Development in Dalmatia during the neoabsolutist period

Abstract

Up to the mid-nineteenth century, Dalmatia was slow to develop in all respects. This was reflected by an underdeveloped urban economy, a dearth of local capital, a disorganized agrarian system, inadequate customs regulations, and negligence on the part of officials of the centralized government towards this very peripheral province of the empire. After the liberalism of 1848 and the introduction of the octroi, a victory by counter-revolutionary forces heralded the political turn towards neoabsolutism which would ultimately occur in all the countries of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, inculding Dalmatia. External reforms brought about changes in the administration, the judicial system and the territorial guards, and strengthened the role of the bureaucracy and staunch government. The fifties were characterized by a revival of absolutism, and cannot be epoken of in terms of political life, but rather of political drought. Outside and inside influences, however, led to modernization in Dalmatia. Booms in winegrowing and shipping (by sailing ship), an attempt to form a shipping stock corporation, and the establishment of maritime schools and chambers of commerce and trade overseeing the economic revitalization of the province, all testified to this. The capital accumulated from the wine trade and from shipping was reinvested to expand the winegrowing and sailing ship industries, or went into the milling industry, as evidenced by the appearance of industrial firsts such as the steam mill in Šibenik and the ironworks on the Jadro River near Split. The development of agriculture, particularly winegrowing, was the subject of much thought and writing; agricultural association were established to promote it, and thanks in part to this the first Dalmatian exhibition was organized and Dalmation exhibitors participated in national and world fairs. Support was expressed for production, the creation of labor and trade surpluses, the inclusion of Dalmatia in the monarchal customs system, and the construction of railways iand roads to link Dalmatia to the winder region that gravitated towards it. Attempts were launched to found an academy and professional schools in Zadar, but these goals were not realized.