Background Information
The Republic of Croatia is on the eastern shore of Adriatic Sea across from Italy. It borders Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It was formerly part of Yugoslavia and is a candidate for membership in the European Union.
- Area: 56,542 sq. km. land area, slightly smaller than West Virginia
- Population: 4,495,904; Zagreb (the Capital) 779,145); Split 188,694
- Currency: Croatia Kuna (HRK), 1 USD = 5.42 HRK as of August 2007
- Ethnic groups: Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9%, including Bosniak, Hungarian, and Roma
- Religions: Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, Slavic Muslim 1.28%
- Language: Croatian, a South Slavic language, using the Roman script
- Education: compulsory to age 15; Osnovna Skola serves students from 6 to 14 years of age; there are Gimnazija (academic), Strukovna Skola (vocational), and specialized secondary schools; there are four universities and other decentralized post-secondary institutions of higher education.
History
A long view on the effects of empire and cultural development is easily obtained in Croatia, which has its roots in the Roman province of Dalmatia, or Illyricum, whose capital was Salona (Split today). Conquered early in the 1st Century, the province prospered as a trade link between eastern and Western Europe. It became a highly Romanized area and was the birthplace of several emperors, including Diocletian (284-305); his palace still stands in Split.
The Croats migrated from Ukraine and settled in present-day Croatia during the 6th Century, expelling and assimilating the Illyrian population. After a period of self-rule, in 1091 the Croatians submitted themselves to Hungarian authority. By the mid-1400s, concerns over Ottoman expansion led the Croatian Assembly to invite the Habsburgs to assume control, which proved successful in thwarting the Ottomans, and by the 18th century, much of Croatia was free of Turkish control.
In 1868, Croatia gained domestic autonomy, while remaining under Hungarian authority. Following World War I and the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, the new state became the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia under the communistic leadership of Marshall Josip Broz Tito. After the death of Tito, and with the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe, the Yugoslav federation began to crumple.
Croatia held its first multi-party elections since World War II in 1990; long-time Croatian nationalist Franjo Tudjman was elected President. In 1991, Croatians declared independence from Yugoslavia. Conflict between Serbs and Croats in Croatia escalated, and civil war erupted. The United Nations mediated cease-fires in 1992, 1993, and 1994 but hostilities resumed when Croatia fought to regain lost territory, especially in the Serb-held self-proclaimed Republic of Krajina. Finally, in 1995, Croatia agreed to peacefully reintegrate Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Dirmium, and signed the Dayton Peace Accords, committing itself to a permanent cease-fire and the return of all refugees.