engleski

British Perspectives on Dalmatia in the 19th Century

The paper is divided in three major segments dealing with the British perspectives of Dalmatia in the 19th Century. This Austrian province on the shores of the Adriatic was a vague eastern European territory, outside of mainstream diplomatic and cultural outreach of the United Kingdom. However, such an absence was created that made Dalmatia somewhat attractive to research and travel. This produced several outstanding volumes of travellers' writing who described Dalmatia with particular interests in place. Some of the most famous are G. Wilkinson, A.A. Paton and T.G Jackson whose particular interests in Dalmatia encompass history, art, culture, customs, society, economy etc. They give us a unique perspective that would be described and analysed in detail. Another approach is to investigate British political stance towards Dalmatia during the 19th century. This province that bordered the Ottoman Empire in the east had important geopolitical significance within the Eastern Question. During the Napoleonic Wars the presence of British Navy in the Adriatic and on the shores of Dalmatia had important part in decreasing the French control of this area. The island of Vis (Lissa) was British outpost in the control of the Adriatic Sea. Significant political interest in Dalmatia was also noted during Crimean War and Austro-Italian wars of 1859 and 1866. Moreover, Dalmatia could be observed as a part of the wider Mediterranean area where British presence during this century was significant and permanent. The final perspective of Dalmatia would be taken out of 19th century British newspapers which would portray Dalmatia as the alluring and unknown territory ready to be discovered by the rising tourist industry. "There is charm in the very name of Dalmatia which surrounds that uncertain sea with peculiar interest" is the sentence from The Times in 1880 that describes the best what was a general view of Dalmatia from British perspective in the 19th century.

Dalmatia; British prerspective; travel accounts; politics

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