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| Who was Josip Jelačić? | |
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Born in a Croatian noble family in 1801, Jelačić was educated in Vienna at the Theresian Military Academy. After his studies he led several military campaigns, mostly against the Ottoman army in the frontier zone of the empire. His carreer rose fast and he was promoted a colonel in 1841. Following the Hungarian revolution against the Habsburg rule in 1848 and the formation of the Hungarian government, the Habsburg emperor realized that the national minorities of Hungary could be used successfully against the Hungarians’ independence ambitions, and the loyalist Jelačić fitted into this plan perfectly. A few days after the Hungarian revolution, the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand I promoted Jelačić to the commander of all Habsburg troops in Croatia and he was also elected to the Croatian ban by the Sabor, the National Assembly of Croatia. The Sabor declared several demands to the Habsburg court such as the union of the Croatian provinces (Croatian-Slavonian Kingdom, Istria, Dalmatia) and the separation from the Kingdom of Hungary. The demands also included the abolition of serfdom and the extension of voting and civil rights. Therefore it is not surprising the ban Jelačić has been widely respected in Croatia. As Jelačić regarded the formation of the Hungarian government as a revolution against the Habsburg Empire, he led his army towards Pest and Buda (today Budapest). After a serious defeat at Pákozd, he marched onwards Vienna to join the Austrian troops around Vienna and to help them to suppress the Viennese revolution. Later Jelačić’s army took part in several military campaigns led against the Hungarian troops. After the suppression of the Hungarian revolution he returned to Zagreb and remained the Croatian ban until his death. |
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The Croatian ban (viceroy), Josip Jelačić was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding figures of the Habsburg Empire though | < Prev | Next > |
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