Page 246 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2017. Glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti - Musical Migrations: Crossroads of European Musical Diversity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 1
P. 246
glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti
was the result of the implementation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s co-
lonial policy?
Social and Cultural Life in the Fold of the Austro-Hungarian
Colonial Policy in B&H
At the 1878 Congress of Berlin, it was decided that the small Balkan coun-
try, Bosnia and Herzegovina, should officially be ceded to the Dual Mon-
archy, though it would remain under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Em-
pire.1 Although Austro-Hungary believed that the territorial capture of
B&H is a formal issue, it turned out that the resistance to military forces by
the local population (primarily by B&H Serbs and Muslims) was surpris-
ingly strong, turning the military procession into a bloody clash. The rebel-
lion was quenched after three months of long fights, and B&H population
buckled to the far stronger and better organized enemy. It would become
evident that the impossibility to win battles on the military and political
front eventually evolved into the need for a struggle against cultural orien-
tations and trends imposed by the state authorities.
Specifically, the Austro-Hungarian cultural policy was presented as a
civilizing mission aimed at introducing the country, fettered by the Otto-
man Empire for centuries, to the trends of the contemporary social order.
The Ottoman Empire left B&H isolated in terms of communications, and
completely economically underdeveloped, and organized according to out-
dated standards. In the given context, the fact that B&H was part of Europe
in terms of geography was ironic; the unfavorable political circumstanc-
es eventually labeled it as an oriental backwoods on the European map.2
Therefore, the idea of the civilizing mission began to be used by all the sig-
nificant Austro-Hungarian officials immediately upon the occupation.
The reality, however, was different, since these phrases were only an
official excuse for the occupation of territories which played a significant
role in Austro-Hungarian foreign policy. Actually, the issue of Bosnia and
Herzegovina became topical in 1878, since the defeat of the Ottoman Em-
pire in wars with Russia of 1877/1878 led to the formation of a large Slav
state on the Balkans. For the Monarchy, half of whose population consist-
1 Tomislav Kraljačić, Kalajev režim u Bosni i Hercegovini (1882–1903) (Sarajevo: Vese-
lin Masleša, 1987), 38.
2 Robin Okey, Taming Balkan Nationalism (New York: Oxford University Press,
2007), vii.
244
was the result of the implementation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s co-
lonial policy?
Social and Cultural Life in the Fold of the Austro-Hungarian
Colonial Policy in B&H
At the 1878 Congress of Berlin, it was decided that the small Balkan coun-
try, Bosnia and Herzegovina, should officially be ceded to the Dual Mon-
archy, though it would remain under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Em-
pire.1 Although Austro-Hungary believed that the territorial capture of
B&H is a formal issue, it turned out that the resistance to military forces by
the local population (primarily by B&H Serbs and Muslims) was surpris-
ingly strong, turning the military procession into a bloody clash. The rebel-
lion was quenched after three months of long fights, and B&H population
buckled to the far stronger and better organized enemy. It would become
evident that the impossibility to win battles on the military and political
front eventually evolved into the need for a struggle against cultural orien-
tations and trends imposed by the state authorities.
Specifically, the Austro-Hungarian cultural policy was presented as a
civilizing mission aimed at introducing the country, fettered by the Otto-
man Empire for centuries, to the trends of the contemporary social order.
The Ottoman Empire left B&H isolated in terms of communications, and
completely economically underdeveloped, and organized according to out-
dated standards. In the given context, the fact that B&H was part of Europe
in terms of geography was ironic; the unfavorable political circumstanc-
es eventually labeled it as an oriental backwoods on the European map.2
Therefore, the idea of the civilizing mission began to be used by all the sig-
nificant Austro-Hungarian officials immediately upon the occupation.
The reality, however, was different, since these phrases were only an
official excuse for the occupation of territories which played a significant
role in Austro-Hungarian foreign policy. Actually, the issue of Bosnia and
Herzegovina became topical in 1878, since the defeat of the Ottoman Em-
pire in wars with Russia of 1877/1878 led to the formation of a large Slav
state on the Balkans. For the Monarchy, half of whose population consist-
1 Tomislav Kraljačić, Kalajev režim u Bosni i Hercegovini (1882–1903) (Sarajevo: Vese-
lin Masleša, 1987), 38.
2 Robin Okey, Taming Balkan Nationalism (New York: Oxford University Press,
2007), vii.
244
