Tricolor of Croatian flag
The flag combines the colors of three ancient Croatian kingdoms.
Kingdom of Croatia - red and white
Kingdom of Slavonia - white and blue
Kingdom of Dalmatia - red and blue
Five coat-of-arms above the shield:
From left to right they are the arms of ancient Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia.
Shield in the Croatian flag
The red and white checks were originally used by the Grand Prince of Dalmatia to represent his Sinovčić Royal family. The symbol became notorious during the Second World War as the ultranationalist and fascist Ustashe movement adopted it.
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| Symbol of the Ustashe movement |
2. Kingdom of Croatia 925-1102
First King of Croatia
In the year 925 Tomislav became the first king of the Kingdom of Croatia. He was the first Croatian ruler to be styled a king in a letter from Pope John X. Before this Duke Branimir was already the first native Croatian ruler recognized by the Pope in 879, but he was not a king. The Kingdom of Croatia lasted until 1102, when Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary after a war over the claim of the throne.
Kingdom of Croatia area
The medieval kingdom comprised most of present-day Croatia, except most of Istria and some Dalmatian coastal cities. It also comprised a lot of parts of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Enemies and allies
During the existence of the kingdom it had conflicts, periods of peace or alliance with the Bulgarians, Byzantines and Hungarians. Venice and Croatia competed against each other for the control over the eastern Adriatic coast.
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| European map in 1045 |
3. House of Habsburg rule in Croatia 1527-1918
Ottoman threat
The Ottoman conquests in Balkan led to the Battle of Krbava in 1493 against the Kingdom of Croatia, which was in a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary at the time. The Ottomans won, but this didn't lead to immediate territorial gains.
Partition of Hungarian territories
The Battle of Mohács was fought in 1526 between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Ottoman Empire won the battle and the death of Louis II marked the end of the Jagielloxn dynasty in Hungary and Bohemia, whose dynastic claims passed to the House of Habsburg. The medieval Hungary was partitioned between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Dynasty.
Habsburg rule in Croatia
In 1527 the Croatian Parliament chose Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg as a new ruler of Croatia. The Habsburg rule in Croatia lasted until 1918, when the Croatian Parliament decided to join the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which later evolved into Yugoslavia.
Territorial changes during the Habsburg rule
In 1745 the Kingdom of Slavonia was formed from the territory retaken from the Ottoman territory. It was a subordinate to the Croatian Kingdom and in 1868 these two formed the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. In 1804 the Habsburg Monarchy became the Austrian Empire, which annexed the Venetian Republic in 1814 and established the Kingdom of Dalmatia.
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| Habsburg territories in 1700, red (Spanish Habsburgs), yellow (Austrian Habsburgs) |
Now:
Present-day Dubrovnik
Vassal state of:
1358-1458 Kingdom of Hungary
1458-1806 Ottoman Empire
1684-1806 Habsburg Austria
1806-1808 French Empire and Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
Motto:
Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro = "Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
History:
In the 1400s the Republic of Venice dominated the coastal areas of the Adriatic sea, Dubrovnik or in Italian Ragusa, was the only region to remain independent and to challenge Venice. In 1418 the free-minded Ragusa forbid slave trade and established public hospitals and orphanages.
The Republic of Ragusa reached its commercial peak in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1808 Napoleon's French Empire conquered the Republic of Ragusa and annexed it to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.
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| Painting of Ragusa from 1667 |
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| Republic of Ragusa in the borders of present-day Croatia |
5. Free State of Fiume 1920-1924
What ?
An independent free state, which existed between 1920 and 1924. Fiume is the Italian name for present-day Rijeka. The free state comprised the city of Fiume and rural areas to its north.
Why ?
The demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was one of the reasons for the establishment of the free state. The Great Powers suggested its establishment as a buffer state between Yugoslavia (at the time Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) and Italy, because these two states were in dispute about the area. US President Woodrow Wilson advocated for the establishment of this state and he regarded it also as a potential home for the League of Nations organization.
The end of independenceIn January 1924 the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes signed the Treaty of Rome with the Kingdom of Rome agreeing the annexation of Fiume by Italy. Later after World War II Rijeka and Istria became part of Yugoslavia as Italy was on the losers side in the war.
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| Free State of Fiume map |
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| Fiume flag |
Timeline
Time Before Christ - Croatia was inhabited by Illyrian tribes before the Romans conquered their areas and established there the Roman provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia
600s Slavic peoples moved to the area
700s Duchy of the Croats was established
800s Duchy of Pannonia was established
879 Duke Branimir became the first native Croatian ruler recognized by the Pope
925 Kingdom of Croatia was established and Tomislav was the first ruler who was styled a king in a letter from Pope John X
1102 Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary after a war over the claim of the throne
1400s The Republic of Venice gained control over most of Dalmatia by 1428, except the city-state of Dubrovnik which became independent
1493 Ottoman conquests led to the Battle of Krbava, which Croatia lost
1526 Croatia lost the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Empire
1527 The Croatian Parliament chose Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg as new ruler of Croatia, under the condition that he provided protection against the Ottoman Empire
1683-1698 During the Great Turkish War, Slavonia was regained from the Ottoman Empire but Bosnia, which had been part of Croatia before the Ottoman conquest, remained outside Croatian control
1689-1692 and 1737-1739 During the First and Second Serbian Migrations a lot of Serbs moved to the Habsburg controlled Croatia from the Ottoman controlled areas of Balkan
1797-1809 The First French Empire occupied the entire Adriatic coastline ending the Venetian and Ragusan Republic, establishing the Illyrian Provinces
1813 The Illyrian Provinces were captured by Austrians and absorbed by the Austrian Empire after the Congress of Vienna in 1815
1689-1692 and 1737-1739 During the First and Second Serbian Migrations a lot of Serbs moved to the Habsburg controlled Croatia from the Ottoman controlled areas of Balkan
1797-1809 The First French Empire occupied the entire Adriatic coastline ending the Venetian and Ragusan Republic, establishing the Illyrian Provinces
1813 The Illyrian Provinces were captured by Austrians and absorbed by the Austrian Empire after the Congress of Vienna in 1815
1848 During Hungarian Revolution sided with Austria and helped them to defeat the Hungarian forces in 1849
1867 Austria and Hungary established a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary
1868 The Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia were united, but the Kingdom of Dalmatia remained under de facto Austrian control
1867 Austria and Hungary established a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary
1868 The Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia were united, but the Kingdom of Dalmatia remained under de facto Austrian control
1918 The Croatian Parliament declared independence and decided to join the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which later that year entered into union with the Kingdom of Serbia to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
1929 The name of the country was changed to Yugoslavia
1934 King Alexander I was the last European monarch to be assassinated as he was killed by a Croat nationalist
1939 Croatian autonomous area of Banovina was established to alleviate the internal tensions in Yugoslavia
1941 Yugoslavia was occupied by Germany and Italy and following the invasion, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the region of Syrmia were incorporated into the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi-supported puppet state
1945 The Yugoslav Partisans had gained control of Yugoslavia
1945 Croatia became one of the six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1971 Croatian Spring, a cultural and political movement, which was suppressed by the Yugoslav authorities
1980 Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito died after which the political situation in Yugoslavia deteriorated
1991 Croatia and Slovenia both declared independence and made a defense agreement
1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence after the Croatian Serbs had opposed the independence and got support from the Serb controlled Yugoslav People's Army
1995 The war ended in Croatia's victory
1998 Serbs were driven away from East Slavonia and thus the breakaway of this area from Croatia was prevented
1929 The name of the country was changed to Yugoslavia
1934 King Alexander I was the last European monarch to be assassinated as he was killed by a Croat nationalist
1939 Croatian autonomous area of Banovina was established to alleviate the internal tensions in Yugoslavia
1941 Yugoslavia was occupied by Germany and Italy and following the invasion, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the region of Syrmia were incorporated into the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi-supported puppet state
1945 The Yugoslav Partisans had gained control of Yugoslavia
1945 Croatia became one of the six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1971 Croatian Spring, a cultural and political movement, which was suppressed by the Yugoslav authorities
1980 Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito died after which the political situation in Yugoslavia deteriorated
1991 Croatia and Slovenia both declared independence and made a defense agreement
1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence after the Croatian Serbs had opposed the independence and got support from the Serb controlled Yugoslav People's Army
1995 The war ended in Croatia's victory
1998 Serbs were driven away from East Slavonia and thus the breakaway of this area from Croatia was prevented
2006 Croatia and Albania became Nato members
2009 Jadranka Kosor became Croatia's first female prime minister
2009 Jadranka Kosor became Croatia's first female prime minister
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Croatia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Fiume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Croatia_(Habsburg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Croatia-Slavonia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ragusa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustaše
"Maailman maat - liput ja historia" by Kimmo Kiljunen
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