They year 1903 in Dalmatia

Abstract

The upheavals taking place in the countries of the South Slavs deeply influenced the national ,political, social and economic life of the Balkan Slavs, especially the Croats, both in Civil Croatia and in Dalmatia. The disorders in Civil Croatia following the forcible Hungarization accompanied by brutal exploitation of material resources and by national oppression, had an immediate echo in Dalmatia. Moved by the impulses from Civil Croatia, demonstrations in Dalmatia lasted two months. The movement of solidarity with the brothers behind Velebit turned from anti-Hungarian into anti-Austrian, with obvious tendencies to demolish the old Monarchy in order to liberate and unite all Croatian countries and form one country with the neighbouring South Slavs. The initiative in the fight was taken by Split, the natural centre of Dalmatia. The political and party leaders of the city directed the demonstrators. They also organized money collections for the victims of the demonstrations. The action was also supported by the Croatian immigrants in the USA and in other parts of the world, and thanks to the activity of the headquarters in Split substantial sums of money from abroad were used to alleviate the afflictions in Civil Croatia. At the same time the situation in Civil Croatia become known abroad, especially in European countries, and the aims of the struggle against the hegemonistic rule of Budapest and Vienna were published in the leading European newspapers. The demonstrations forced the goverment in Vienna to remove Ban Khuen from Croatia, but it did not satisfy Dalmatia. Its united political and party leaders, at the meeting in Split at the end of November, 1903, accepted the programme of the »new course« policy. It left no doubts as to the undivided national strategy towards Vienna and Budapest, aiming at achieving the national ideal of liberation and union of all South Slavs in one country.