Croatia

Croatia forms, with Slavonia and the districts formerly known as the Military Frontier, a Crown Land in the kingdom of Hungary and empire of Austria. The total area is 16,785 square miles. This region is bounded N. and N.E. by Hungary, N.W. by Carniola and Styria, S. by Servia, Bosnia, and Dalmatia, and W. by Dalmatia and the Adriatic. It has a coast-line of about 84 miles, but very few harbours. It is divided physically into two sections, (1) the basin of the Danube with its tributaries, the Drave, and the Save, and (2) the mountainous tracts, prolongations of the Alpine and the Karst systems, that stretch along the coast. The numerous rivers are liable to disastrous floods, and expand into broad marshes. The climate is mild, but the maritime portions are affected by the blighting Bora Corn, maize, millet, flax, hemp, tobacco, grapes, plum-brandy, and silk are produced in the valleys, whilst the mountain forests yield plenty of timber, and small quantities of coal, iron, silver, copper, and lead. The country is now being opened up by railways. Originally part of the Roman province of Pannonia, Croatia, and Slavonia were conquered by Slavs in the seventh century, became an independent kingdom in 900 A.D., and were attached to Illyria from 1767 to 1777, and afterwards passed into Hungary. There is, however, a bitter enmity between the Croats and the Magyars, which has led to frequent disturbances. Since the 7th century Croatia has been almost exclusively inhabited by a people belonging to the Serb, or southern branch of the Slav family (Yugo-Slavs). They came originally from beyond the Carpathians, whence their name, Charpati, Charvati, Hrvati, Croati, meaning "Highlanders." (For the transposition of r compare third with three and the A. S. thridde.) But in their legendary history the name is referred to Khrobat, Horvat, one of the mythical five brothers under whom they left their northern homes on the invitation of the Emperor Heraclius, and migrated southwards. Here they subdued and expelled the Avars of Dalmatia and the Save Valley, and were soon joined by the Terbuni, Narentani, and other kindred Serb tribes, from Lusatia and the Vistula. All these form the substratum of the present Slav populations south of the Danube. The Croatians accepted Cliristianity in 638, and about 990 formed the powerful kingdom of Croatia, which included Dalmatia, but which was conquered by the Hungarians in 1091, whence the title of "King of Croatia and Dalmatia," since borne by the sovereigns of Hungary. The Croatians differ little from their Servian neighbours in speech, appearance, or other respects, except that the former are Catholics and use the Roman alphabet, while the latter belong to the Greek Church, and use the Slavonic alphabet of Cyril and Methodius.