The representation of the national minorities of Hungary in the historiography of the dualistic era (1867-1918)

The representation of the national minorities of Hungary in the historiography of the dualistic era (1867-1918) Imre Tarafás Abstract One of the most problematic questions of Hungarian politics during the dualistic era (1867-1918) was the policy towards national minorities. The population of five nationalities reached or even exceeded one million each. These minorities were not only large in population, but they were also touched by nationalist ideologies, as a result, they declared themselves nations which the Hungarian legislation was not willing to accept. In addition, most of these minorities had federative, or even separatist aims. The 19th century also saw the birth of history as a scientific discipline. Professional historians all over Europe had a crucial task: by construction a national history narrative, they had to legitimize the existence of their nation. This meant that the pas had to be presented as a process which inevitably led to the formation of the 19th century's nation sate. Additionally, history served as a basis for both the Magyars and the nationalities in their argumentation. The central question of the paper is how Magyar historians integrated the national minorities of the country into a national history narrative. The problem is studied in five syntheses on Hungarian history..