Uskočko pitanje i međunarodna diplomacija

U turbulentnom šesnaestom i sedamnaestom stoljeću stanovništvo je prolazilo kroz nagle promjene zbog turskih prepada. Naime, Osmanlije su se u tom razdoblju uzdigle do jedne snaţne velesile, a svojim vojnim uspjesima stigli su čak i do srednje Europe. S druge strane, na prostorima hrvatskih zemalja odvijale su se ţestoke borbe protiv Turaka koje su u konačnici završile bitkom kod Siska 1593. godine i velikom pobjedom kršćanstva nad islamom. Uskoci su bile pridošlice iz krajeva pod turskom vlašću koji su se naseljavali u hrvatske krajeve pod mletačkom vlašću i nastavljali borbu protiv Turaka. Bez konstantnih animoziteta te sukoba religija izmeĎu Austrije, Mletačke Republike i Osmanskog Carstva nemoguće je bilo zamisliti borbu uskoka. Svojim djelovanjem stvorili su proturječna mišljenja kod drugih. Prema jednima, to su bili gusari i zločinci, a za druge su predstavljali heroje, hrabre junake, ali i najjeftiniju vojsku na juţnim granicama Habsburškog Carstva. Za bolje razmijevanje uskočkog djelovanja trebalo je poznavati i razumjeti njihov mentalitet kao i motive koji su ih tjerali na odreĎena zlodjela. MeĎutim, zbog kompleksnosti uskočke borbe teško je bilo sa sigurnošću dati odgovore na sva pitanja. Ubrzo su tenzije izmeĎu navedenih zemalja postale nesnošljive i samo je bilo pitanje vremena kada će doći do konačnog sukoba. Uskočki rat ili rat za Gradišku vodio se od 1615. – 1618. godine zbog trzavica izmeĎu Mlečana i Austrije koje su trajale već stoljećima. Uskočki rat takoĎer je bio i “europski rat” zbog uplitanja drugih drţava pa je trebalo preispitati dimenziju “uskočkog pitanja” u tom kontekstu. Tijekom samog rata, ali i nakon, istarsko gospodarstvo bilo je gotovo potpuno uništeno, a posljedice će se osjetiti još dugo vremena. U ratu uskoci su predstavljali sporednu uloga junaka na strani one zemlje koja je u tom trenutku imala koristi od njih. Njihova uloga prestala je onog trenutka kada su potpisani sporazumi u Madridu i Parizu prilikom kojih je dogovorena sudbina uskoka jer im isti više nisu bili potrebni. Bilo kako bilo, fenomen uskoka ostao je i dandanas kao sinonim za hrabrost i junaštvo, a preţivjeo je i u narodnoj predaji.In the turbulent sixteenth and seventeenth century the population had gone through sudden changes due to the Turkish attacks. The Ottoman Empire rose to become one of the most powerful forces and thanks to their military success they progressed all the way to Central Europe. On the other hand, on the Croatian soil many blistering fights were led against the Turks which eventually ended with the battle of Sisak in the year of 1593 and the great victory of christianity over islam. Uskoci were newcorners from parts ruled by the Ottomans and they were inhabiting parts of Croatia run by the Venetians. They were continuing their fight against the Turks. Without the constant animosity and the clash of religions amongs Austria, Venetians and Ottoman Empire it would have been impossible to imagine the fights of Uskoks. With their impact they awoke contradictory opinions among people. Some considered them pirates and criminals and to others they represented the brave heroes and the most affordable army on the southern boarders of the Habsburgian Empire. To completely understand their operations one was supposed to know and understand their mentality as well as their motives that led them to conumitting infamous deeds. However, due to the complexity of the fights of Uskoks, it was hard to answers to all the questions. Soon the tensions among these provide countries because unbearable and it was only a matter of time when the final confrontation would happen. The Uskok war or War for Gradiška took place from 1615 to 1618 because of the disagreements between the Venetians and Austria that lasted for centuries. Uskok war was also a European war because of the involvement of other countries so „the question of Uskoks“ needed to be reexamined. During the war itself and after, the economy of Istria will have been completely destroyed and the consequences will had been present for a long period of time. Uskoci represented the supporting role of the hero fighting for that country that could benefit from their help in that given moment. They seized to exist the moment when the Madrid and Paris agreement were signed. In any case, the phenomenon of Uskoks remained a synonym of courage and heroism and its story is being told even today