The May Assembly 1848 in Sremski Karlovci

May Assembly ( sr, Мајска скупштина / Majska skupština) was the national assembly of the

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

s in

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, held on 1 and 3 May 1848 in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

, during which the Serbs proclaimed autonomous

Serbian Vojvodina The Serbian Vojvodina ( sr, Српска Војводина / ) was a short-lived self-proclaimed Serb autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (o ...

. This action was later recognized by the supreme Austrian authority in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The May Assembly was part of the European Revolutions of 1848.

Prelude

After news of the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

reached the Austrian Empire, the absolutist reign of

Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

was weakened. At this time the regions of

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hunga ...

and

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

were administratively divided between the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary (in the north) and the Habsburg

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and l ...

(in the south). A sizeable percent of the Austrian soldiers serving on the Military Frontier were ethnic

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

, who protected Austrian borders in exchange for certain political freedoms that they were able to enjoy within the frontier, whose administration functioned independently from the county-system of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. After the outbreak of the revolution in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary on 15 March 1848, the new government of the kingdom refused to accept the Serbs' request for recognition of their national rights, taking a stance that all citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary are

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

. Serbs, whose national rights and freedoms were previously regulated within the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

saw the Hungarian position as a degradation of their status. After the initial Serb political demands for recognition of their national rights were rejected by the new government of the Kingdom of Hungary, Serb demands became more radical and the Serb national movement turned against the new revolutionary government of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Assembly

Realizing that Hungarian revolutionary leaders are not willing to recognize national rights of the Serbs, political leaders of the Serbs decided to hold an assembly on which a separate Serb

voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

within Austrian Empire would be proclaimed. Assembly was held on 1–3 May 1848 in

(a town within the Habsburg

). The beginning of the May Assembly was declared from the balcony of Sremski Karlovci City Hall. The assembly proclaimed a creation of

and its political alliance with the

Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia The Triune Kingdom ( hr, Trojedna kraljevina) or Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia ( hr, Trojedna Kraljevina Hrvatske, Slavonije i Dalmacije) was the concept—advocated by the leaders of the 19th-century Croatian national revival ...

. During the assembly, Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan

Josif Rajačić Josif Rajačić ( sr-Cyrl, Јосиф Рајачић; 20 July 1785 – 1 December 1861), also known as Josif Rajačić-Brinski, was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch, administrator of Vojvodina, and baron. Life Rajačić was ...

was elevated to the dignity of the Serbian

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

(a title formerly held by

Arsenije Čarnojević Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name '' Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include '' Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and '' Arso''. It may refer to: * Arsenije Sremac (d. 1266), second Archbishop of the Se ...

) while

Stevan Šupljikac Stevan Šupljikac ( sr-cyr, Стеван Шупљикац; 1786 – 15 December 1848), known simply as Vojvoda Šupljikac was a Serbian ''voivode'' and the first voivode of the Serbian Vojvodina. Life He was born in Petrinja, in 1786. He ...

was declared for a

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

(duke) of the newly formed voivodeship.

Đorđe Stratimirović Đorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе; transliterated Djordje) is a Serbian given name, a Serbian variant, derived from Greek ''Georgios'' ('' George'' in English). Other variants include: Đurđe, Đurađ, Đura, Đuro, Georgije. It may refer to: * Đ ...

was elected for the

Vožd Vozhd (russian: Вождь, lit=leader, guide) or Vožd ( sr-Cyrl, Вожд), is a Russian and Serbian Church Slavonic loanword derived from the verb ''vesti'' (вести, meaning "to lead", "to guide"). History In Serbia, that title was giv ...

(leader of Serb national movement).

The decisions of the Assembly

The assembly officially adopted the following decisions: * Serb nation is politically free and independent under the

House of Austria The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and general Hungarian crown. * We proclaiming

, which includes

with the Frontier, Baranja,

with the Bečej District and the Šajkaš Battalion,

with the Frontier and the Kikinda District. * Serbian Vojvodina forming the political alliance with the

. * Permanent People's Board is formed, as an executive body of the People's Assembly. * We recognizing

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

(

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

) ethnic independence. * We appointing the Board which will bring these decisions in front of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and the Croatian Assembly. * We appointing delegation for the

Slavic Congress Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slavi ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Aftermath

Decisions of the May Assembly were later recognized by the Austrian emperor, who reciprocated to Serbs for participating in the war against Hungarian rebels by official formation of a separate crownland named

Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar , conventional_long_name = Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banate , common_name = Serbia and Banat , subdivision = Crownland , nation = the Austrian Empire , year_start = 1849 , date_start = 18 November , year_end = 1860 , date_end = ...

(formed in 1849). The new Voivodeship was independent from Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary and was directly subordinated to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. It consisted of the regions of

and

(municipalities of

Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia. The populati ...

and

Ruma Ruma (; hu, Árpatarló) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the town has a population of 30,076, while the municipality has a population of 54,339. History Traces of org ...

), excluding parts that were within the Habsburg Military Frontier. This Voivodeship, however, had somewhat different borders from

that was proclaimed in 1848 and essentially functioned as an administrative district. It was more ethnically mixed and included eastern parts of Banat with mainly Romanian population, while parts of the Military Frontier in which Serbs formed the majority were not included into new Habsburg crownland.

References

External links

About May Assembly
(Serbian) Serbian Revolution Serbian Vojvodina History of Syrmia Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire 1848 in Serbia 1848 in the Austrian Empire