Serbian Voivodship and Tamiš Banat
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The Serbian Voivodship and Tamiš Banat was a voivodship (duchy) of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1860. It was a separate crown land and was formed in accordance with privilege given to Serbs by the Habsburg emperor in 1691, recognizing the right of Serbs to territorial autonomy within the Habsburg Monarchy. Its former area is now divided between Serbia, Romania and Hungary. The Voivodship gave its name to the present Serbian Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
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[edit] Names
In German, the Voivodship was known as Die serbische Wojwodschaft und das temeser Banat or Woiwodschaft Serbien und Temescher Banat, in Serbian as Српска Војводовина и Тамишки Банат / Srpska Vojvodovina i Tamiški Banat or Војводство Србија и Тамишки Банат / Vojvodstvo Srbija i Tamiški Banat, in Hungarian as Szerb Vajdaság és Temesi Bánság, and in Romanian as Voivodina Sârbeascǎ şi Banatul Timişoarei.
In various sources (both, Serbian and German) there are two somewhat different variants of the name of the voivodship, one could be translated into English as Serbian Voivodship and Tamiš Banat and another as Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat.
[edit] History
The Voivodship was formed by a decision of the Austrian emperor in November 1849, after the Revolutions of 1848 and May Assembly. It consisted of the regions of Banat, Bačka and northern Syrmian municipalities of Ilok and Ruma. An Austrian governor seated in Temeschwar ruled the area, and the title of Voivod belonged to the emperor himself. The full title of the emperor was "Grand Voivod of the Voivodship of Serbia" (German: Großwoiwode der Woiwodschaft Serbien). Even after the Voivodship was abolished, the emperor kept this title until the end of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918.
In 1860 Serbian Voivodship and Tamiš Banat was abolished and most of its territory (Banat and Bačka) was returned under the direct administration of the Kingdom of Hungary, although this only came fully into effect in 1867, after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, when Kingdom of Hungary gained autonomy (personal union) within newly formed Austria-Hungary. Unlike Banat and Bačka, in 1860 Syrmia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Slavonia. Slavonia subsequently joined with the Kingdom of Croatia forming new kingdom named Croatia-Slavonia, which made a pact with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1868, hence becoming self-governed part of the Hungarian Kingdom within Austria-Hungary).
[edit] Languages
The two official languages of the Voivodship were German and Illyrian (what would become Serbo-Croatian).
[edit] Ethnic groups
The Voivodship was ethnically very mixed, since the southern parts of Syrmia, Banat and Bačka with compact Serbian settlements were not included in it, while eastern Banat, with a Romanian majority was added to it.
[edit] 1846
According to the 1846 census, the territory that in 1849 formed the voivodship included: [1]
- Vlachs (Romanians) = 417,000
- Serbs = 402,000
- Germans = 352,000
- Hungarians = 233,000
- Slovaks = 27,000
- Bulgarians = 24,000
- Jews = 16,000
- Roma = 12,000
- Rusyns = 7,000
- Croats = 3,000
- Greeks = 3,000
[edit] 1850/51
According to the 1850/51 census, ethnic composition of the voivodship was as follows: [2]
- Romanians = 347,459
- Germans = 335,080
- Serbs = 321,110 (*)
- Hungarians = 221,845
- Bunjevci and Šokci = 62,936 (*)
- Rusins = 39,914
- Slovaks = 25,607
- Bulgarians = 22,780
- Jews = 15,507
- Gypsies = 11,440
- Czechs = 7,530
- Croats = 2,860 (*)
- Greeks and Cincars = 2,820
(*) Total number of "Illyrian Slavs" (Serbs, Bunjevci, Šokci, and Croats) was 386,906.
According to another source, in 1850/1851, the population of the voivodship numbered 1,426,221 inhabitants, including: [3]
- 397,459 (27.87%) Romanians
- 335,080 (23.49%) Germans
- 321,110 (22.52%) Serbs
- 221,845 (15.56%) Hungarians
- others.
[edit] Religion
[edit] 1851
In 1851, population of the voivodship numbered 1,426,221 inhabitants, including: [1]
- Orthodox Christians = 694,029 (48.66%)
- Roman Catholics = 624,839 (43.81%)
- Evangelic-Lutherans = 51,724 (3.63%)
- Evangelic-Reformists = 26,621 (1.87%)
- Jews = 16,252 (1.14%)
- Greek Catholics and Armenian Catholics = 12,756 (0.89%)
[edit] 1857
In 1857, population of the voivodship numbered 1,526,105 inhabitants, including: [1]
- Roman Catholics = 698,189 (45.75%)
- Orthodox Christians = 691,828 (45.33%)
- Evangelic-Lutherans = 56,871 (3.73%)
- Evangelic-Reformists = 29,281 (1.92%)
- Greek Catholics and Armenian Catholics = 26,244 (1.72%)
- Jews = 23,203 (1.52%)
- others = 489 (0.03%)
[edit] Administrative divisions
At first, Voivodship was divided into two districts:
Later, it was divided into five districts: [4]
- Lugoj (In 1850, population of the district numbered 229,363 inhabitants, including: 197,363 Romanians, 21,179 Germans, 8,305 Bulgarians, 1,505 Hungarians, 612 Serbs, etc)
- Timişoara (In 1850, population of the district numbered 316,565 inhabitants, including: 159,292 Romanians, 101,339 Germans, 34,263 Serbs, 12,412 Hungarians, 3,664 Bulgarians, 2,307 Šokci, 1,650 Slovaks, etc)
- Torontal (In 1850, population of the district numbered 388,704 inhabitants, including: 126,730 Germans, 124,111 Serbs, 60,781 Hungarians, 58,292 Romanians, 11,045 Bulgarians, 3,752 Croats, 2,562 Slovaks, 1,421 Jews, etc)
- Novi Sad (In 1850, population of the district numbered 236,943 inhabitants, including: 100,382 Serbs, 45,936 Germans, 30,450 Hungarians, 20,683 Slovaks, 13,665 Šokci, 2,098 Jews, etc)
- Sombor
[edit] Rulers
- Franz Joseph I, (1849-1916).
- Karl I, (1916-1918).
- Note: the voivodship was abolished in 1860, but emperor Franz Joseph kept the title of voivod until his death in 1916, and the title was also inherited by last Habsburg emperor Karl I.
Governors:
- Ferdinand Mayerhofer, governor (1849-1851).
- Johann Coronini-Cronberg, governor (1851-1859).
- Josip Šokčević, governor (1859-1860).
- Karl Bigot de Saint-Quentin, governor (1860).
[edit] References
- Dr Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjiga 3, Novi Sad, 1990.
- Sima M. Ćirković, Srbi među evropskim narodima, Beograd, 2004.
- Lazo M. Kostić, Srpska Vojvodina i njene manjine, Novi Sad, 1999.
- Drago Njegovan, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji, Novi Sad, 2004.
- Dejan Mikavica, Srpska Vojvodina u Habsburškoj Monarhiji 1690-1920, Novi Sad, 2005.
- Vasilije Krestić, Iz prošlosti Srema, Bačke i Banata, Beograd, 2003.
- Milan Tutorov, Banatska rapsodija, Novi Sad, 2001.
