Relations between Croatian and Serbian Elites in Dubrovnik under Austrian Rule

Abstract

The article examines the issue of complex relations between the Croatian and Serbian communities in Dubrovnik under Austrian rule (since 1815), with particular emphasis on the period following the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (1867). During this time, the Croatian-Serbian dispute over the city’s national identity and tradition intensified, amid the significant influence of Austrian policy on the dynamics in Dalmatia and Dubrovnik. The study will analyse selected aspects of Croatian-Serbian relations – political, cultural and literary – against the backdrop of the Austrian authorities’ attitude towards the city’s elites. The text will examine the activities and views of key figures from Dubrovnik’s circles (Lujo Vojnović, Pero Čingrija, Frano Supilo) regarding the situation in Dalmatia and Dubrovnik, as well as selected polemics that appeared in the local press (e.g. the exchanges between the Croatian weekly Crvena Hrvatska and the Serbian newspaper Dubrovnik). As an important complement to the questions under discussion, the paper will attempt to situate the issue of Dubrovnik elites within a broader context of mutual Croat-Serb political and cultural relations in the second half of the nineteenth century.