Croat-Serb Coalition
Encyclopedia
The Croat-Serb Coalition (Croatian
-Serbian
: Hrvatsko-srpska koalicija, Хрватско-српска коалиција) was a major political alliance in Austria-Hungary
during the beginning of the 20th century that governed the Croatian lands (crownlands of Croatia-Slavonia
and Dalmatia
). It represented the political idea of a cooperation of Croats
and Serbs
in Austria-Hungary
for mutual benefit. Its main leaders were, at first Frano Supilo
and then Svetozar Pribićević
alone.
The Coalition governed the Croatian lands from 1903 until the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy in 1918 and the Yugoslav unification, when it was by large integrated into the Yugoslav Democratic Party.
, but that idea came to an abrupt end with the revolution of 1848
.
The underlying reason for the formation of the Coalition in the early 1900s was the mass realization that the Hungarian
and Austrian
governments as well as the Italian irredentists all profit from the divisions between the Croats and the Serbs. This became particularly apparent following the popular demonstrations against the Croatian ban
Khuen Hedervary in 1903, where the masses of peasants of Croatian nationality were joined by those of Serbian nationality, and achieved a greater effect.
The Coalition itself originated in the Resolutions of Rijeka and Zadar of October 1905, wherein the groups of individual Croat and Serb parliamentary representatives formulated requests for the improvement of Croatian and Serbian national interests, respectively, focused on the integration of Dalmatia with Croatia-Slavonia and the elevation of the country's position within the monarchy.
By this time, the Party of Rights had also included members of the Croatian People's Party, who had previously split from the Magyarized mainstream faction.
The Social-Democrats and Radicals would later break away from the Coalition.
On December 11, 1905, the Coalition representatives published their political programme. In the Croatian parliamentary election, 1906 they won a majority of seats in the Croatian Parliament.
In 1908, the Coalition won the election again, but it also came under attack from the Vienna Imperial Court, which accused its leadership of grand treason. In 1909, 53 members of the Serb Independent Party were actually put on trial for collaboration with Serbia
in a conspiracy to unite all South Slavs
into a single state. In this politically motivated trial, with the main witness being a police agent provocateur
, the defendants were found guilty with flimsy evidence and given extended prison sentences. However, after the Coalition decided to form a political alliance with the Austro-Hungarian authorities, their members were all pardoned. This came at a cost of having to marginalize their leader Frano Supilo and having to temper their criticism of the government in the Kingdom of Hungary
. Svetozar Pribićević became the new leader and closed a formal agreement with the government in 1913.
The Coalition continued to win elections in 1910 and 1913. It dominated Croatian politics throughout World War I
while continuing to support the state of Austria-Hungary.
Nevertheless, the leaders of the Coalition participated in the Yugoslav Committee
during World War I.
When the war ended and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
was formed, the Coalition fielded 12 representatives in the National Council of the State.
Later the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, and the party dissolved and its former members mostly became advocates of the new government in Belgrade
.
alone) during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
is generally seen as a recreation of the idea, from 1927 until the country's destruction in WWII in 1941.
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
-Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Hrvatsko-srpska koalicija, Хрватско-српска коалиција) was a major political alliance in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
during the beginning of the 20th century that governed the Croatian lands (crownlands of Croatia-Slavonia
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia or Croatia Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was part of the Hungarian Kingdom within the dual Austro-Hungarian state, being within the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen or Transleithania...
and Dalmatia
Kingdom of Dalmatia
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1815 to 1918. Its capital was Zadar.-History:...
). It represented the political idea of a cooperation of Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
for mutual benefit. Its main leaders were, at first Frano Supilo
Frano Supilo
Frano Supilo was a Croatian politician and journalist. He was a major political figure in the twenty years preceding World War I....
and then Svetozar Pribićević
Svetozar Pribicevic
Svetozar Pribićević was an ethnic Serb politician from Croatia who worked hard for creation of unitaristic Yugoslavia. However, he later became a bitter opponent of the same policy and of the dictatorship of king Aleksandar Karađorđević...
alone.
The Coalition governed the Croatian lands from 1903 until the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy in 1918 and the Yugoslav unification, when it was by large integrated into the Yugoslav Democratic Party.
Origins
The previous incarnation of Croat-Serb cooperation in the historical Croatian lands under Austro-Hungarian rule had happened sixty years earlier in the Illyrian movementIllyrian movement
The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...
, but that idea came to an abrupt end with the revolution of 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
.
The underlying reason for the formation of the Coalition in the early 1900s was the mass realization that the Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
and Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
governments as well as the Italian irredentists all profit from the divisions between the Croats and the Serbs. This became particularly apparent following the popular demonstrations against the Croatian ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...
Khuen Hedervary in 1903, where the masses of peasants of Croatian nationality were joined by those of Serbian nationality, and achieved a greater effect.
The Coalition itself originated in the Resolutions of Rijeka and Zadar of October 1905, wherein the groups of individual Croat and Serb parliamentary representatives formulated requests for the improvement of Croatian and Serbian national interests, respectively, focused on the integration of Dalmatia with Croatia-Slavonia and the elevation of the country's position within the monarchy.
Work
The parties which joined the Coalition initially included:- Croatian Party of Rights
- Croatian Progressive Party
- Serb People's Independent PartySerb People's Independent PartySerb People's Independent Party, sometimes just Serb Independent Party was a political party in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, under the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
- Serb People's Radical Party
- Social-Democratic Party
By this time, the Party of Rights had also included members of the Croatian People's Party, who had previously split from the Magyarized mainstream faction.
The Social-Democrats and Radicals would later break away from the Coalition.
On December 11, 1905, the Coalition representatives published their political programme. In the Croatian parliamentary election, 1906 they won a majority of seats in the Croatian Parliament.
In 1908, the Coalition won the election again, but it also came under attack from the Vienna Imperial Court, which accused its leadership of grand treason. In 1909, 53 members of the Serb Independent Party were actually put on trial for collaboration with Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
in a conspiracy to unite all South Slavs
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
into a single state. In this politically motivated trial, with the main witness being a police agent provocateur
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
, the defendants were found guilty with flimsy evidence and given extended prison sentences. However, after the Coalition decided to form a political alliance with the Austro-Hungarian authorities, their members were all pardoned. This came at a cost of having to marginalize their leader Frano Supilo and having to temper their criticism of the government in the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
. Svetozar Pribićević became the new leader and closed a formal agreement with the government in 1913.
The Coalition continued to win elections in 1910 and 1913. It dominated Croatian politics throughout World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
while continuing to support the state of Austria-Hungary.
Nevertheless, the leaders of the Coalition participated in the Yugoslav Committee
Yugoslav Committee
Yugoslav Committee was a political interest group formed by South Slavs from Austria-Hungary during World War I aimed at joining the existing south Slavic nations in an independent state.Founding members included:* Frano Supilo* Ante Trumbić...
during World War I.
When the war ended and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
was formed, the Coalition fielded 12 representatives in the National Council of the State.
Later the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, and the party dissolved and its former members mostly became advocates of the new government in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
Legacy
The Peasant-Democratic Coalition led by Stjepan Radić and Svetozar Pribićević (later Vladko MačekVladko Macek
Vladko Maček was a Croatian politician active within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the first half of the 20th century. He led the Croatian Peasant Party following the assassination of Stjepan Radić, and all through World War II.- Early life :Maček was born to a Slovene-Czech family in the village...
alone) during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
is generally seen as a recreation of the idea, from 1927 until the country's destruction in WWII in 1941.