Baptised Turks in Zadar in the 17th century according to the registers of the Cathedral parish of st. Anastasia

U hrvatskoj historiografiji pitanje pokrštavanja Turaka tijekom 17. stoljeća u dalmatinskim gradovima malo je istraženo. Štoviše, s obzirom na kompleksnost tog pitanja, nedovoljno istraženu građu u državnim i crkvenim arhivima i činjenicu da se pokrštavanje Turaka u razmatranom razdoblju često veže uz trgovinu roblja, tema je izazovna i iziskuje temeljit pristup sine ira et studio. Cilj je ovog rada na temelju popisa iz matičnih knjiga župe sv. Stošije u Zadru o krštenim Turcima i osobama s osmanskog teritorija tijekom 17. stoljeća pokušati rasvijetliti uzroke i posljedice tih krštenja te ih analizom dostupnih podataka dovesti u korelaciju s trgovinom robljem u Dalmaciji u razmatranom razdoblju.On the basis of entries of names of baptised Turks into the registers of the parish of St. Anastasia in Zadar for the 17th century, the paper tackles the issue of baptising the population from the territory under Ottoman authority in the context of organised human trafficking in Zadar and its surroundings, conducted in the fold of Venetian Republic, in particular during turbulent time of the Kandyan War (1645–1669). In the geo-strategic sense, the Zadar area was at that time not only the watershed of three military-political powers: Venetian Republic, Ottoman Empire, and Habsburg Monarchy, but also the meeting point and the venue of constant migrations of the population of different confessions in three territories (Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic). War devastations and the tactics of the so-called scorched earth accelerated the migration processes on the one hand, and reinstated the venues of human trafficking in the territory of Dalmatian communes on the other. Venetian Republic passed many legal provisions regarding improved control of human trafficking and state interests. One of these provisions stipulated obligatory baptising of slaves; this was intended to serve as a guarantee of their freedom and gradual inclusion into the society. The paper analyses the complexity of this process; inconsistent behaviour of Venetian authorities with regard to the implementation of its own provisions for the sake of military interest; and the role of the Catholic Church and its officials in baptising the Turks. Furthermore, certain details on the social status of slave masters and the nature of their mutual relations were issued; this enabled presenting – to a certain extent – the attitude of the Zadar bourgeoisie towards slaves and servants in the 17th century. In conclusion, the paper defines the routes of slave trafficking from Zadar in the direction of the Apennine Peninsula in confirmation of active human trafficking having taken place in the area between the western and the eastern Adriatic coasts in the 17th century