engleski

Border-Crossing and Migration in the Croatian and Slavonian Military Frontier in the Early Modern Period

The great geographical discoveries and the emergence of modern cartography, together with the idea of a territorial state, have significantly influenced the changes in the way the border has been conceived during the early modern period. A diffuse image that has prevailed from Antiquity to the late Middle Ages has been replaced by a clear idea of a fixed borderline. The Military Frontier as a wider borderline area had a dual character: on the one hand, it served as a protection zone for the Habsburg hereditary countries and the still unconquered Croatian territories against the Ottoman Empire ; on the other hand, it was an area of intense migration, especially of the Vlach population from the south-eastern Dinaric region. After the suppression of the Ottomans and the first international demarcation of the Croatian territories in 1699/1700, migrations to the Military Frontier have been intensified, both from the central European area as well as the south and south-eastern parts of the Balkan peninsula. The proposed presentation will take upon the role and perception of the borderline with a special focus on Croatia’s Military Frontier region. By exposition and interpretation of several typical examples of border crossings in that area, both before and after the first official demarcation, an attempt will be made at answering the question of how the migration processes bear on the development and strengthening of the early modern state and its institutions.

migration ; borderline ; demarcation ; border-crossing ; Military Frontier ; early modern period

Konferencija je održana online.