Croatia enjoys a rich political
and cultural history, marked by the following moments:
Emergence of Croatian Statehood
Croats arrived in their present homeland in the 7th century AD.
In 679, Croats entered into a treaty with Pope Agatho, and Croats
accepted Christianity during the rule of Prince Viseslav in 800.
Viceroy Trpimir, an ancestor of the Croatian dynasty of Trpimirovic,
ruled Dalmatian Croatia. In a letter dated 852, the name Hrvat
(Croat) was recorded for the first time on the Adriatic coast.
Pope John VII blessed the Croatian Prince Branimir, Croatian clergy
and Croatian people in St. Peter Church in Rome on May 21, 879, proclaiming
the first international recognition of Croatia.
Croatia first emerged as a nation-state in 925 when Ban Tomislav,
united Pannonian and Dalmatian Croatia and was crowned the first
Croatian King.
In 1094 the Bishopric of Zagreb was founded. Under the archdiocese
of Ostrogon until 1180, and the archdiocese of Kalocza from 1180
to 1152, Zagreb was in 1852 elevated to the rank of an independent
archdiocese.
The Baska tablet, one of the oldest and most valuable texts in
the Croatian language and Glagolic script, was written in 1100.
It details land that King Zvonimir gave to the abbey of St. Lucia
in Draga Bascanska and the construction of the St. Lucia Church.
Croatia as part of the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire
In 1102 Croatia and Hungary entered into a special arrangement
(Pacta conventa), under which Croatia remained independent but
recognized the Hungarian King as its sovereign.
In 1527 at Cetingrad, the greater part of the Croatian nobility
elected Ferdinand of Habsburg, who promised to respect the rights,
laws and customs of the Croatian kingdom and to defend Croatia
against the Ottomans.
In the 19th century, the Croatian national revival emerged, striving
to end the Germanic and Hungarian grip on Croatia.
In 1848, Croatians led by Ban Josip Jelacic demanded the reorganization
of the Habsburg Monarchy on federal principles.
In 1868, the Croatian-Hungarian Treaty was adopted to regulate
relations between the two states. This treaty was the political
recognition of the Croatian people and guaranteed that Croatia
had the right to its own parliament, the Ban as Viceroy, and
autonomy in administration, education, religion and the judiciary.
Croatian was also recognized as the official language in Croatia.
Croatia in Yugoslavia
Croatia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,
against the will of its people, after the dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian
Empire. For the first time in its history, Croatia's continuous
self-rule was interrupted, with all activity of the Croatian
parliament suspended and the Croatian state divided within the
Kingdom.
In 1928, Croatian representatives were shot in the Belgrade Assembly,
killing several of them, including the leader of the Croatian
Peasant Party, Stjepan Radic. The following year, Serbian King
Alexander Karadjordjevic proclaimed a royalist dictatorship.
In 1939 the Banovina of Croatia was established by which Croatian
state identity was restored in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
In 1941, after Germany occupied and partitioned the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia, the "Independent State of Croatia" was
proclaimed under the auspices of the Axis powers with large territorial
sacrifices in favor of their sponsors, particularly Italy. Although
the idea of Croatian statehood was supported, the majority of
Croatians opposed the Axis occupation of Croatia and founded
the anti-fascist movement under the leadership of Josip Broz
Tito and Andrija Hebrang. The communist domination of Yugoslavia
stifled the development of Croatian statehood and democracy after
the war.
In 1971, the Croatian democratic movement, known as the "Croatian
Spring," was quashed by dogmatic centralistic forces that
were opposed to pluralism and democracy in Croatia.
Croatia as a sovereign
and independent state
The frst free democratic elections were held in Croatia in April
and May 1990. The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), led by its
founder and president Dr. Franjo Tudjman, won the election on
a platform that united all Croats around the idea of a sovereign,
democratic state and national reconciliation. The first democratically
elected Parliament was constituted on May 30, the day that has
come to mark Croatian statehood.
In the referendum held in May 1991, 94 percent of Croatian voters
declared their support for a sovereign and independent Croatia.
The Croatian Parliament declared Croatian independence on June
25, 1991.
On October 8, 1991 after the three month "Brijuni moratorium"
on the implementation of the declaration of independence had
expired, the Croatian Parliament broke all ties with former Yugoslavia
and proclaimed Croatia a sovereign and independent state.
Croatia was recognized on January 13 by the Holy See, and on
January 15, 1992 by the European Community Ministerial Council
and other states in Europe and beyond. By the end of January,
Croatia has been recognized by 42 countries.
On May 22, 1992 Croatia was admitted to the United Nations. Today, over a 120 states have recognized Croatia and Croatia has established diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries.
For more information on history of Croatia visit Croatian History Links.
