Statuta Valachorum

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Statuta Valachorum ("Vlach Statute", Serbo-Croatian: Vlaški statut) was a decree issued by Emperor Ferdinand II of the Habsburg Monarchy on 5 October 1630 that defined tenancy rights of mostly Orthodox refugees, called Vlachs (a name also used for Serbs),[a] in the Military Frontier in a way that it placed them under direct rule by Vienna, removing the jurisdiction of the Croatian parliament. This was one of three major laws enacted in the early 17th century on the taxation and tenancy rights of the Vlachs, together with the earlier 1608 decree by Emperor Rudolf II and a 1627 decree by Ferdinand.

Background

Decrees

In 1608, Austrian emperor Rudolf II instituted such a law, under which "Vlachs" of the Military Frontier, regardless of their faith, owed one tenth of their income to the Bishop of Zagreb, and 1/9th to the feudal lords whose land they occupied. This law had little practical effect, but it appeased the Croatian nobility at the time.[1] The heraldic emblem used for these "Vlachs" was the Serbian Nemanjić dynasty coat of arms.[2] In the 1610s and 1620s, there were conflicts between the Vlachs (refugees and Frontiersmen) and the Croatian nobility.[3] In 1627, emperor Ferdinand II passed a decree allowing the Frontier Vlachs land use regardless of the land's ownership, in an effort to make the Grenzer (Frontiersmen) independent of the Croatian nobility, and more willing to wage wars for him.[1] This decision has been interpreted as a feudalization attempt, and in 1628, it was feared that if the Vlachs left the Frontier for Ottoman Slavonia, the military and economical strength of the Habsburg Monarchy would be notably weakened and threatened; at an assembly of ca. 3,400 war-equipped Vlachs (mainly Serbs), it was promised that the Vlachs stay under military organization and be given regulations in form of a statute, thereby regulating their legal status.[4] The next year, the Croatian parliament tried once again to pass a law in which the refugee community be included into the jurisdiction of the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia, however, without results.[4] The Frontiersmens' petitions led to the 1630 statute.[5]

Statute

On October 5, 1630, despite the decision made by the Croatian assembly, Ferdinand II had enacted Statuta Valachorum according to which "Vlachs" (Orthodox refugees, mainly Serbs)[a] would freely settle in the military captaincies of Križevci, Koprivnica and Ivanec and keep privileges they had in the Ottoman Empire.

Territorialization (delineation) of area which was under Varaždin Generalat (the later Slavonian Military Frontier) was also included in the Statuta Valachorum. Until then, the Varaždin Generalat had not been delimited.

The decree laid out the rights and obligations of the settlers that stabilized their status for years after.[6] These rights assumed free land given to the settlers, their civil administration based on the settlers' traditional law. All the rights were given in return for the settlers' military service to the Austrian Emperor.[7]

The goal of Statuta Valachorum was to bring the Vlachs under supervision of the imperial court, giving them an appearance of autonomy, despite the fact that the level of self-government they had before them was actually decreased.[1]

The importance of the statute is seen in it being the first public law document regarding rights of citizens within the Military Frontier.[8]

Aftermath

The 1630 Statuta Valachorum applied only to Vlachs in the area of Varaždin Generalat, located between Drava and Sava, but later, all Vlachs used that statute.[1]

The Statute created a separate region at the expense of the Croatia-Slavonia province.[9] Ferdinand II did not include matters of land ownership in the statute, so that he wouldn't upset Croatian nobility.[1]

When Ferdinand III came to power, the ownership of Croatian Military Frontier land was transferred to the imperial court.[1] In the 18th century, the nobility was finally formally deprived of all Frontier land when it was declared an imperial fief.[1]

See also

Annotations

  1. ^ The term "Vlachs" was also used for Slavs who shared lifestyle (as shepherds) with Romance peoples (Vlachs); it was used for the Serbs who settled the Military Frontier.[10][11][12] Ana S. Trbovich claims that the Orthodox settlers in the Military Frontier were mainly Serbs.[13] Croatian nationalist historiography (including Ustashe propaganda[14]) claim that the settlers were not Serbs, but Vlachs; that Serbs of Croatia are not Serbs.[13] All South Slavic ethnic groups had some Romance ingredient, although there is no evidence that all or most Serbs in Croatia were of Vlach origin.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Budak 2002
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Kršev 2011, p. 135.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kršev 2011, p. 136.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Kršev 2011, p. 147.
  9. ↑ Trbovich 2008, p. 85.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Trbovich 2008, p. 190 <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

    This also explains why extremist Croat nationalism is both reflected and rooted in the attempted revision of history. The Croats have always resented the rights granted to Serbs in Croatia, and most especially Krayina's historic separate existence. Croat historians have claimed that Krayina's settlers were not Serbs but “Vlachs,”81 [footnote:] While all Orthodox settlers were indeed called Vlachs by the Habsburg authorities, and some truly were Vlachs and different from the Serbs, the majority were Serbian and even the Vlachs assimilated into Serbs by the nineteenth century. As Nicholas Miller explains, “the term Vlach became a weapon in the war to devalue Serbian claims to territory and history in Croatia.”

  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Sources

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Croatian)
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Croatian)
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Croatian)
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Serbian)
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Serbo-Croatian)
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Croatian)
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