POLES’ CONTRIBUTION TO THE MODERNIZATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN PERIOD (1878–1918)

The article presents the contribution of Poles to the emergence of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Austro-Hungarian period. After the Berlin Congress in 1878, the country was in the Habsburg area of influence. This resulted in its rapid industrialization conducted by, among others, a number of Polish civil servants working in its administration, as well as peasants from Galicia who colonized the area around Banja Luka. The topic still remains relatively unstudied in Polish historiography, which is why this article serves as a pioneering work in the studies on this issue