Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Croats
Croatian Chequy.svg
A Croat from Central Bosnia (1901)
Bosnian Croats celebrating a religious Mass (1901)

Bosnian Croats form one of the three constitutive nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are frequently referred to as Bosnian Croats in English, regardless of whether they are from Bosnia or Herzegovina.

There is no precise data regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's population since the last war. Ethnic cleansing within Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s saw the vast majority of Croats move and take up residence in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Croatia. It is estimated that there are approximately 600,000 Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to 2000 data from the CIA World Factbook, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ethnically 14.3% Croat.

Contents

History

Croats settled into the areas of modern Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovinia in the early seventh century, during the great migration of the Slavs. Christianity was quickly accepted. The Croatian people formed two principalities: Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south. These two principalities were united under King Tomislav in ca. 925, who was crowned in the fields of Duvno present day Tomislavgrad in modern-day Bosnia. In 1102, Croatia was joined into a union with Hungary, and over the centuries, saw its land shrink as the Ottoman Turks invaded Europe, and occupied Bosnia and much of present day Croatia for centuries to come. Many Croats living in Bosnia converted to Islam during this time period, and their numbers in areas shrank as many fled from fear of conversion and persecution, as the Christian folk were mistreated as low-grade citizens. The region henceforth became known as "Turkish Croatia" in Croatian literature.

In the 19th century with the Croatian national reawakening movements, acts were made to unite all Croats into one state. Such an act was realized only in 1939, when the Croatian Banate autonomous within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed, that included most of western Herzegovina and parts of central Bosnia. From 1941 to 1945, most of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a part of the Axis Ustasha Independent State of Croatia.

Population geography

Early population data comes from the Austro-Hungarian empire's censuses. After taking control of Bosnia and Herzgovina, the empire had a few censuses. After World War I the Yugoslav monarchy had two censuses.

Ethnic totals and percentages
Year/Population Croats  % Total BiH Population
1879 209,391 18.08% 1,158,164
1885 265,788 19.88% 1,336,091
1895 334,142 21.31% 1,361,868
1910 434,061 22.87% 1,898,044
1921 444,308 23.50% 1,890,440
1931 547,949 23.58% 2,323,555
Official Population Census Results - note: some Croats declared themselves as Yugoslavs in some censuses

Official Yugoslav census data shows that the total number of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina has increased in almost every census, asides from between 1971 and 1981. Despite this, their total percentage of the total population has decreased.

Ethnic totals and percentages
Year/Population Croats  % Total BiH Population
1948 614,123 23.93% 2,565,277
1953 654,229 22.97% 2,847,790
1961 711,666 21.71% 3,277,948
1971 772,491 20.62% 3,746,111
1981 758,140 18.39% 4,124.008
1991 760,852 17.38% 4,377,053
Official Population Census Results - note: some Croats declared themselves as Yugoslavs in some censuses

Prior the war in 1991, Croats made up 17.3% of the population, less than in previous years. From 1971 to 1991, the Croat percentage fell due to emigration into Croatia and lands of Western Europe. This fact should be taken into account for any estimation, regional or for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole[1][2]. Nevertheless, the fall in population percentage is only absent in western Herzegovina municipalities where Croats account for more than 98% of population. The majority of Croats live in Western Herzegovina, Western Bosnia, Central Bosnia and Posavina (BiH Croats 1991). The war saw a large scale of ethnic cleansing and the migration of populations on all sides. Municipalities in which Croats are the majority in Bosnia and Herzegovina today: Mostar, Stolac, Ravno, Čapljina, Neum, Čitluk, Grude, Kiseljak, Kreševo, Livno, Ljubuški, Kupres, Dobretići, Odžak, Domaljevac-Šamac, Orašje, Posušje, Prozor-Rama, Široki Brijeg, Tomislavgrad, Vitez, Žepče, Usora, Novi Travnik and Busovača.

Culture

One of the most important cultural institutions for the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Croats is the Croatian Cultural Society Napredak. It helps educate Croatian youths by granting university scholarships. Napredak also works to promote culture. It has dozens of branches throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, as well as the Croatian diaspora. In the diaspora it is one of the main concert organizers for Croatian artists.

The University of Mostar is the only Croatian language institute of higher education in the country. Many of the nation's Croats also attend universities in Croatia, with the University of Zagreb being the most popular.

There are currently two major Croatian music festivals in the country: Etnofest Neum and Melodije Mostara. These festivals regularly attract the best native Bosnian and Herzegovinian Croat singers as well as top artists within Croatia itself.

Popular Croatian musicians coming from the country include Bijelo Dugme's Željko Bebek, Mate Bulić, Ivan Mikulić, Boris Novković, Vesna Pisarović and the group Feminnem.

Croatian house in Bugojno

Literature

Croatian literature in Bosnia and Herzegovina has its foundations in the 17th century writer Matija Divković. From the early 20th century, Antun Branko Šimić is also well known.

In the Yugoslav period Ivo Andrić became the most well-known Croat writer from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961.

Religion

Croats form the core of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The metropolitan diocese is the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna. There are also dioceses centred in Banja Luka and in Mostar, which is the largest. The parish of Međugorje is a significant Marian shrine which attracts large numbers of pilgrims each year.

Catholic church in Bugojno

Sport

Croatian-run clubs in Bosnia and Herzegovina number among the country's most successful. They are well-represented in terms of national championships in relation to the percentage of Croats in the population. In football NK Zrinjski Mostar, NK Široki Brijeg, NK Žepče, NK Posušje, and HNK Orašje are some of the most successful. Collectively, they have won one national Cup and four national Championships since national competition began in 2000. Other Croatian-run clubs are NK Brotnjo, NK SAŠK Napredak, HNK Ljubuški, HNK Sloga Uskoplje and others. The clubs themselves are often among the nation's most multi-ethnic.

Prior to 2000, the Croats ran their own First League of Herzeg-Bosnia in football. However, they have joined the UEFA-approved Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina's league system. Bosnia and Herzegovina has produced many successful internationals, both for the Croatian national team and the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Politics

Historically, the Croats formed their own parties with the end of Ottoman rule. The Croatian National Community and the Croatian Catholic Association took part in the country's first elections in 1910.

Currently, there are several Croatian political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, many corresponding to parties within Croatia itself. The Croatian Democratic Union, Croatian Democratic Union 1990, and the Croatian Party of Right are the most popular parties. The Croatian Peasant Party, New Croatian Initiative, Croatian Right Bloc, People's Party Work for Betterment are relatively minor Croatian parties.

In 2005, a conference on the Constitutional-law position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Neum. It addressed ways to fix the political system.

List of famous Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Art

Literature and poetry

Scientific work

Nobel Prize winners

Military and politics

Media and singers

Sports

Religion

References

  1. ↑ "Bosniaks or Muslims". Southeast European Politics Online. http://www.seep.ceu.hu/issue22/dimitrovova.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
  2. ↑ "Academician Dalibor Brozovic interview". Hrvatska rijeć. http://www.ex-yupress.com/hrvrijec/hrvrijec6.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11 "chapter title: Important Croats Deserve Special Treatment - (second question) second paragraph)". 
Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosniaks · Croats · Serbs
Yugoslavs · Jews · Montenegrins · Roma · Turks
See also 1991 population census · Constitutional nations · Demographics · Demographic History