Croatia in the Last Quarter of the Nineteenth Century as Presented in the Correspondence of Tadija Smičiklas

Autorica analizira korespondenciju Tadije Smičiklasa s istaknutim pojedincima hrvatskog političkoga, kulturnog i javnog života zadnje četvrtine XIX stoljeća. Kroz tu se korespondenciju prelamaju svi javni događaji u Banskoj Hrvatskoj tog doba.In this article the author analyses the correspondence of Tadija Smičiklas, one of the foremost Croatian historians of the nineteenth century. Using the multitude of details preserved in these letters, the author outlines a picture of public life in Croatia during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The letters are from and to not only some of the most important figures in Croatian political, cultural and intellectual life, but also many average, socially anonymous individuals, Smičiklas’s friends and relatives. The letters give a very detailed account of the Croatian political scene during the period of Ban Khuen-Hedervary’s rule, when he dominated the political scene unchallenged, due to the support of the National Party on the one hand and a fragmented opposition on the other. The main political problems of the day are plainly visible in these letters. The author pays particular attention to Smičiklas’s correspondence with Bishop Strossmayer. The account of everyday occurrences, local gossip, newspaper articles, nightlife, holidays in Rogatec, Strossmayer’s medical problems, and so on, add spice to this correspondence. Generally speaking, the letters reveal the political weaknesses of a Croatia under foreign domination. The principal figure in Croatian cultural life, as patron and financial protector, is Josip Juraj Strossmayer