The modern Republic of Croatia looks back on a very long and turbulent history. Due to its militarily interesting coastal location, but also its proximity to the border with former great powers, Croatia has repeatedly been in the focus of these powers. Croatia’s true independence only came with the declaration of independence on June 25, 1991, which led to the Croatian War. Croatia has been a member state of the European Union since July 1, 2013.
The Early History of Croatia
Croatia has been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. An internationally renowned archaeological site is located near the town of Krapina. In 1895, the remains of more than 20 Neanderthals from around 130,000 years ago were discovered here – a scientific sensation. Since 2010, Krapina, about 45 kilometers from Zagreb, has housed a Neanderthal museum. Further finds of Neanderthal remains have been made in the Vindija Cave, among other places. Much later – from around the fourth to sixth century BC – Greek Illyrians and Celts settled on the Croatian Adriatic coast. Numerous Greek settlements emerged that carried out lively trade with other Mediterranean countries. Important Greek settlements include Pharos (today Stari Grad on the island of Hvar) and Issa (today Vis on the island of the same name). In 168 BC, Croatia was finally subjugated by the hungry Roman Empire.
Very soon, Illyria and thus Croatia became a Roman province. With Diocletian, a Dalmatian Illyrian even managed to ascend to the Roman imperial throne. Numerous archaeological traces from the Roman period can still be discovered in Croatia today. In addition to the well-known archaeological sites all over the country – the Vizula peninsula near Medulin with the remains of a Roman villa rustica is particularly representative – the magnificent Roman buildings in Split and Pula still impress their viewers today. Diocletian’s Palace in Split is one of the most important Roman buildings in Croatia, and the amphitheater in Pula is the sixth largest known arena with a seating capacity of up to 26,000 spectators.
The Slavic settlement
However, the Roman Empire was doomed. After numerous changes of power and bloody civil wars, the division into the Western Roman and Byzantine Empires took place in 395 AD, with Croatia initially being added to the Western Roman Empire, but Dalmatia and Istria were added to Byzantium after the latter’s fall. During the migration period, numerous peoples settled in Croatian territory, and from 489 Croatia belonged to the Ostrogothic Empire. However, the Ostrogothic Empire did not last long either, and collapsed in 553.
Croatia was then part of the Byzantine Empire until 1270. It was not until the 7th century AD that Slavic tribes from Galicia settled in the provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia. However, the origin of the self-designation “Croats” is not clear. Most scientists suspect that it is not an ancient Slavic etymology, but an Iranian one, which is said to go back to the Scythians and was simply adopted by the newly settled Slavs. The Christianization of the Croatian population also took place in the 7th century, and the majority of the population is still Catholic today. From 806 onwards, Pannonia and Dalmatia belonged temporarily to the Frankish Empire under Charlemagne, with the first Croatian principalities being documented from around the 8th century.
The Croatian Kingdom and the Union with Hungary
At the beginning of the 9th century, two principalities still existed on Croatian territory, “white” Croatia under Prince Borna on the coast and Pannonian northern Croatia under the rule of Prince Ljudevit. Finally, Prince Branimir seems to have united the principalities into a Croatian kingdom. This is indicated by the title of “regnum croatorum” awarded by Pope John VIII in 879. Under Branimir’s rule, the Croats became independent of both Byzantium and the Franks. However, the first king of Croatia is considered to be Tomislav, who came to power in 924. His Croatian kingdom initially consisted of central Croatia, Slavonia and parts of Dalmatia and Bosnia, later the Adriatic islands and the cities of Split, Trogir and Zadar were added through an alliance with Byzantium. Tomislav successfully defended his kingdom against ever new storms from the Hungarians. Finally, in the year 1000, Croatia, weakened by an incompetent king, fell to the onslaught of the great powers Venice and Hungary. Zadar, Trogir and Split were administered by Venice from then on and the Hungarians laid claim to the territory as the Croatian ruler was married to a Hungarian but died childless. The “pacta conventa” sealed the personal union with Hungary, but at the same time stipulated that the Croatian kingdom from the Drava to the Adriatic was recognized as a whole.
Croatia was administered by a Croatian representative of the Hungarian king, the Ban. The union with Hungary lasted until 1526 and, with some interruptions, in a different form until 1918. During the Turkish wars in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, Croatia was considered a “bulwark of Christianity” against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. For centuries, the country was repeatedly exposed to attacks by Muslim rulers. Parts of the Croatian area belonged to Ottoman territory until the 18th century, others to Venice. The remaining Croatia, in turn, belonged to the Austro-Hungarian ruling house of the Habsburgs from 1527 onwards due to the union with Hungary.
Croatia from 1918 to 1991
Towards the end of the First World War, representatives of the governments of Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia issued the Declaration of Corfu on July 20, 1917, with the aim of creating a common state from these three states. The proclamation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was finally made, after long struggles, on December 1, 1918 by the Serbian heir to the throne. However, the common state was not a success because the individual parties could not reach agreement. The Croatian Peasant Party in particular rejected the agreed monarchical form of government and demanded the proclamation of a republic. The representatives also invoked the right of peoples to self-determination proclaimed by the American President Woodrow Wilson. The Croatian Peasant Party enjoyed a large influx of support from the Croatian population, especially because the abolition of the historical provinces meant that government power was de facto in the hands of the Serbs. The first Yugoslav kingdom collapsed on April 6, 1941, when the Germans invaded during World War II and the Yugoslav king was forced to flee into exile in England.
The fascist Ustaše movement under the leadership of Ante Pavelic collaborated with the Germans and proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia on April 10, 1941. This state was supported both politically and militarily by Germany, especially against the Yugoslav partisans under Josip Broz Tito, a Croat. The partisans enjoyed broad support among the population. After the end of the Second World War, the Socialist Republic of Croatia became a constituent republic of the newly founded Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. The partisan leader Tito became the first Prime Minister of the now Socialist People’s Republic of Yugoslavia on November 29, 1945.
Unlike in the other socialist Eastern Bloc states, Tito broke with Stalin in 1948 – and in the 1960s extensive reforms were carried out that opened up the country to the West. For this reason, tourism was already developing as the most important source of foreign currency on the Adriatic coast at that time. In the 1980s, Yugoslavia suffered a deep economic and political crisis, while at the same time the national consciousness of the Croats grew stronger. From 1990, with the end of the socialist era, the Slovenes and Croats in particular demanded a restructuring of Yugoslavia.
The Croatian War and Independence
On June 25, 1991, the Croatian government finally declared independence. This led to the Croatian War, in which the Yugoslav People’s Army, paramilitaries financed by it, and Croatian separatists fought bloody clashes until 1995. The Federal Republic of Germany recognized the independence of the two countries Croatia and Slovenia on December 23, 1991, and the other states followed suit by 1992. The Croatian army was able to claim military and, as a result, political victory. The country has now recovered from the effects of the war, and the economy has been able to stabilize – thanks in part to flourishing tourism. Croatia has been a member of the European Union since July 1, 2013.