Slavism, Dalmatinism and Croatism of Niccolò Tommaseo

Niccolò Tommaseo (1802. – 1874.) bio je politička i književna ličnost 19. stoljeća, a rođen je u Šibeniku za vrijeme Prve austrijske uprave nad Dalmacijom (1797. – 1805.). Obrazovan je u klasicizmu i romantizmu, a njihova obilježja iskoristio je pri stvaranju vlastitih ideologija. Tommaseov odnos prema slavenstvu, dalmatinstvu i hrvatstvu najviše je vidljiv iz njegovih djela i rasprava. Ta pisana ostavština jest ogled njegovih razmišljanja koja su proizašla iz različitih povijesnih okolnosti: sudjelovanja u Risorgimentu, povratka u domovinu 1839. godine, sudjelovanja u ilirskom pokretu, sudjelovanja u mletačkoj revoluciji 1848./1849. godine te sudjelovanja u djelovanju Autonomaša. Iako je ponekad bio proturječan, Tommaseo je u svom cilju uvijek bio dosljedan. S jedne strane težio je afirmaciji potlačenih naroda i podređenih slojeva, što je bilo u skladu s građanskom ideologijom Francuske revolucije, a s druge strane bio je protivnik ujedinjenja s Banskom Hrvatskom jer se bojao da bi taj proces progutao posebnost njegove Dalmacije isto onako kao što je ujedinjenje Italije uništilo posebnost različitih područja na Apeninskom poluotoku. Koliko je god Tommaseo smatrao potrebnim da svaka stvorena političko-upravna cjelina i dalje zadrži svoju autonomiju, isto je toliko težio za tim da se te cjeline međusobno povezuju trgovačkim i kulturnim vezama zbog čega je u svojim mislima težio povezivanju svih slavenskih naroda na Balkanu u bratstvo naroda. Tommaseo je zapravo, kao čovjek dviju duša, dviju kultura i dvaju jezika, na svoj poseban način htio izmiriti talijanstvo i slavenstvo u ilirstvu (dalmatinstvu) kao cjelinu različitih naroda i njihovih jezika te državnih oblikovanja dalmatinskog i hrvatskog prostora.Niccolò Tommaseo (1802 – 1874) was a political and literary figure of the 19th century and he was born in Šibenik during the First Austrian rule over Dalmatia (1797 – 1805). His education was based on Classicism and Romanticism, and he used their characteristics to create his own ideologies. His relationship towards Slavism, Dalmatinism and Croatism is most visible from his works and discussion. This written legacy is a reflection of his thoughts which were arising from various historical circumstances: participation in Risorgimento, return to the homeland in 1839, participation in the Illyrian movement, participation in the Venetian revolution in 1848/1849 and participation in the Autonomist Party. Though he was sometimes controversial, Tommaseo was always consistent in his purpose. On the one hand, he sought the affirmation of oppressed peoples and subordinate classes, which was in accordance with the civil ideology of the French Revolution, while on the other hand was against unification with Banska Hrvatska, fearing that this process would swallow up the particularity of his Dalmatia, just as unification of Italy destroyed the peculiarity of various areas of the Apennine peninsula. As much as Tommaseo considered it necessary for each created political-administrative entity to continue to maintain its autonomy, he also tended to strike a balance between trade and cultural ties, which is why he sought to link all Slavic peoples in the Balkan into the fraternity of people. In fact, Tommaseo, as a man of two souls, two cultures and two languages, wanted reconcile, in his own way, Italianism and Slavism within Illyrism (Dalmatinism) as a whole of different peoples and their languages, as well as state shaping of Dalmatian and Croatian space