Forests and Society of the Slavonian Military Frontier: An Example of the Brod Regiment in the Second Half of the 18th and Early 19th Centuries

Habsburška Monarhija je nakon mira u Srijemskim Karlovcima 1699. godine proširila svoju vlast na teritorij između rijeka Drave, Save i Dunava, koji je u 18. stoljeću uređen i podijeljen na civilni i vojni dio, poznate pod nazivima „civilna Slavonija“ (Kraljevstvo Slavonije), koja je bila pod feudalno-kraljevskom upravom, i „vojna Slavonija“ (Slavonska vojna krajina/granica), koja se nalazila pod vojnom i direktnom carskom upravom. Slavonska vojna krajina, koja se protezala Posavinom duž lijeve obale rijeke Save te graničila sa Osmanskim Carstvom prema jugu, bila je bogata aluvijalnim, poplavnim šumama, koje su stavljene pod direktnu carsku zaštitu i nadzor. U svrhu boljeg nadzora i upravljanja šumskim resursima, habsburška administracija je donosila razne uredbe i regulacije tijekom 18. i 19. stoljeća, koje su ostale na snazi, uz veće ili manje izmjene, do industrijalizacije i razvojačenja te ukidanja vojnokrajiškog sustava u drugoj polovici 19. stoljeća. Ovo istraživanje se fokusira na utjecaj i učinak tih regulacija i carskih uredbi na odnos između vojnih autoriteta, lokalnog stanovništva i njihovog okoliša u dijelu Slavonske vojne krajine koji se nalazio pod upravom 7. (Brodske) graničarske pukovnije. Osim odnosa, ovo istraživanje daje također analizu mnogih okolišnih i društvenih promjena i njihovih raznih faza razvoja, opisanih kroz povijesne izvore različitih provenijencija nastalih između sredine 18. i sredine 19. stoljeća.After the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, the Habsburg Monarchy gained control over territories between the rivers Drava, Sava and Danube, that were split between civilian and military administration in the 18th century, known as Civil Slavonia (The Kingdom of Slavonia) under feudal rule and Military Slavonia (The Slavonian Military Frontier) under military and direct imperial rule. The Slavonian Military Frontier, which was situated in the Posavina region on the river Sava, bordering the Ottoman Empire to the south, was very rich in alluvial, flood plain forests, which were put under imperial protection and control. For the purpose of an improved hold and control of these forest resources, the Habsburg administration brought forth various regulations and imperial decrees during the 18th and 19th century, that lasted, with minor or major changes, until the industrialization and dissolving of the Military Frontier system in the second half of the 19th century. This research focuses on the impact of these regulations on the relationship between the military authorities, local population and their environment in the part of the Slavonian Military Frontier which was under the administration of the 7th Brod Grenzregiment. Besides the relationship, it gives also an analysis of the many environmental and social changes and their stages that were described through various sources in the period between the mid-18th and mid-19th century