Croats

For the 17th-century light cavalry, seeCroats (military unit).

"Croatians" and "Croatian people" redirect here. For the more generic usage, seeCroatians (demonym).

"Croat" redirects here. For the medieval Catalan currency, seeCroat (coin).For the surname, seeCroat (surname).

Croats
Hrvati

Dolazak Hrvata(Arrival of Croats), painting byOton Iveković,representing the migration of Croats to theAdriatic Sea
Total population
c. 7–8 million
Regions with significant populations
Croatia 3,550,000(2021) Bosnia and Herzegovina 544,780(2013)
United States	414,714(2012)–1,200,000(est.)
Germany	500,000(2021)
Chile	400,000
Argentina	250,000
Austria	220,000
Australia	164,362(2021)– 250,000(est.)
Canada	130,280(2021)– 250,000(est.)
New Zealand	100,000
Switzerland	80,000(2021)
Brazil	70,000
Italy	60,000
Slovenia	50,000(est.)
Paraguay	41,502(2023)
France	40,000(est.)
Serbia	39,107(2022)
Sweden	35,000(est.)
Other countries (fewer than 30,000) Hungary 22,995(2016) Ireland 20,000 - 50,000(2019) Netherlands 10,000 Bolivia 10,000 South Africa 8,000 United Kingdom 6,992 Romania 4,842(2021) Montenegro 6,021(2011) Peru 6,000 Colombia 5,800(est.) Denmark 5,400 Norway 5,272 Ecuador 4,000 Slovakia 2,001–2,600 Czech Republic 2,490 Portugal 499 Russia 304
Europe	c. 5,200,000
North America	c. 600,000–2,500,000[a]
South America	c. 500,000–800,000
Other	c. 300,000–350,000
Languages
Croatian (Kajkavian Shtokavian Chakavian)
Religion
Christianity: PredominantlyCatholicism
Related ethnic groups
OtherSouth Slavs
aReferences:

TheCroats(/ˈkroʊæts/;Croatian:Hrvati[xr̩ʋǎːti]) orHorvati(in a more archaic version) are aSouth Slavicethnic groupnative toCroatia,Bosnia and Herzegovinaand other neighboring countries inCentralandSoutheastern Europewho share a common Croatianancestry,culture,historyandlanguage.They also form a sizeable minority in a number of neighboring countries, namelySlovenia,Austria,theCzech Republic,Germany,Hungary,Italy,Montenegro,Romania,SerbiaandSlovakia.

Due to political, social and economic reasons, many Croats migrated to North and South America as well as New Zealand and later Australia, establishing adiasporain the aftermath ofWorld War II,with grassroots assistance from earlier communities and the RomanCatholic Church.In Croatia (thenation state), 3.9 million people identify themselves as Croats, and constitute about 90.4% of the population. Another 553,000 live inBosnia and Herzegovina,where they are one of the threeconstituent ethnic groups,predominantly living in WesternHerzegovina,Central BosniaandBosnian Posavina.The minority inSerbianumber about 70,000, mostly inVojvodina.The ethnicTarara people,indigenous toTe Tai Tokerauin New Zealand, are of mixed Croatian andMāori(predominantlyNgāpuhi) descent.Tarara Dayis celebrated every 15 March to commemorate their "highly regarded place in present-dayMāoridom".

Croats are mostlyCatholics.TheCroatian languageis official inCroatia,theEuropean UnionandBosnia and Herzegovina.Croatian is a recognizedminority languagewithin Croatian autochthonous communities and minorities in Montenegro, Austria (Burgenland), Italy (Molise), Romania (Carașova,Lupac) and Serbia (Vojvodina).

Etymology

Main article:Names of the Croats and Croatia

The foreignethnonymvariation "Croats" of thenative name"Hrvati" derives fromMedieval LatinCroāt,itself a derivation ofNorth-West Slavic*Xərwate,byliquid metathesisfrom Common Slavic period*Xorvat,from proposedProto-Slavic*Xъrvátъwhich possibly comes from the 3rd-centuryScytho-Sarmatianform attested in theTanais TabletsasΧοροάθος(Khoroáthos,alternate forms compriseKhoróatosandKhoroúathos).The origin of the ethnonym is uncertain, but most probably is fromProto-Ossetian/Alanian*xurvæt-or *xurvāt-,in the meaning of "one who guards" ( "guardian, protector" ).

History

Further information:History of Croatia

Arrival of the Slavs

Main articles:Origin hypotheses of the Croats,White Croatia,White Croats,andSlavic migrations to Southeastern Europe

Early Slavs,especiallySclaveniandAntae,including theWhite Croats,invaded and settledSoutheastern Europein the 6th and 7th century.

Early medieval archaeology

Archaeological evidence shows population continuity in coastalDalmatiaandIstria.In contrast, much of theDinarichinterland and appears to have been depopulated, as virtually all hilltop settlements, fromNoricumtoDardania,were abandoned and few appear destroyed in the early 7th century. Although the dating of the earliest Slavic settlements was disputed, recent archaeological data established that the migration and settlement of the Slavs/Croats have been in late 6th and early 7th century.

Croat ethnogenesis

The range of Slavic ceramics of thePrague-Penkovka culturemarked in black, all known ethnonyms of Croats are within this area. Presumable migration routes of Croats are indicated by arrows, per V.V. Sedov (1979).

Much uncertainty revolves around the exact circumstances of their appearance given the scarcity of literary sources during the 7th and 8th centuryMiddle Ages.The ethnonym "Croat" is first attested during the 9th century AD,in the charter of DukeTrpimir;and begins to be widely attested throughout central and eastern Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries.

Traditionally, scholarship has placed the arrival of theWhite CroatsfromGreat/White Croatiain Eastern Europe in the early 7th century, primarily on the basis of the laterByzantinedocumentDe Administrando Imperio.As such, the arrival of the Croats was seen as part of main wave or a second wave of Slavic migrations, which took over Dalmatia fromAvar hegemony.However, as early as the 1970s, scholars questioned the reliability ofPorphyrogenitus' work, written as it was in the 10th century. Rather than being an accurate historical account,De Administrando Imperiomore accurately reflects the political situation during the 10th century. It mainly served as Byzantine propaganda praising EmperorHeracliusfor repopulating theBalkans(previously devastated by theAvars,SclaveniandAntes) with Croats, who were seen by the Byzantines as tributary peoples living on what had always been 'Roman land'.

Scholars have hypothesized the name Croat (Hrvat) may beIranian,thus suggesting that the Croatians were possibly aSarmatiantribe from thePonticregion who were part of a larger movement at the same time that the Slavs were moving toward theAdriatic.The major basis for this connection was the perceived similarity betweenHrvatandinscriptionsfrom theTanaisdated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, mentioning the nameKhoro(u)athos.Similar arguments have been made for an allegedGothic-Croat link. Whilst there is possible evidence of population continuity between Gothic and Croatian times in parts of Dalmatia, the idea of a Gothic origin of Croats was more rooted in 20th centuryUstašepolitical aspirations than historical reality.

Other polities in Dalmatia and Pannonia

Arrival of the Croats to theAdriatic SeabyOton Iveković

Other, distinct polities also existed near the Croat duchy. These included theGuduscans(based in Liburnia),Pagania(between the Cetina andNeretvaRiver),Zachlumia(between Neretva andDubrovnik),Bosnia,andSerbiain other eastern parts of ex-Roman province of "Dalmatia".Also prominent in the territory of future Croatia was the polity of PrinceLjudevitwho ruled the territories between theDravaandSavarivers ( "Pannonia Inferior"), centred from his fort atSisak.Although Duke Liutevid and his people are commonly seen as a "Pannonian Croats", he is, due to the lack of "evidence that they had a sense of Croat identity" referred to asdux Pannoniae Inferioris,or simply a Slav, by contemporary sources.A closer reading of theDAIsuggests that Constantine VII's consideration about the ethnic origin and identity of the population of Lower Pannonia,Pagania,Zachlumiaand other principalities is based on tenth century political rule and does not indicate ethnicity,and although both Croats and Serbs could have been a small military elite which managed to organize other already settled and more numerous Slavs,it is possible that Narentines, Zachlumians and others also arrived as Croats or with Croatian tribal alliance.

The Croats became the dominant local power in northern Dalmatia, absorbing Liburnia and expanding their name by conquest and prestige. In the south, while having periods of independence, the Naretines merged with Croats later under control of Croatian Kings.With such expansion, Croatia became the dominant power and absorbed other polities between Frankish,Bulgarianand Byzantine empire. Although theChronicle of the Priest of Dukljahas been dismissed as an unreliable record, the mentioned "Red Croatia" suggests that Croatian clans and families might have settled as far south asDuklja/Zeta.

Early medieval age

Main articles:Duchy of CroatiaandPrincipality of Lower Pannonia

The lands which constitute modern Croatia fell under three major geographic-politic zones during the Middle Ages, which were influenced by powerful neighbor Empires – notably the Byzantines, the Avars and laterMagyars,FranksandBulgars.Each vied for control of the Northwest Balkan regions. Two independent Slavic dukedoms emerged sometime during the 9th century: theDuchy of CroatiaandPrincipality of Lower Pannonia.

Pannonian Principality ( "Savia" )

Having been under Avar control, lower Pannonia became a march of theCarolingian Empirearound 800. Aided byVojnomirin 796, the first named Slavic Duke of Pannonia, the Franks wrested control of the region from the Avars before totally destroying the Avar realm in 803. After the death ofCharlemagnein 814, Frankish influence decreased on the region, allowing PrinceLjudevit Posavskito raise a rebellion in 819.TheFrankishmargravessent armies in 820, 821 and 822, but each time they failed to crush the rebels.Aided by Borna the Guduscan, the Franks eventually defeated Ljudevit, who withdrew his forces to the Serbs and conquered them, according to the Frankish Annals.

For much of the subsequent period, Savia was probably directly ruled by the CarinthianDuke Arnulf,the future East Frankish King and Emperor. However, Frankish control was far from smooth. TheRoyal Frankish Annalsmention several Bulgar raids, driving up the Sava and Drava rivers, as a result of a border dispute with the Franks, from 827. By a peace treaty in 845, the Franks were confirmed as rulers overSlavonia,whilstSrijemremained under Bulgarian clientage. Later, the expanding power ofGreat Moraviaalso threatened Frankish control of the region. In an effort to halt their influence, the Franks sought alliance with the Magyars, and elevated the local Slavic leaderBraslavin 892, as a more independent Duke over lower Pannonia.

In 896, his rule stretched fromViennaandBudapestto the southern Croat duchies, and included almost the whole of ex-Roman Pannonian provinces. He probably diedc.900 fighting against his former allies, the Magyars.The subsequent history of Savia again becomes murky, and historians are not sure who controlled Savia during much of the 10th century. However, it is likely that the rulerTomislav,the first crowned King, was able to exert much control over Savia and adjacent areas during his reign. It is at this time that sources first refer to a "Pannonian Croatia", appearing in the 10th century Byzantine workDe Administrando Imperio.

Dalmatian Croats

TheDalmatian Croatswere recorded to have been subject to the Kingdom of Italy underLothair I,since 828. The Croatian PrinceMislav(835–845) built up a formidable navy, and in 839 signed a peace treaty withPietro Tradonico,doge of Venice.The Venetians soon proceeded to battle with the independent Slavic pirates of thePaganiaregion, but failed to defeat them. The Bulgarian kingBoris I(called by theByzantine EmpireArchont of Bulgaria after he made Christianity the official religion of Bulgaria) also waged a lengthy war against the Dalmatian Croats, trying to expand his state to theAdriatic.

The Croatian PrinceTrpimir I(845–864) succeeded Mislav. In 854, there was a great battle between Trpimir's forces and the Bulgars. Neither side emerged victorious, and the outcome was the exchange of gifts and the establishment of peace. Trpimir I managed to consolidate power over Dalmatia and much of the inland regions towardsPannonia,while instituting counties as a way of controlling his subordinates (an idea he picked up from the Franks). The first known written mention of the Croats, dates from 4 March 852, instatuteby Trpimir. Trpimir is remembered as the initiator of theTrpimirović dynasty,that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from 845 until 1091. After his death, an uprising was raised by a powerful nobleman fromKnin–Domagoj,and his sonZdeslavwas exiled with his brothers, Petar andMuncimirtoConstantinople.

Facing a number of naval threats bySaracensand Byzantine Empire, the Croatian Prince Domagoj (864–876) built up the Croatian navy again and helped the coalition of emperorLouis IIand the Byzantine toconquer Bariin 871. During Domagoj's reignpiracywas a common practice, and he forced the Venetians to start paying tribute for sailing near the eastern Adriatic coast. After Domagoj's death, Venetian chronicles named him "The worst duke of Slavs", whilePope John VIIIreferred to Domagoj in letters as "Famous duke". Domagoj's son, of unknown name, ruled shortly between 876 and 878 with his brothers. They continued the rebellion, attacked the western Istrian towns in 876, but were subsequently defeated by the Venetian navy. Their ground forces defeated the Pannonian dukeKocelj(861–874) who was suzerain to the Franks, and thereby shed the Frankish vassal status. Wars of Domagoj and his son liberated Dalmatian Croats from supreme Franks rule. Zdeslav deposed him in 878 with the help of the Byzantines. He acknowledged the supreme rule ofByzantine EmperorBasil I.In 879, thePopeasked for help from prince Zdeslav for an armed escort for his delegates across southern Dalmatia andZahumlje,but on early May 879, Zdeslav was killed near Knin in an uprising led byBranimir,a relative of Domagoj, instigated by the Pope, fearing Byzantine power.

Branimir's (879–892) own actions were approved from theHoly Seeto bring the Croats further away from the influence ofByzantiumand closer to Rome. Duke Branimir wrote toPope John VIIIaffirming this split from Byzantine and commitment to theRoman Papacy.During the solemn divine service inSt. Peter'schurch inRomein 879, John VIII] gave his blessing to the duke and the Croatian people, about which he informed Branimir in his letters, in which Branimir was recognized as the Duke of the Croats (Dux Chroatorum).During his reign, Croatia retained its sovereignty from both theHoly Roman EmpireandByzantinerule, and became a fully recognized state.After Branimir's death, PrinceMuncimir(892–910), Zdeslav's brother, took control of Dalmatia and ruled it independently of both Rome and Byzantium asdivino munere Croatorum dux(with God's help, duke of Croats). In Dalmatia, dukeTomislav(910–928) succeeded Muncimir. Tomislav successfully repelled Magyar mounted invasions of theArpads,expelled them over theSava River,and united (western) Pannonian and Dalmatian Croats into one state.

Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)

Main article:Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)

Coronation of King Tomislav byOton Iveković.

Tomislav(910–928) became king of Croatia by 925. The chief piece of evidence that Tomislav was crowned king comes in the form of a letter dated 925, surviving only in 16th-century copies, fromPope John Xcalling Tomislavrex Chroatorum.According toDe Administrando Imperio,Tomislav's army and navy could have consisted approximately 100,000infantryunits, 60,000 cavaliers, and 80 larger (sagina) and 100 smallerwarships(condura), but generally isn't taken as credible.According to thepalaeographicanalysis of the original manuscript ofDe Administrando Imperio,an estimation of the number of inhabitants in medieval Croatia between 440 and 880 thousand people, and military numbers of Franks and Byzantines – the Croatian military force was most probably composed of 20,000–100,000 infantrymen, and 3,000–24,000 horsemen organized in 60allagions.The Croatian Kingdom as an ally of Byzantine Empire was in conflict with the risingBulgarian Empireruled by TsarSimeon I.In 923, due to a deal of Pope John X and a Patriarch of Constantinopole, the sovereignty of Byzantinecoastal citiesin Dalmatia came under Tomislav's Governancy. The war escalated on 27 May 927, in thebattle of the Bosnian Highlands,after Serbs were conquered and some fled to the Croatian Kingdom. There Croats under leadership of their king Tomislav completely defeated the Bulgarian army led by military commanderAlogobotur,and stopped Simeon's extension westwards.The central town in the Duvno field was namedTomislavgrad( "Tomislav's town" ) in his honour in the 20th century.

Tomislav was succeeded byTrpimir II(928–935), andKrešimir I(935–945), this period, on the whole, however, is obscure.Miroslav(945–949) was killed by his banPribinaduring an internal power struggle, losing part of islands and coastal cities.Krešimir II(949–969) kept particularly good relations with the Dalmatian cities, while his sonStjepan Držislav(969–997) established better relations with the Byzantine Empire and received a formal authority over Dalmatian cities. His three sons,Svetoslav(997–1000),Krešimir III(1000–1030) andGojslav(1000–1020), opened a violent contest for the throne, weakening the state and further losing control. Krešimir III and his brother Gojslav co-ruled from 1000 until 1020, and attempted to restore control over lost Dalmatian cities now under Venetian control. Krešimir was succeeded by his sonStjepan I(1030–1058), who continued his ambitions of spreading rule over the coastal cities, and during whose rule was established the diocese of Knin between 1040 and 1050 which bishop had the nominal title of "Croatian bishop" (Latin:episcopus Chroatensis).

Krešimir IV(1058–1074) managed to get the Byzantine Empire to confirm him as the supreme ruler of the Dalmatian cities.Croatia under Krešimir IV was composed of twelve counties and was slightly larger than in Tomislav's time, and included the closest southern Dalmatian duchy of Pagania.From the outset, he continued the policies of his father, but was immediately commanded byPope Nicholas IIfirst in 1059 and then in 1060 to further reform the Croatian church in accordance with theRoman rite.This was especially significant to the papacy in the aftermath of theGreat Schism of 1054.

Baška tablet,which is the oldest evidence of theglagolitic script,mentions kingZvonimir.

He was succeeded byDmitar Zvonimir,who was of the Svetoslavić branch of theHouse of Trpimirović,and aBan of Slavonia(1064–1075). He wascrownedon 8 October 1076atSolinin theBasilica of Saint Peter and Moses(known today asHollow Church) by a representative ofPope Gregory VII.

He was in conflict with dukes ofIstria,while historical recordsAnnales CarinthiæandChronica Hungarorumnote he invadedCarinthiato aid Hungary in war during 1079/83, but this is disputed. Unlike Petar Krešimir IV, he was also an ally of theNormans,with whom he joined in wars against Byzantium. He married in 1063Helen of Hungary,the daughter of KingBela Iof the HungarianÁrpád dynasty,and the sister of the future KingLadislaus I.As King Zvonimir died in 1089 in unknown circumstances, with no direct heir to succeed him,Stjepan II(r. 1089–1091) last of the main Trpimirović line came to the throne but reigned for two years.

After his death civil war and unrest broke out shortly afterward as northern nobles decided Ladislaus I for the Croatian King. In 1093, southern nobles elected a new ruler, KingPetar Snačić(r. 1093–1097), who managed to unify the Kingdom around his capital ofKnin.His army resisted repelling Hungarian assaults, and restored Croatian rule up to the riverSava.He reassembled his forces in Croatia and advanced onGvozd Mountain,where he met the main Hungarian army led by KingColoman I of Hungary.In 1097, in theBattle of Gvozd Mountain,the last native king Peter was killed and the Croats were decisively defeated (because of this, the mountain was this time renamed toPetrova Gora,"Peter's Mountain", but identified with the wrong mountain). In 1102, Coloman returned to the Kingdom of Croatia in force, and negotiated with the Croatian feudal lords resulting in joining of Hungarian and Croatian crowns (with the crown of Dalmatia held separate from that of Croatia).

According toThe New Cambridge Medieval History,"at the beginning of the eleventh century the Croats lived in two more or less clearly defined regions" of the "Croatian lands" which "were now divided into three districts" including Slavonia/Pannonian Croatia (between rivers Sava and Drava) on one side and Croatia/Dalmatian littoral (betweenGulf of Kvarnerand rivers Vrbas and Neretva) and Bosnia (aroundriver Bosna) on other side.

Personal union with Hungary (1102–1918)

Main articles:Croatia in personal union with HungaryandCroatian-Ottoman Wars

Pacta Conventa,is a historical document by which Croatia agreed to enter a personal union with Hungary. Although the validity of the document itself is disputed, Croatia did keep considerable autonomy.

In the 11th and 12th centuries "the Croats were never unified under a strong central government. They lived in different areas - Pannonian Croatia, Dalmatian Croatia, Bosnia - which were at times ruled by indigenous kings but more frequently controlled by agents of Byzantium, Venice and Hungary. Even during periods of relatively strong centralized government, local lords frequently enjoyed an almost autonomous status".

In the union with Hungary, institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained through theSabor(an assembly of Croatian nobles) and the ban (viceroy). In addition, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles.Coloman retained the institution of the Sabor and relieved the Croatians of taxes on their land. Coloman's successors continued to crown themselves as Kings of Croatia separately inBiograd na Moru.The Hungarian king also introduced a variant of thefeudal system.Largefiefswere granted to individuals who would defend them against outside incursions thereby creating a system for the defence of the entire state. However, by enabling the nobility to seize more economic and military power, the kingdom itself lost influence to the powerful noble families. In Croatia theŠubićwere one of the oldest Croatian noble families and would become particularly influential and important, ruling the area betweenZrmanjaand theKrkarivers. The local noble family fromKrkisland (who later took the surnameFrankopan) is often considered the second most important medieval family, as ruled over northern Adriatic and is responsible for the adoption of one of oldest Europeanstatutes,Law codex of Vinodol(1288). Both families gave many native bans of Croatia. Other powerful families wereNelipićfromDalmatian Zagora(14th–15th centuries);Kačićwho ruled overPaganiaand were famous for piracy and wars against Venice (12th–13th centuries);Kurjakovićfamily, a branch of the old Croatian noble family Gusić fromKrbava(14th–16th centuries);Babonićwho ruled from westernKupato easternVrbasandBosnarivers, and were bans of Slavonia (13th–14th centuries);Iločkifamily who ruled over Slavonian stronghold-cities, and in the 15th century rose to power. During this period, theKnights Templarand theKnights Hospitalleralso acquired considerable property and assets in Croatia.

In the second half of the 13th century, during theÁrpádandAnjoudynasty struggle, the Šubić family became hugely powerful underPaul I Šubić of Bribir,who was the longest Croatian Ban (1274–1312), conquering Bosnia and declaring himself "Lord of all of Bosnia" (1299–1312). He appointed his brotherMladen I Šubićas Ban of Bosnia (1299–1304), and helpedCharles Ifrom House of Anjou to be the King of Hungary. After his death in 1312, his sonMladen II Šubićwas the Ban of Bosnia (1304–1322) and Ban of Croatia (1312–1322). The kings from House of Anjou intended to strengthen the kingdom by uniting their power and control, but to do so they had to diminish the power of the higher nobility. Charles I had already tried to crash the aristocratic privileges, intention finished by his sonLouis the Great(1342–1382), relying on the lower nobility and towns. Both kings ruled without the Parliament, and inner nobility struggles only helped them in their intentions. This led to Mladen's defeat at thebattle of Bliskain 1322 by a coalition of several Croatian noblemen and Dalmatian coastal towns with support of the King himself, in exchange of Šubić's castle ofOstrovicaforZrin Castlein Central Croatia (thus this branch was namedZrinski) in 1347. Eventually, the Babonić and Nelipić families also succumbed to the king's offensive against nobility, but with the increasing process of power centralization, Louis managed to force Venice by theTreaty of Zadarin 1358 to give up their possessions in Dalmatia. When King Louis died without successor, the question of succession remained open. The kingdom once again entered the time of internal unrest. Besides King Louis's daughterMary,Charles III of Napleswas the closest king male relative with claims to the throne. In February 1386, two months after his coronation, he was assassinated by order of the queenElizabeth of Bosnia.His supporters, bansJohn of Palisna,John Horvatand Stjepan Lacković planned a rebellion, and managed to capture and imprison Elizabeth and Mary. By orders of John of Palisna, Elizabeth was strangled. In retaliation, Magyars crowned Mary's husbandSigismund of Luxembourg.

Croatia in personal union with Hungary andOttoman expansionin the region in 1500

King Sigismund's army was catastrophically defeated at theBattle of Nicopolis(1396) as theOttoman invasionwas getting closer to the borders of the Hungarian-Croatian kingdom. Without news about the king after the battle, the then ruling Croatian banStjepan Lackovićand nobles invited Charles III's sonLadislaus of Naplesto be the new king.This resulted in theBloody Sabor of Križevciin 1397, loss of interest in the crown by Ladislaus and selling of Dalmatia to Venice in 1403, and spreading of Croatian names to the north, with those of Slavonia to the east. The dynastic struggle didn't end, and with the Ottoman invasion on Bosnia the first short raids began in Croatian territory, defended only by local nobles.

Zrínyi'scharge on the Turks from the Fortress of Szigetvár,bySimon Hollósy

As theTurkish incursion into Europestarted, Croatia once again became a border area between two major forces in theBalkans.Croatian military troops fought in many battles under command ofItalianFranciscanpriestfraJohn Capistrano,the HungarianGeneralissimoJohn Hunyadi,and Hungarian KingMatthias Corvinus,like in the Hunyadi'slong campaign(1443–1444),battle of Varna(1444), secondbattle of Kosovo (1448),and contributed to the Christian victories over theOttomansin thesiege of Belgrade (1456)andSiege of Jajce(1463). At the time they suffered a major defeat in thebattle of Krbava field(Lika,Croatia) in 1493 and gradually lost increasing amounts of territory to the Ottoman Empire.Pope Leo Xcalled Croatia theforefront of Christianity (Antemurale Christianitatis)in 1519, given that several Croatian soldiers made significant contributions to the struggle against theOttoman Turks.Among them there werebanPetar Berislavićwho won a victory atDubicaon theUnariver in 1513, the captain ofSenjand prince ofKlisPetar Kružić,who defended theKlis Fortressfor almost 25 years, captainNikola Jurišićwho deterred by a magnitude larger Turkish force on their way to Vienna in 1532, or banNikola IV Zrinskiwho helped savePestfrom occupation in 1542 and fought in theBattle of Szigetvarin 1566. During the Ottoman conquest tens of thousands of Croats were taken in Turkey, where they became slaves.

TheBattle of Mohács(1526) and the death of KingLouis IIended the Hungarian-Croatian union. In 1526, the Hungarian parliament elected two separate kingsJános SzapolyaiandFerdinand I Habsburg,but the choice of the Croatian saborat Cetinprevailed on the side of Ferdinand I, as they elected him as the new king of Croatia on 1 January 1527,uniting both lands under Habsburg rule. In return they were promised the historic rights, freedoms, laws and defence of Croatian Kingdom.

TheCetingrad Charterfrom 1 January 1527, when Croatian Sabor elected theHabsburg monarchy.

However, the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom was not enough well prepared and organized and the Ottoman Empire expanded further in the 16th century to include most of Slavonia, western Bosnia andLika.For the sake of stopping the Ottoman conquering and possible assault on the capital of Vienna, the large areas of Croatia and Slavonia (even Hungary and Romania) bordering the Ottoman Empire were organized as aMilitary Frontierwhich was ruled directly from Vienna military headquarters.The invasion caused migration of Croats, and the area which became deserted was subsequently settled bySerbs,Vlachs,Germansand others. The negative effects offeudalismescalated in 1573 when the peasants in northern Croatia and Sloveniarebelledagainst their feudal lords due to various injustices. After the fall ofBihaćfort in 1592, only small areas of Croatia remained unrecovered. The remaining 16,800 square kilometres (6,487 sq mi) were referred to as thereliquiae reliquiarum of the once great Croatian kingdom.

Croats stopped the Ottoman advance in Croatia at thebattle of Sisakin 1593, 100 years after the defeat at Krbava field, and the shortLong Turkish Warended with thePeace of Zsitvatorokin 1606, after which Croatian classes tried unsuccessfully to have their territory on the Military Frontier restored to rule by the Croatian Ban, managing only to restore a small area of lost territory but failed to regain large parts of Croatian Kingdom (present-day westernBosnia and Herzegovina), as the present-day border between the two countries is a remnant of this outcome.

Croatian national revival (1593–1918)

Main articles:Habsburg CroatiaandAustria-Hungary

In the first half of the 17th century, Croats fought in theThirty Years' Waron the side ofHoly Roman Empire,mostly as light cavalry under command of imperial generalissimoAlbrecht von Wallenstein.Croatian Ban,Juraj V Zrinski,also fought in the war, but died in a military camp nearBratislava,Slovakia,as he was poisoned by von Wallenstein after a verbal duel. His son, future ban and captain-general of Croatia,Nikola Zrinski,participated during the closing stages of the war.

Peter Zrinyi and Ferenc Frangepán in the Wiener-Neustadt PrisonbyViktor Madarász.

In 1664, the Austrian imperial army was victorious against the Turks, but EmperorLeopoldfailed to capitalize on the success when he signed thePeace of Vasvárin which Croatia and Hungary were prevented from regaining territory lost to the Ottoman Empire. This caused unrest among the Croatian and Hungarian nobility which plotted against the emperor. Nikola Zrinski participated in launching the conspiracy which later came to be known as theMagnate conspiracy,but he soon died, and the rebellion was continued by his brother, Croatian banPetar Zrinski,Fran Krsto FrankopanandFerenc Wesselényi.Petar Zrinski, along the conspirators, went on a wide secret diplomatic negotiations with a number of nations, includingLouis XIV of France,thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,Sweden,theRepublic of Veniceand even theOttoman Empire,to free Croatia from the Habsburg sovereignty.

Imperial spies uncovered the conspiracy and on 30 April 1671 executed four esteemed Croatian and Hungarian noblemen involved in it, including Zrinski and Frankopan inWiener Neustadt.The large estates of two most powerful Croatian noble houses were confiscated and their families relocated, soon after extinguished. Between 1670 and the revolution of 1848, there would be only 2 bans of Croatian nationality. The period from 1670 to the Croatian cultural revival in the 19th century was Croatia's political Dark Age. Meanwhile, with the victories over Turks, Habsburgs all the more insistent they spent centralization and germanization, new regained lands in liberated Slavonia started giving to foreign families as feudal goods, at the expense of domestic element. Because of this the Croatian Sabor was losing its significance, and the nobility less attended it, yet went only to the one in Hungary.

The CroatianSabor(Parliament) in 1848, by Dragutin Weingärtner

In the 18th century, Croatia was one of the crown lands that supported EmperorCharles'sPragmatic Sanction of 1713and supported EmpressMaria Theresain theWar of the Austrian Successionof 1741–48. Subsequently, the empress made significant contributions to Croatian matters, by making several changes in the feudal and tax system, administrative control of the Military Frontier, in 1745 administratively united Slavonia with Croatia and in 1767 organized Croatian royal council with the ban on head, however, she ignored and eventually disbanded it in 1779, and Croatia was relegated to just one seat in the governing council of Hungary, held by thebanof Croatia. To fight the Austrian centralization and absolutism, Croats passed their rights to the united government in Hungary, thus to together resist the intentions from Vienna. But the connection with Hungary soon adversely affected the position of Croats, because Magyars in the spring of their nationalism tried to Magyarize Croats, and make Croatia a part of a united Hungary. Because of this pretensions, the constant struggles between Croats and Magyars emerged, and lasted until 1918. Croats were fighting in unfavorable conditions, against both Vienna and Budapest, while divided on Banska Hrvatska, Dalmatia and Military Frontier. In such a time, with the fall of theVenetian Republicin 1797, its possessions in easternAdriaticmostly came under the authority of France which passed its rights to Austria the same year. Eight years later they were restored to France as theIllyrian Provinces,but won back to the Austrian crown 1815. Though now part of the same empire, Dalmatia and Istria were part ofCisleithaniawhile Croatia and Slavonia were in Hungarian part of the Monarchy.

The national revival began with theIllyrian movementin 1830.

In the 19th century Croatianromantic nationalismemerged to counteract the non-violent but apparentGermanizationandMagyarization.The Croatian national revival began in the 1830s with theIllyrian movement.The movement attracted a number of influential figures and produced some important advances in theCroatian languageand culture. The champion of the Illyrian movement wasLjudevit Gajwho also reformed and standardized Croatian. The official language in Croatia had been Latin until 1847, when it became Croatian. The movement relied on a South Slavic and Panslavistic conception, and its national, political and social ideas were advanced at the time.

By the 1840s, the movement had moved from cultural goals to resisting Hungarian political demands. By the royal order of 11 January 1843, originating from the chancellorMetternich,the use of the Illyrian name and insignia in public was forbidden.

Modern political history of the Balkans from 1796 onwards.

This deterred the movement's progress but it couldn't stop the changes in the society that had already started. On 25 March 1848, was conducted a political petition "Zahtijevanja naroda",which program included thirty national, social and liberal principles, like Croatian national independence, annexation of Dalmatia and Military Frontier, independence from Hungary as far as finance, language, education, freedom of speech and writing, religion, nullification of serfdom etc. In therevolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire,the CroatianBanJelačićcooperated with the Austrians in quenching theHungarian Revolution of 1848by leading a military campaign into Hungary, successful until theBattle of Pákozd.

Croatia was later subject to Hungarian hegemony under banLevin Rauchwhen the Empire was transformed into a dual monarchy ofAustria-Hungaryin 1867. Nevertheless, Ban Jelačić had succeeded in the abolition ofserfdomin Croatia, which eventually brought about massive changes in society: the power of the major landowners was reduced and arable land became increasingly subdivided, to the extent of risking famine. Many Croatians began emigrating to theNew Worldcountries in this period, a trend that would continue over the next century, creating a large Croatiandiaspora.

From 1804 to 1918, as many as 395 Croats received the rank ofgeneraloradmiral,of which 379 in the army of theAustro-Hungarian Monarchy,8 in theRussian Empire,two each in the French and Hungarian armies, and one each in the armies of theOttoman Empire,theRepublic of Venice,Portuguese Empireand Serbia.By rank, 173 werebrigadier generals,142major generals,55lieutenant generals,two generals, threestaff generals,17rear admirals,oneviceadmiraland two admirals.

Modern history (1918–present)

Main articles:State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs;Kingdom of Yugoslavia;Independent State of Croatia;SFR Yugoslavia;andRepublic of Croatia

After theFirst World Waranddissolution of Austria-Hungary,most Croats were united within theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,created by unification of the short-livedState of SHSwith theKingdom of Serbia.Croats became one of the constituent nations of the new kingdom. The state was transformed into theKingdom of Yugoslaviain 1929 and the Croats were united in the new nation with their neighbors – the South Slavs-Yugoslavs.

In 1939, the Croats received a high degree of autonomy when theBanovina of Croatiawas created, which united almost all ethnic Croatian territories within the Kingdom. In theSecond World War,theAxis forcescreated theIndependent State of Croatialed by theUstašemovement which sought to create an ethnically pure Croatian state on the territory corresponding to present-day countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Post-WWIIYugoslaviabecame afederationconsisting of 6 republics, and Croats became one of twoconstituent peoplesof two – Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croats in the Serbian autonomous province ofVojvodinaare one of six main ethnic groups composing this region.

Following the democratization of society, accompanied with ethnic tensions that emerged ten years after the death ofJosip Broz Tito,the Republic of Croatia declared independence, which was followed bywar.In the first years of the war, over 200,000 Croats were displaced from their homes as a result of the military actions. In the peak of the fighting, around 550,000 ethnic Croats were displaced altogether during the Yugoslav wars.

Post-war government's policy of easing the immigration of ethnic Croats from abroad encouraged a number of Croatian descendants to return to Croatia. The influx was increased by the arrival of Croatian refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the war's end in 1995, most Croatian refugees returned to their previous homes, while some (mostly Croat refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Janjevci from Kosovo) moved into the formerly-held Serbian housing.

Genetics

Main article:Genetic studies on Croats

Genetically,on theY-chromosome DNAline, a majority (65%) of male Croats from Croatia belong to haplogroupsI2(39%-40%) andR1a(22%-24%), while a minority (35%) belongs to haplogroupsE(10%),R1b(6%-7%),J(6%-7%),I1(5-8%),G(2%), and others in <2% traces.The distribution, variance and frequency of the I2 and R1a subclades (>65%) among Croats are related to the early medievalSlavic migrations to Southeastern Europe,most probably from the territory of present-day Ukraine and Southeastern Poland.Genetically, on the maternalmitochondrial DNAline, a majority (>65%) of Croats from Croatia (mainland and coast) belong to three of the eleven major European mtDNA haplogroups –H(45%),U(17.8–20.8%),J(3–11%), while a large minority (>35%) belongs to many other smaller haplogroups.Based onautosomalIBDsurvey the speakers of Croatian share a very high number of common ancestors dated to themigration periodapproximately 1,500 years ago with Poland and Romania-Bulgaria clusters among others in Eastern Europe. It was caused by the early medieval Slavic migrations, a small population which expanded into vast regions of "low population density beginning in the sixth century".Other IBD andadmixturestudies also found even patterns of admixture events among South, East and West Slavs at the time and area of Slavic expansion, and that the shared ancestral Balto-Slavic component among South Slavs is between 55 and 70%.A 2023archaeogeneticstudy showed that the Croats roughly have 66.5% Central-Eastern European early medieval Slavic-ancestry, 31.2% local Roman and 2.4% West Anatolian ancestry.

Language

Further information:Croatian language

Location map of Croatian dialects.

Map ofShtokaviandialects

Croats primarily speakCroatian,aSouth Slaviclect of the Western South Slavic subgroup. Standard Croatian is considered anormative varietyofSerbo-Croatian,and ismutually intelligiblewith the other three national standards,Serbian,Bosnian,andMontenegrin(seeComparison of standard Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian) which are all based on theShtokavian dialect.

Besides Shtokavian, Croats from the Adriatic coastline speak theChakavian dialect,while Croats from the continental northwestern part of Croatia speak theKajkavian dialect.Vernacular texts in the Chakavian dialect first appeared in the 13th century, and Shtokavian texts appeared a century later. Standardization began in the period sometimes called "Baroque Slavism" in the first half of the 17th century,while some authors date it back to the end of the 15th century.The modern Neo-Shtokavian standard that appeared in the mid 18th century was the first unified standard Croatian.Croatian is written inGaj's Latin alphabet.

The beginning of written Croatian can be traced to the 9th century, whenOld Church Slavonicwas adopted as the language of the Divineliturgyof St. John Chrysostom and the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil. This language was gradually adapted to non-liturgical purposes and became known as the Croatian version of Old Slavonic. The two variants of the language, liturgical and non-liturgical, continued to be a part of theGlagoliticservice as late as the middle of the 19th century. The earliest known Croatian Church Slavonic Glagolitic areVienna Foliosfrom the late 11th/early 12th century.Until the end of the 11th century Croatian medieval texts were written in three scripts:Latin,Glagolitic, andCyrillic,and also in three languages: Croatian,Latin,and Old Slavonic. The latter developed into what is referred to as the Croatian variant ofChurch Slavonicbetween the 12th and 16th centuries.

The most important early monument of Croatian literacy is theBaška tabletfrom the late 11th century.It is a large stone tablet found in the smallChurch of St. Lucy, Jurandvoron the Croatian island ofKrkwhich contains text written mostly in Chakavian, today a dialect of Croatian, and in Shtokavianangular Glagoliticscript. It mentionsZvonimir,the king of Croatia at the time. However, the luxurious and ornate representative texts of Croatian Church Slavonic belong to the later era, when they coexisted with the Croatian vernacular literature. The most notable are the "Missalof Duke Novak "from the Lika region in northwestern Croatia (1368)," Evangel from Reims "(1395, named after the town of its final destination),Hrvoje's Missalfrom Bosnia and Split in Dalmatia (1404).and the first printed book in Croatian, the GlagoliticMissale Romanum Glagolitice(1483).

During the 13th century Croatian vernacular texts began to appear, the most important among them being the "Istrian Land Survey" of 1275 and the "Vinodol Codex"of 1288, both written in the Chakavian dialect.

TheShtokavian dialectliterature, based almost exclusively on Chakavian original texts of religious provenance (missals,breviaries,prayer books) appeared almost a century later. The most important purely Shtokavian dialect vernacular text is theVatican Croatian Prayer Book(ca. 1400).

Bunjevac dialect

Further information:Bunjevac dialect

The Bunjevac dialect (bunjevački dijalekt)or Bunjevac speech (bunjevački govor)is a Neo-ShtokavianYounger Ikaviandialect of theSerbo-Croatianpluricentric language,used by members of theBunjevaccommunity. It is an integral part of the cultural heritage of the Bunjevac Croats in northernSerbia(Vojvodina) and parts of southernHungary.Their accent is purely Ikavian, with/i/for the Common Slavic vowelsyat.Its speakers largely use theLatin alphabet.TheInstitute of Croatian Language and Linguisticslaunched a proposal, in March 2021, to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, to add Bunjevac dialect to the List of ProtectedIntangible Cultural Heritageof the Republic of Croatia,and was approved on 8 October 2021.

Religion

Main article:Catholic Church in Croatia

See also:Slavic Native Faith § Southern and Western Slavic nations

Alojzije Stepinac

Zagreb Cathedral

Croats are predominantly Catholic, and before Christianity, they adhered toSlavic paganismorRoman paganism.The earliest record of contact between thePopeand the Croats dates from a mid-7th century entry in theLiber Pontificalis.Pope John IV(John the Dalmatian, 640–642) sent an abbot named Martin toDalmatiaandIstriain order to pay ransom for some prisoners and for the remains of old Christian martyrs. This abbot is recorded to have travelled through Dalmatia with the help of the Croatian leaders, and he established the foundation for future relations between the Pope and the Croats.

The beginnings of theChristianizationare also disputed in the historical texts: the Byzantine texts talk of Duke Porin who started this at the incentive of emperorHeraclius(610–641), then of Duke Porga who mainly Christianized his people after the influence of missionaries from Rome. However, it can be realiably said that the Christianisation of Croats began in the 7th century, initially probably encompassed only the elite and related people,but mostly finished by the 9th century.The earliest known Croatian autographs from the 8th century are found in the LatinGospel of Cividale.

Croats were never obliged to use Latin—rather, they heldmassesin their own language and used the Glagolitic alphabet.In 1886 it arrived to thePrincipality of Montenegro,followed by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1914, and theRepublic of Czechoslovakiain 1920, but only for feast days of the main patron saints. The 1935 concordat with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia anticipated the introduction of the Church Slavonic for all Croatian regions and throughout the entire state.

Smaller groups of Croats adhere to other religions, likeEastern Orthodoxy(esp. inŽumberakarea),ProtestantismandIslam.According to an official population census of Croatia by ethnicity and religion, roughly 16,600 ethnic Croats adhered to Orthodoxy, roughly 8,000 were Protestants, roughly 10,500 described themselves as "other" Christians, and roughly 9,600 were followers of Islam.

Culture

Tradition

Main article:Culture of Croatia

Alkais a traditional knights' competition.

Istrian scale in Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor (1922), 1st mvt., bars 13–20 (); flat fifth marked with asterisk

The area settled by Croats has a large diversity of historical and cultural influences, as well as the diversity of terrain and geography. The coastland areas of Dalmatia andIstriawere subject toRoman Empire,Venetianand Italian rule; central regions likeLikaand westernHerzegovinawere a scene of battlefield against the Ottoman Empire, and have strong epic traditions. In the northern plains,Austro-Hungarianrule has left its marks. The most distinctive features of Croatianfolkloreincludeklapaensembles of Dalmatia,tamburitzaorchestras ofSlavonia.Folk arts are performed at special events and festivals, perhaps the most distinctive beingAlkaofSinj,a traditional knights' competition celebrating the victory against Ottoman Turks. The epic tradition is also preserved in epic songs sung withgusle.Various types ofkolocircular dance are also encountered throughout Croatia.

UNESCO | Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Croatia

List of Cultural Intangible Heritage e.g.:

• "Bećaracsinging and playing from Eastern Croatia ";
• "Festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik";
• "Gingerbread craft from Northern Croatia";
• "Klapamultipart singing of Dalmatia, southern Croatia ";
• "Lacemaking in Croatia";
• "Međimurska popevka,a folksong from Međimurje ";
• "Nijemo Kolo,silent circle dance of the Dalmatian hinterland ";
• "ProcessionZa Križen('following the cross') ";
• "Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice (queens) from Gorjani";
• "Traditional manufacturing of children'swooden toys of Hrvatsko Zagorje";
• "Two-part singing and playing in theIstrian scale";
• "Zvončari, annual carnival bell ringers' pageant from the Kastav area."

Arts

Main articles:Croatian art,Architecture of Croatia,andCroatian literature

Grgur Ninskistatue byIvan Meštrović,with a tower of theDiocletian's Palacein the background

Architecture in Croatia reflects the influences of bordering nations. Austrian and Hungarian influence is visible in public spaces and buildings in the north and in the central regions, architecture found along the coasts of Dalmatia and Istria exhibits Venetian influence.Large squares named after culture heroes, well-groomed parks, and pedestrian-only zones, are features of these orderly towns and cities, especially where large scaleBaroqueurban planning took place, for instance inVaraždinandKarlovac.Subsequent influence of theArt Nouveauwas reflected in contemporary architecture.Along the coast, the architecture is Mediterranean with a strong Venetian and Renaissance influence in major urban areas exemplified in works ofGiorgio da SebenicoandNiccolò Fiorentinosuch as theCathedral of St. JamesinŠibenik. The oldest preserved examples of Croatian architecture are the 9th-century churches, with the largest and the most representative among them being theChurch of St. Donatus.

Besides the architecture encompassing the oldest artworks in Croatia, there is a long history of artists in Croatia reaching to the Middle Ages. In that period the stone portal of theTrogir Cathedralwas made byRadovan,representing the most important monument ofRomanesquesculpture in Croatia. TheRenaissancehad the greatest impact on the Adriatic Sea coast since the remainder of Croatia was embroiled in theHundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War.With the waning of the Ottoman Empire, art flourished during theBaroqueandRococo.The 19th and the 20th centuries brought about the affirmation of numerous Croatian artisans, helped by several patrons of the arts such as bishopJosip Juraj Strossmayer.Croatian artists of the period achieving worldwide renown wereVlaho BukovacandIvan Meštrović.

TheBaška tablet,a stone inscribed with the Glagolitic alphabet found on theKrkisland which is dated to 1100, is considered to be the oldest surviving prose in Croatian.The beginning of more vigorous development of Croatian literature is marked by the Renaissance andMarko Marulić.Besides Marulić, Renaissance playwrightMarin Držić,Baroque poetIvan Gundulić,Croatian national revivalpoetIvan Mažuranić,novelist, playwright and poetAugust Šenoa,poet and writerAntun Gustav Matoš,poetAntun Branko Šimić,expressionistandrealistwriterMiroslav Krleža,poetTin Ujevićand novelist and short story writerIvo Andrićare often cited as the greatest figures in Croatian literature.

Symbols

The currentflag of Croatia,including the current coat of arms.

Main articles:Flag of CroatiaandCoat of arms of Croatia

The current coat of arms shows, in order, the symbols ofZagreb,Dubrovnik,Dalmatia,Istria,andSlavonia.

Theflag of Croatiaconsists of a red-white-bluetricolourwith theCoat of Arms of Croatiain the middle. The red-white-blue tricolor was chosen as those were the colours of Pan-Slavism, popular in the 19th century.

Flag of theCroat National Councilin Serbia

Thecoat-of-armsconsists of the traditional red and white squares orgrb,which simply means 'coat-of-arms'. It has been used to symbolise the Croats for centuries; somespeculate that it was derived fromRedandWhite Croatia,historic lands of the Croatian tribe but there is no generally accepted proof for this theory. The current design added the five crowning shields, which represent the historical regions from which Croatia originated. The red and white checkerboard has been a symbol of Croatian kings since at least the tenth century, ranging in number from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like the current coat. The oldest source confirming the coat-of-arms as an official symbol is a genealogy of theHabsburgsdating from 1512 to 1518. In 1525 it was used on a votive medal. The oldest known example of thešahovnica(chessboard in Croatian) in Croatia is to be found on the wings of four falcons on a baptismal font donated by KingPeter Krešimir IV of Croatia(1058–1074) to the Archbishop ofSplit.

Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from the coat of arms, rather than from the Croatian flag. This is partly due to the geometric design of the shield which makes it appropriate for use in many graphic contexts (e.g. the insignia ofCroatia Airlinesor the design of the shirt for theCroatia national football team), and partly because neighbouring countries like Slovenia and Serbia use the samePan-Slavic colourson their flags as Croatia. TheCroatian interlace(pleterortroplet) is also a commonly used symbol which originally comes from monasteries built between the 9th and 12th centuries. The interlace can be seen in various emblems and is also featured in modernCroatian military ranksand Croatian police ranks insignia.

Communities

In Croatia (thenation state), 3.9 million people identify themselves as Croats and constitute about 90.4% of the population. Another 553,000 live inBosnia and Herzegovina,where they are one of the threeconstituent ethnic groups,predominantly living in WesternHerzegovina,Central BosniaandBosnian Posavina.The minority inSerbianumber about 70,000, mostly inVojvodina,where also vast majority of theŠokciconsider themselves Croats, as well as manyBunjevci(the latter, as well as other nationalities, settled the vast, abandoned area after the Ottoman retreat; this Croat subgroup originates from the south, mostly from the region ofBačka). Smaller Croat autochthonous minorities exist inSlovenia(mainly inSlovene Littoral,Prekmurjeand in theMetlikaarea inLower Carniolaregions – 35,000Croats),Montenegro(mostly in theBay of Kotor– 6,800Croats), and a regional community inKosovocalledJanjevciwho nationally identify as Croats. In the 1991 census, Croats consisted 19.8% of the overall population ofYugoslavia;there were around 4.6 million Croats in the entire country.

The subgroups of Croats are commonly based onregionalaffiliation, like Dalmatians, Slavonians, Zagorci, Istrians etc., while inside and outside Croatia there exist several Croatian sub-ethnic groups:Šokci(Croatia, Serbia, Hungary),Bunjevci(Croatia, Serbia, Hungary),Burgenland Croats(Austria),Molise Croats(Italy),Bokelji(Montenegro),Raci(Hungary),Krashovani(Romania), andJanjevci(Kosovo).

Autochthonous communities

• Croatia is thenation-stateof Croats.
• InBosnia and Herzegovina,Croats are one of threeconstitute ethnic groups,numbering around 544,780 people or 15.43% of the population. The entity ofFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovinais home to the majority (495,000 or about little under 90%) ofBosnian and Herzegovinian Croats.
• InMontenegro,theBay of Kotor,Croatsare a national minority, numbering 6,021 people or 0.97% of the population.
• InSerbia,Croatsare a national minority, numbering 57,900 people or 0.80% of the population. They mostly live in the region ofVojvodina,where Croatian is official (along with five other languages), and the national capital city ofBelgrade.
• InSlovenia,Croatsare not recognized as a minority, numbering 35,642 people or 1.81% of the population. They mostly live inSlovene Littoral,Prekmurjeand in theMetlikaarea inLower Carniolaregions.

Croatian communities with minority status

• In Austria, Croats are an ethnic minority, numbering around 30,000 people inBurgenland(Burgenland Croats), the eastern part of Austria,and around 15,000 people in the capital city ofVienna.
• In theCzech Republic,Croatsare a national minority, numbering 850–2,000 people, forming a portion of the 29% minority (as "Others" ). They mostly live in the region ofMoravia,in the villages ofJevišovka,Dobré PoleandNový Přerov.
• In Hungary,Croatsare an ethnic minority, numbering 25,730 people or 0.26% of the population.
• In Italy,Croatsare alinguistic,and ethnic minority, numbering 23,880 people, of which 2,801 people belong to the ethnic minority ofMolise Croatsfrom the region ofMolise.
• In Romania,Croatsare a national minority, numbering 6,786 people. They mostly live in theCaraș-Severin County,incommunesofLupac(90.7%) andCarașova(78.28%).
• InSerbia,Croats(includingBunjevciandŠokci) are a national minority. They mostly live in the multiethnic autonomous province ofVojvodina.
• InSlovakia,Croatsare an ethnic and national minority, numbering around 850 people. They mostly live in the area aroundBratislava,in the villages ofChorvátsky Grob,Čunovo,Devínska Nová Ves,RusovceandJarovce.

Other regions with Croat minorities

• InBulgaria,there exists a small Croatian community, a branch ofJanjevci,Croats fromKosovo.
• In New Zealand, the mixed Croatian and MāoriTararapeople have their own culture, traditions and customs, and live inTe Tai Tokerau,New Zealand's northernmost region. 15 March isTarara Dayto celebrate their heritage.
• In Kosovo, Croats or Janjevci (Letničani), as they inhabited mostly the town ofJanjevo,before 1991 numbered 8,062 people, but after the war many fled, and as of 2011number only 270 people.
• InNorth Macedonia,Croatsnumber 2,686 people or 0.1% of the population, mostly living in the capital city ofSkopje,the city ofBitolaand around theLake Ohrid.

Diaspora

Main article:Croatian diaspora

Croatian Embassy inCanberra,Australia

There are currently 4–4.5 million Croats indiasporathroughout the world. The Croat diaspora was the consequence of either mostly economic or political (coercionor expulsions) reasons:

• To other European countries (Slovenia,Italy,Austria,Slovakia,Germany,Hungary), caused by the conquering ofOttoman Turks,when Croats asCatholicswere oppressed.
• To the Americas (largely toCanada,theUnited States of America,Chile,andArgentina,with smaller communities inBrazil,Peru,Colombia,andEcuador) in the end of 19th and early 20th century, large numbers of Croats emigrated particularly for economic reasons.
• To New Zealand, predominately theNorthland Region,to work onKauri gumplantations.
• A further, larger wave of emigration, this time for political reasons, took place after the end of theWorld War II in Yugoslavia.At this time, both collaborators of theUstasharegime and those who did not want to live under acommunistregime fled the country, to the Americas andOceaniaonce more.
• As immigrant workers, particularly to Germany, Austria, andSwitzerlandin the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, someemigrantsleft for political reasons. This migration made it possible for communistYugoslaviato achieve lower unemployment and at the same time the money sent home by emigrants to their families provided an enormous source of foreign exchange income.
• The last large wave of Croat emigration occurred during and after theYugoslav Wars(1991–1995). Migrant communities already established in the Americas, Oceania, and across Europe grew as a result.

The count for diaspora is approximate because of incomplete statistical records andnaturalization.Overseas, the United States contains the largestCroatian emigrant group(414,714 according to the 2010 census), mostly inOhio,Pennsylvania,IllinoisandCalifornia,with a sizable community inAlaska,followed byAustralia(133,268 according to the 2016 census, with concentrations inSydney,MelbourneandPerth) and Canada (133,965 according to the 2016 census, mainly inSouthern Ontario,British ColumbiaandAlberta).

Various estimations put the total number of Americans and Canadians with at least some Croatian ancestry at 2 million, many of whom do not identify as such in the countries' censuses.

Croats have also emigrated in several waves to South America: chieflyChile,Argentina,andBrazil;estimates of their number vary wildly, from 150,000 up to 500,000.Both the presidents of Chile (Gabriel Boric) and Argentina (Javier Milei) are of Croatian descent.

There are also smaller groups of Croatian descendants in Brazil,Ecuador,Peru,South Africa, Mexico, and South Korea. The most important organizations of the Croatiandiasporaare theCroatian Fraternal Union,Croatian Heritage Foundationand the Croatian World Congress.

Croatian ancestry or citizenship by country

Croatia

More than 100,000

More than 10,000

More than 1,000

Maps

• 
  Croats in Croatia
• 
  Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013
• 
  Croats in Vojvodina, Serbia
• 
  Croats in Romania

Historiography

See also:List of Slavic studies journals

See also

• Croatia,nation-state of Croats
• Demographics of Croatia
• Timeline of Croatian history
• List of Croats
• List of rulers of Croatia
• Genetic studies on Croats
• Origin hypotheses of the Croats
• Slavs;Medieval Slav tribes;South Slavs

Sources

• Budak, Neven(2018).Hrvatska povijest od 550. do 1100[Croatian history from 550 until 1100]. Leykam international.ISBN978-953-340-061-7.Archivedfrom the original on 3 October 2022.Retrieved10 August2020.
• Dzino, Danijel (2010),Becoming Slav, Becoming Croat. Identity transformations in post-Roman and Early Medieval Dalmatia,Brill
• Curta, Florin(2001).The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500–700.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781139428880.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2023.Retrieved2 August2017.
• Curta, Florin(2006).Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521815390.
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External links

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