Population and Settlement
In the first lesson it was shown that many people lived near the Mediterranean because of the climate and the domestication in that area of the world. Croatia is in the Mediterranean and though much of the country is covered in forest many people are seen to live on the coast and on the borderlines of other bordering countries. Croatia has hot, dry summers along the coast and cold winters, this is ideal climate for grapes and grains which are a big production of Croatia. One of its top commodities is fresh cow milk meaning that the domestication of cows is present and was probably prevalent when the first Croatians arrived ("Croatia," 2014).
The Croatians are believed to be a people of Slavic descent who migrated from Ukraine to what is present day Croatia during the 6th century (Broad College of Business & , 2014). The Croatians had a steady rule for a few centuries and conquered surrounding districts including Dalmatia, which is still part of Croatia today. However, Croatia hit its power peak in the 11th century leading to the conquest of King Ladislaus I of Hungary in 1091. Croatia remained linked with Hungary for many centuries sometimes being able to choose their own leaders. The battle of the Mohacs in 1526 forced Croatia to become under Turkish rule (Columbia University Press, 2012). In order to get out of this rule Croatia invited the Hasburgs to assume control over Croatia and by the 18th century most of Croatia was free of Turkish control.
The Croatians are believed to be a people of Slavic descent who migrated from Ukraine to what is present day Croatia during the 6th century (Broad College of Business & , 2014). The Croatians had a steady rule for a few centuries and conquered surrounding districts including Dalmatia, which is still part of Croatia today. However, Croatia hit its power peak in the 11th century leading to the conquest of King Ladislaus I of Hungary in 1091. Croatia remained linked with Hungary for many centuries sometimes being able to choose their own leaders. The battle of the Mohacs in 1526 forced Croatia to become under Turkish rule (Columbia University Press, 2012). In order to get out of this rule Croatia invited the Hasburgs to assume control over Croatia and by the 18th century most of Croatia was free of Turkish control.
This image shows the migration pattern of the Slavic people from Afghanistan to what is now Croatia. ("Migration Pattern," Migration Pattern)
Following World War I and the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (which became Yugoslavia in 1929). During World War II, German and Italian troops invaded and occupied Yugoslavia and set up a puppet, Fascist regime to rule a nominally-independent Croatian state. This regime, under the hard-line nationalist Croatian Ustasha party, was responsible for the deaths of large numbers of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma, and other civilians in a network of concentration camps. Eventually in what happened to be a civil war it was defeated by the Partisans, led by Josip Broz Tito. The pro-Yugoslav Partisans included many ethnic groups, including a large number of Croatians, and were supplied in large part by the United States and the United Kingdom. Yugoslavia changed its name once again after World War II. The new state became the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia and united Croatia and several other republics together under the communist leadership of Marshal Tito (Broad College of Business & , 2014).
As communism began to fall throughout Eastern Europe and the Croatian communist ruler Tito died Croatia held a multi-party election and elected President Franji Tudjman to be their new leader. One year after this Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. However, conflict quickly rose and there was much hostility between Croatia and the Serbs. The United Nations mediated three different cease-fires that were broken and it was not until December 1995 that Croatia signed the Dayton peace agreement which committed itself to permanent cease-fire and the return of all refugees (Broad College of Business & , 2014). Currently Croatia is run by a parliamentary democracy with the newest election to be of December this year.
As for the Croatians, most live in the major cities where the crops grow. There is a map shown below that shows the Croatian population and one that shows the land use. It is shown that most of Croatia is made up of crop fields and forest and most of the people in Croatia live near the crops(Columbia University Press, 2012). This makes sense because this is where the cattle would be and also where they farm their crops, Croatia has the weather for this so this is where the people settle.
As communism began to fall throughout Eastern Europe and the Croatian communist ruler Tito died Croatia held a multi-party election and elected President Franji Tudjman to be their new leader. One year after this Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. However, conflict quickly rose and there was much hostility between Croatia and the Serbs. The United Nations mediated three different cease-fires that were broken and it was not until December 1995 that Croatia signed the Dayton peace agreement which committed itself to permanent cease-fire and the return of all refugees (Broad College of Business & , 2014). Currently Croatia is run by a parliamentary democracy with the newest election to be of December this year.
As for the Croatians, most live in the major cities where the crops grow. There is a map shown below that shows the Croatian population and one that shows the land use. It is shown that most of Croatia is made up of crop fields and forest and most of the people in Croatia live near the crops(Columbia University Press, 2012). This makes sense because this is where the cattle would be and also where they farm their crops, Croatia has the weather for this so this is where the people settle.
Croatian Population
After looking at the population maps from 1950 to 2010 you will first notice the increase in total population. Then you can see that the shapes of the 2 graphs are a little different. In the 1950's it seems that much of the population was the young children and that after the age of about 60 there was not many people living much longer. However, looking at the year 2010 the population is much more even. There are less children representing the total population and there are people living well into their 60's and even 70's. My guess would be that this is because the death rate dropped meaning that there were fewer children that people had and also because the life expectancy went up allowing people to live into older age. It is interesting to note that, for the most part, male and female population is about 50/50.
Additional Information
This website gives information about what Croatia is like right now present day with the people, geography, and government. If you are looking for any specific facts this is a great place to go and it is organized in a very easy to find way.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/hr.html |
The website given below explains the culture of Croatia as it relates to America. It gives the history of this unique country and then explains how Croatians came to America, where they work, their customs, traditions, health, and different settlement patterns. It is very interesting and gives information about the life that Croatians live and how it differs from what an American would be used to.
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Croatian-Americans.html#b |