Can one Kingdom Impose Laws on Another? Croatian-Hungarian Public Law Disputes Between 1790-1848

Abstract

The study deals with the Croatian-Hungarian public law disputes between 1790 and 1848. Following the establishment of the Croatian-Hungarian state union in 1102, the relationship remained largely peaceful until the late 18th century. By the second half of the 18th century Croatia-Slavonia lost much of its former autonomy to Vienna, which prompted the Croatian nobility to seek alliance with the Hungarian elite. However, instead of the expected alliance, the 1790-91 Hungarian Diet resulted in the first major tensions between the two nations and the disputes emerging on the Diet continued on throughout the first half of the 19th century. Croatia-Slavonia opposed the growing centralization efforts of Hungary, advocating for an equal status based on principles of the historic constitution. Key conflicts included debates over the status of the Hungarian and Croatian languages within Croatia-Slavonia, religious rights - namely the rights of Protestants in Croatia-Slavonia - and territorial debates concerning Lower Slavonia and Fiume (Rijeka). The push for replacing Latin with Hungarian as the official language sparked concerns amongst Croatians that their country will be absorbed by Hungary in the near future. The deterioration of Hungarian-Croatian relations led to Croatia-Slavonia supporting the Austrian side during the Hungarian War of Independence in 1848-49, resulting in the first and only Hungarian-Croatian armed conflict in the nine-century-long history of the state union.