th and 20th centuries. The right or rights in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that were the central topic of the party's existence, as the first name was Stranka...
(HSP) in 1861. Unlike Strossmayer and the proponents of the Illyrian movement, HSP advocated a united Croatia that stood independently of a Pan-Slavic umbrella state. Starčević was an early opponent of Croatia's unification with Serbs and Slovenes (chiefly the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
); their ideologies gradually gained popularity during the interwar period as tensions grew in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
between the Croatian and the more influential Serbian political leaders. Ensuing events surrounding the ideology culminated in the World War II conflict between the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
and its opponents including Chetnik
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
Serbs and Communists of all ethnicities (including Croatian).
Independent State of Croatia
The first modern development of a Greater Croatia came about with the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
( NDH). Following occupation of the country by Axis forces in 1941, Slavko Kvaternik
Slavko Kvaternik
Slavko Kvaternik was a Croatian military commander and a collaborator with Nazi Germany. He was noted for military service in World War I, later as a deputy leader and founding member of the Croatian Ustaša movement in the 1930s who then became one of the leaders of the "Independent State of...
, deputy leader of the Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
proclaimed the establishment of the NDH.
The Ustaša, a fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
movement founded in 1929 supported a Greater Croatia that would extend to the River Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
and to the edge of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
, the Ustaše's Poglavnik
Poglavnik
Poglavnik was the title used by Ante Pavelić, leader of World War II Croatian fascist movement Ustaše and of the Independent State of Croatia between 1941 and 1945.-Etymology and usage:...
(leader) had been in negotiations with Fascist Italy since 1927. These negotiations included Pavelić supporting Italy's annexation of its claimed territory in Dalmatia
Governorship of Dalmatia
The Governorate of Dalmatia was a province of Italy, created in April 1941 from occupied Yugoslav territory annexed after the German blitzkrieg Invasion of Yugoslavia.-Characteristics:...
in exchange for Italy supporting an independent Croatia. In addition, Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
offered Pavelić the right for Croatia to annex all of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. Pavelić agreed to this controversial exchange.
Bosnian War
The most recent expression of a Greater Croatia arose in the aftermath of the breakup of Yugoslavia. When the multiethnic Yugoslavian republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independenceHistory of Bosnia and Herzegovina
-Pre-Slavic Period :Bosnia has been inhabited at least since Neolithic times. In the late Bronze Age, the Neolithic population was replaced by more warlike Indo-European tribes known as the Illyrians. Celtic migrations in the 4th and 3rd century BCE displaced many Illyrian tribes from their former...
in 1992, Bosnian Serb political representatives, who had boycotted the referendum, established their own government of Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, whereupon their forces attacked the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the direct main predecessor to the modern-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
.
The subsequent war was principally a territorial conflict, initially between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina established by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 following the outbreak of the Bosnian War...
and Bosnian Croat forces on the one side, and Bosnian Serb forces on the other. However, the Croats also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. With the 1991 Karađorđevo agreement
Karađorđevo agreement
In 1991, Croatian president Franjo Tuđman and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević had a series of discussions which became known as the Karađorđevo agreement or, less commonly, the Karađorđevo meeting. These discussions commenced as early as March, 1991...
between Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n president Franjo Tuđman and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n president Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, and with the Graz agreement
Graz agreement
The Graz agreement was a partition agreement signed between Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban on 6 May 1992 in the town of Graz, Austria. The agreement was meant to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina between Republika Srpska and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
of 1992, the Serb and Croat political leaderships agreed on a partition of Bosnia, resulting in the Croat forces turning on the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to the Croat-Bosniak war
Croat-Bosniak war
The Croat–Bosniak War was a conflict between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia supported by the Republic of Croatia, that lasted from June 19, 1992 – February 23, 1994...
.
The policies of Croatia and Franjo Tuđman towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were never totally transparent and always included Tuđman's aim of expanding Croatia's borders. After Tuđman's death, his successor, Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , Prime Minister of Croatia , the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Secretary General...
, revealed thousands of documents and audio tapes recorded by Tuđman about his plans in regards to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tapes reveal that both Milosević and Tuđman ignored pledges to respect Bosnia's sovereignty, even after signing the Dayton accord. In one conversation Tuđman told an official: Let's make a deal with the Serbs. Neither history nor emotion in the Balkans will permit multinationalism. We have to give up on the illusion of the last eight years... Dayton isn't working. Nobody- except diplomats and petty officials - believes in a sovereign Bosnia and the Dayton accords.