May Assembly
Encyclopedia
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, held in 1 and 3 May 1848 in Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
, during which the Serbs proclaimed autonomous Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
. This action was later recognized by the supreme Austrian authority in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. May Assembly was part of the European Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
.
Prelude
After news of the ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
revolution of 1848
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
reached Austrian Empire, absolutist reign of Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich was weakened. In this time, regions of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
and Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
were administratively divided between the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary
Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary
The term Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary can refer to the following provinces of the Habsburg Empire :*Kingdom of Hungary *Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary...
(in the north) and the Habsburg Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
(in the south). An sizable percent of Austrian soldiers within Military Frontier were ethnic Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, who protected Austrian borders in exchange for certain political freedoms that they were able to enjoy within the frontier, whose administration functioned independently from the county-system of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.
After the outbreak of the revolution in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary on March 15, 1848, new government of the kingdom did not accepted requests of the Serbs for recognition of their national rights, taking a stance that all citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary are Hungarians
Magyarization
Magyarization is a kind of assimilation or acculturation, a process by which non-Magyar elements came to adopt Magyar culture and language due to social pressure .Defiance or appeals to the Nationalities Law, met...
. Serbs, whose national rights and freedoms were previously regulated within 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...
saw this position of the government of the Kingdom of Hungary as a degradation of their status. After the initial Serb political demands for recognition of their national rights were rejected by the new government of the Kingdom of Hungary, Serb demands became more radical and Serb national movement turned against new revolutionary government of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Assembly
Realizing that Hungarian revolutionary leaders are not willing to recognize national rights of the Serbs, political leaders of the Serbs decided to held an assembly on which an separate Serb voivodeshipVoivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
within Austrian Empire will be proclaimed.
Assembly was held in May the 1st and 3rd, 1848 in Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
(a town within the Habsburg Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
). The beginning of the May Assembly was declared from the balcony of Sremski Karlovci City Hall
Sremski Karlovci City Hall
Sremski Karlovci City Hall is located at the center of Sremski Karlovci, Serbia. City hall was built in the period between 1808 and 1811 in the neoclassicism style. It was constructed to be garrison of the nearby Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad, and later it become military building...
. The assembly proclaimed a creation of Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
and its political alliance with the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.
During the assembly, Serbian Orthodox Metropotitan Josif Rajačić
Josif Rajacic
Josif Rajačić was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian patriarch, administrator of Serbian Vojvodina and baron.-Life:...
was elevated to the dignity of the Serbian patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
(a title formerly held by Arsenije Čarnojević
Arsenije III Carnojevic
Arsenije III Čarnojević was the Archbishop of Peć and Patriarch of Serbs from 1674 to 1691 and Metropolitan of Szentendre from 1691 to his death in 1706.-Family:Arsenije was born to the Cetinje clan of Old Montenegro...
), Đorđe Stratimirović was elected for the Vožd (leader of Serb national movement), while Stevan Šupljikac
Stevan Šupljikac
Stevan Šupljikac, known simply as Vojvoda Šupljikac was a voivode and the first Duke of the Serbian Vojvodina, in 1848.-Life:...
was declared for a Voivode (duke) of the newly formed voivodeship.
The decisions of the Assembly
Assembly officially adopted following decisions:- Serb nationSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
is politically free and independent under the House of Austria and general Hungarian crownLands of the Crown of Saint StephenThe historical term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was used to denote a group of territories connected to the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary...
. - We proclaiming Serbian VojvodinaSerbian VojvodinaThe Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
, which includes SyrmiaSyrmiaSyrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
with the Frontier, Baranja, BačkaBackaBačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
with the Bečej DistrictDistrict of PotisjeThe District of Potisje was an administrative unit of the Habsburg Monarchy. It was formed in 1751 with headquarters in Stari Bečej, and existed for almost one century .-History:...
and the Šajkaš BatallionŠajkaškaŠajkaška is a geographical region in Serbia. It is southeastern part of Bačka, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Territory of Šajkaška is divided among four municipalities: Titel, Žabalj, Novi Sad, and Srbobran. Historical center of Šajkaška is Titel.-Name:Name Šajkaška means "land...
, BanatBanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
with the Frontier and the Kikinda DistrictDistrict of Velika KikindaThe District of Velika Kikinda was an administrative unit of the Habsburg Monarchy between 1774 and 1876. It was an autonomous area mainly inhabited by ethnic Serbs.-History:...
. - Serbian Vojvodina forming the political alliance with the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.
- Permanent People's Board is formed, as an executive body of the People's Assembly.
- We recognizing VlachVlachsVlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
(RomanianRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
) ethnic independence. - We appointing the Board which will bring these decisions in front of the Emperor and the Croatian Assembly.
- We appointing delegation for the Slavic CongressPrague Slavic Congress, 1848The Prague Slavic Congress of 1848 took place in Prague between June 2 and June 12, 1848. It was one of several times that voices from all Slav populations of Central Europe were heard in one place...
in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Aftermath
Decisions of the May Assembly were later recognized by the Austrian emperor, who reciprocated to Serbs for participating in the war against Hungarian rebels by official formation of an separate crownland named Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (formed in 1849). New Voivodeship was independent from Habsburg Kingdom of HungaryHabsburg Kingdom of Hungary
The term Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary can refer to the following provinces of the Habsburg Empire :*Kingdom of Hungary *Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary...
and was directly subordinated to Viena. It consisted of the regions of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
and Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
(municipalities of Ilok
Ilok
Ilok is the easternmost town and municipality in Croatia. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Vojvodina region of Serbia. The population of the town of Ilok is 5,036, while the total municipality population is 6,750...
and Ruma
Ruma
Ruma is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia at . In 2002 the town had a total population of 34,229, while Ruma municipality had a population of 60,006.-History:...
), excluding parts of mentioned regions that were within the Habsburg Military Frontier. This Voivodeship, however, had somewhat different borders from Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
that was proclaimed in 1848. It was more ethnically mixed and included eastern parts of Banat with mainly Romanian population, while parts of the Military Frontier in which Serbs formed the majority were not included into new Habsburg crownland.
Trivia
Jovan Jovanović ZmajJovan Jovanovic Zmaj
Jovan Jovanović Zmaj was one of the best-known Serbian poets. He was a physician by profession, like his literary predecessor writer Jovan Stejić ....
, one of the best-known Serbian poets, derives his nickname (Zmaj) from May Assembly date, May 3, 1848 (in Serbian Cyrillic: 3.мај / Змај; in Latin transliteration: Zmaj).
See also
- Serbian VojvodinaSerbian VojvodinaThe Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
- Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar
- History of VojvodinaHistory of VojvodinaThis is a history of Vojvodina.Vojvodina is the Serbian name for the territory in the Northern Serbia, consisting of the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, mostly located north from the Danube and Sava rivers...
- History of SerbiaHistory of SerbiaThe history of Serbia, as a country, begins with the Slavic settlements in the Balkans, established in the 6th century in territories governed by the Byzantine Empire. Through centuries, the Serbian realm evolved into a Kingdom , then an Empire , before the Ottomans annexed it in 1540...