Ante Starčević ( ; 23 May 1823 – 28 February 1896) was a
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
n politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of
his people to
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
. As an important member of the Croatian parliament and the founder of the
Party of Rights
The Party of Rights () was a Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influ ...
he has laid the foundations for
Croatian nationalism
Croatian nationalism is nationalism that asserts the nationality of Croats and promotes the cultural unity of Croats.
Modern Croatian nationalism first arose in the 19th century after Budapest exerted increasing pressure for Magyarization of Cro ...
. He has been referred to as
Father of the Nation
The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...
due to his campaign for the rights of Croats within
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
and his propagation of a Croatian state in a time where many politicians sought unification with other
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
.
Biography
Life
Starčević was born in the village of near
Gospić, a small town in the
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
within the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
, to a
Croat
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
father Jakov and
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
Orthodox mother Milica (). Starčević's formative years were influenced by his uncle
Šime Starčević
Šime Starčević (18 April 1784 – 14 May 1859) was a Croatian priest and linguist.
He was born in Žitnik, near Gospić. He worked as a pastor in Gospić, Lički Novi, Udbina, and since 1814 in Karlobag. He knew Latin, French, Italian and Germa ...
, a Catholic priest with strong Illyrian sympathies who supported the brief Napoleonic occupation of Dalmatia and compiled an Illyrian-French dictionary. From the age of thirteen to sixteen, his educational foundation was formed by Sime's teachings, including Latin and the
Shtokavian
Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige supradialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin stand ...
Croatian dialect.
In 1845, he graduated from
Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb.
He then briefly continued his studies at the seminary in
Senj
Senj is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains.
The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...
, but soon moved to
Pest in 1845 to attend a Roman Catholic theological seminary, graduating in 1846.
Upon his graduation Starčević returned to
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
and continued studying theology in Senj. Rather than becoming a priest, he decided to engage in secular pursuits and started working at Ladislav Šram's law firm in Zagreb.
He then tried to get an academic post with the
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...
but was unsuccessful, so he remained in Šram's office until 1861 when he was appointed chief
notary
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...
of Fiume County.
That same year, he was elected to the
Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...
as the representative of Fiume and founded the
original Croatian Party of Rights with
Eugen Kvaternik.
He was also a member of the committee of
Matica ilirska, a Croatian cultural society connected with the
Illyrian movement
The Illyrian movement (; ) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835 t ...
, in the Historical Society and in the editorial board of ''Neven'', a literary magazine. Starčević would be reelected to the parliament in 1865, 1871, and from 1878 until his death.
In 1862, when Fiume was implicated in participation in protests against the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
, he was suspended and sentenced to one month in prison as an enemy of the regime.
In 1871 he was arrested again following the
Rakovica Revolt
The Rakovica revolt () was an armed uprising in 1871 led by Croatian politician Eugen Kvaternik against authorities of Austria-Hungary, with the aim of establishing an independent Croatian state at the time when it was part of Austria-Hungary. The ...
that was launched by Kvaternik, which sought independence from Habsburg rule. The revolt drew both Serb and Croat peasants but was quashed after three days by Imperial troops. Despite having nothing to do with the rebellion, the authorities imprisoned Starčević and abolished the Party of Rights. He spent 75 days in prison; after his release he worked as a clerk in the law office of his nephew,
David Starčević.
In his old age, he moved to Starčević House (''Starčevićev dom''), built for him by the Croatian people in 1895. He died in his house less than a year later, aged 73. According to his wish, he was buried in the Church of St Mirko in the Zagreb suburb of
Šestine. His bust was made by
Ivan Rendić. On his deathbed, he requested that no monuments be raised to his honor, but his statue was put up in front of Starčević House in 1998.
Political activity
By the 1850s Croatian ideologies of national identity were split between Yugoslavism, which grew upon the
Illyrian movement
The Illyrian movement (; ) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835 t ...
and advocated for unity between South Slavs as a way to sustain the Croatian nation, and exclusive Croatian nationalism. Starčević and Kvaternik rejected the Yugoslav framework and deemed that a revolution like the
French Revolution was necessary to liberate Croatia from Austrian control.
As the chief notary in Fiume in 1861, Starčević wrote "the four petitions of the Rijeka county".
He pointed out that Croatia needed to determine its relationships with Austria and
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
through international agreements. He demanded the reintegration of the Croatian lands, ''the large kingdom of Croatia of old'' (the
medieval Kingdom of Croatia), the homeland of one people, ''with the same blood, language, past and (God willing) future''.
His desire for Independence from Austria became the basis for his founding of the Party of Rights with Kvaternik. The party's initial slogan was: "Ni pod Beč, ni pod Peštu, nego za slobodnu, samostalnu Hrvatsku" ("Neither under Vienna nor under
Pest", but for a free and independent Croat state"). Along with Kvaternik, he viewed Austria as the "sworn historic enemy" of the Croats, and did not accept Hungary's governing authority over Croatia.
In achieving political goals, the party rejected any cooperation with Vienna or Budapest, or Serbs.
The party therefore did little work in the parliament and gained a reputation for being difficult and unreasonable.
Starčević advocated the resolution of
Bosnian issues by reforms and cooperation between the people and the nobility. Starčević believed that
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
were "the best Croats", and claimed that "Bosnian Muslims are a part of the Croatian people and of the purest Croatian blood".
With the speech he held in the Parliament on 26 June 1861, Starčević initiated the campaign aimed at rehabilitation of
Petar Zrinski and
Fran Krsto Frankopan.
From his first writings of 1861, until his last speech, Starčević tried to prove that the main and lasting thing was to get rid of Austrian intimidation and that for the Croatian people there was no life or happier future "until it's no longer under Austria-Hungary." He took up the hostile stance towards the "mindset called Austria, in which governments and rulers (...) conspired against the peoples."
Starčević saw the main Croatian enemy in the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. He believed in the ability of the Croatian people to govern themselves and that sovereignty grew from the nation, the people, and not from the ruler that governed "
By the Grace of God". "God and Croats" was the essence of Starčević's political ideas.
Under the influence of the ideas of the French Revolution, he fought against
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
and advocated for the democratization of political life. In politics, he relied on townsmen, wealthier peasantry, and intellectuals.
Ideology
Starčević was at first a proponent of the
Illyrian movement
The Illyrian movement (; ) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835 t ...
, later he adopted ideological views from the French period such as
Nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
and
Liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
. He developed his personal, as well as Party vies around
Croatian nationalism
Croatian nationalism is nationalism that asserts the nationality of Croats and promotes the cultural unity of Croats.
Modern Croatian nationalism first arose in the 19th century after Budapest exerted increasing pressure for Magyarization of Cro ...
, liberalism in regards to freedom and liberties of peoples and nations, religious pluralism and
Parliamentarian Monarchism.
[ABM, Monarhizam kao ideologija i pokret u 21.st., Obnova magazine, no 8, p: 86][Author: Leo Marić, Name: Made in Europe? Europski utjecaji na hrvatski nacionalizamAnte Starčević, '' svojim političkim spisima redovno rabi podjelu političkih sustava na monarhije, republike i despocije, pri čemu je on sâm zagovornik ustavne monarhije.'', (3.3.2019.), http://www.obnova.com.hr/radovi/autori/86-made-in-europe-europski-utjecaji-na-hrvatski-nacionalizam] He espoused the idea of a
Greater Croatia that would spawn modern-day Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia and viewed all South Slavs who inhabited the regions as Croats, regardless of their religion. For Starčević, Croatia included all the territory from the Alps in the north to Macedonia and the Bulgarian border to the south. The Bulgarians and Croats were the only South Slavic nations.
Literary and linguistic work

In addition to his political activities, Starčević was a theologian, philosopher and writer. He wrote literary criticisms, short stories, newspaper articles, political satire, philosophical essays and poems.
He was also a translator.
His
travelogue ''From
Lika
Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
'' was published in Kušlan's magazine ''Slavenski Jug'' on 22 October 1848. He wrote four plays in the period 1851–52, but only the ''Village Prophet'' has been preserved. His translation of
Anacreon
Anacreon ( BC) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early ...
from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
was published in ''
Danica ilirska
Danica ilirska was the first Croatian literary magazine launched on 10 January 1835 as a weekly supplement to ''Novine horvatske'' newspaper in Zagreb, the Kingdom of Croatia.
It was initially published under the title of ''Danicza horvatzka, sl ...
'' in 1853. He provided critical reviews of
Đurđević's various poems.
In 1850, inspired by
Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; ; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement.
Biography
Origin
He was born in Krapina ( ...
, Starčević started working on the manuscript of ''
Istarski razvod'', a Croatian document from 1325. He transcribed the text from the
Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...
to the Latin alphabet, analysed it and published it in 1852. In the foreword, Starčević elaborated his linguistic ideas, specifically that the mixture of all three Croatian dialects: Shtokavian,
Chakavian
Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmatia, Istria, Croatian L ...
and
Kajkavian
Kajkavian is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic supradialect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia and Gorski Kotar.
It is part of the South Slavic dialect continuum, being transitional to the supradialects of Č ...
) and the
Krajina
Krajina () is a Slavic languages, Slavic toponym, meaning 'country' or 'march (territory), march'. The term is related to ''kraj'' or ''krai'', originally meanings ''land'', ''country'' or ''edge''Rick Derksen (2008), ''Etymological Dictionary of t ...
dialect, with its 600-year history, was the
Croatian language
Croatian (; ) is the standard language, standardised Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language mainly used by Croats. It is the national official language and literary standard of Croatia, o ...
. Starčević accepted the
etymological
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
orthography and used the
Ekavian accent for his entire life, considering it the heir of the old Kajkavian. He did not use
assibilation
In linguistics, assibilation is a sound change resulting in a sibilant consonant. It is a form of spirantization and is commonly the final phase of palatalization.
Arabic
A characteristic of Mashreqi varieties of Arabic (particularly Levanti ...
,
coarticulation
Coarticulation in its general sense refers to a situation in which a conceptually isolated speech sound is influenced by, and becomes more like, a preceding or following speech sound. There are two types of coarticulation: ''anticipatory coarticul ...
nor
assimilation, accepted in Croatian orthography since Ljudevit Gaj. His orthography was adopted by the
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
regime in
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
. His language is a "synthetic" form of Croatian, never used before or after him, most similar to the
Ozalj idiom of
Petar Zrinski, whom he probably never read.
[''Lika i Ličani u hrvatskom jezikoslovlju''](_blank)
(Lika and Its People in Croatian Linguistics), Proceedings of the Scientific Symposium of ''Days of Ante Starčević''
Starčević stated his opposition to the
Vienna Language Agreement of 1850 in which Serb and Croat linguists agreed on a foundation of a
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
language based on the Shtokavian dialect. He also opposed the linguistic concepts of
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and published articles attacking his proposals. Starčević denied the existence of a Serb identity and therefore advocated for a Croatian language.
His position mirrored Karadžić's from the opposite end, as Karadžić viewed all Shtokavian speakers as Serbs while Starčević viewed them all as Croats.
When ''Srbski dnevnik'' from
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
published an article saying that "Croatians write in Serbian", Starčević wrote in response: "Instead of claiming that the Croats use anything else but the Croatian language, those writers who consider themselves Serbs (or whatever they like) would do well to write in the educated and pure Croatian language, like some of them are already doing, and they can call their language Coptic for all I care." He published the reply as an unsigned article in ''
Narodne novine
''Narodne novine'' () is the official gazette (or newspaper of public record) of the Republic of Croatia which publishes laws, regulations, appointments and official decisions and releases them in the public domain. It is published by the epon ...
'', the newspaper of
Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; ; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement.
Biography
Origin
He was born in Krapina ( ...
, so the Serbian side attacked Gaj, wrongly attributing the article to him. Starčević subsequently proclaimed he was the author, not Gaj, who cared to maintain good relations with Serbia, distanced himself from his friend.
Starčević was the only Croatian politician from his era respected by writer
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry ('' The Ballads o ...
.
[Miroslav Krleža o hrvatskoj historiografiji i hrvatskoj povijesti](_blank)
/ref> Krleža used to compare Starčević's struggles to those of Don Quijote's. For Miroslav Krleža Starčević has been the most intelligent Croatian politician. Krleža, however, did not pay much attention to political aspects of his works.
In 1869, he published an affirmative article on the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
and Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
.
Assessment
Starčević promoted the "principle of nationality", according to which every nation must have a state. Starčević advocated Croatia's independence from the Austrian Empire and viewed Austria as a "sworn historical enemy", but did not support the use of force. For him, there was only one Croatian state right, which belonged to the Croatian people. This became the central constituent of his ideology. He saw the foundations of the new state in the ideas of the French Revolution, and supported universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
.[
Starčević rejected the terms "Illyrian" or "Yugoslav", and insisted on the name "Croatian" for his people. He viewed the Illyrian movement as a tragic error. He considered that there were only two South Slavic nations: Croats and ]Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
, and envisioned Croatia from the Alps to Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
. He called Slovenes as Alpine Croats, Serbs simply as Croats, and Bosnian Muslims as the purest part of the Croatian nation. Some authors, such as Serbian writer Jovan Skerlić, interpreted this as in fact an advocacy of Yugoslavism. Some view Starčević as anti-Serb.
Starčević fiercely condemned all those who thought differently from him. He coined the term "Slavoserb", derived from the Latin words "sclavus" and "servus", for those who function as servants to foreign powers and against their own people. He applied that term to persons such as Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; ; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement.
Biography
Origin
He was born in Krapina ( ...
, Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; ; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church, politician and benefactor (law), benefactor. Between 1849 and his death, he served as the Bishop of Đakovo, Bishop ...
, and Croatian Ban Ivan Mažuranić
Ivan Mažuranić (; 11 August 1814 – 4 August 1890) was a Croatian poet, linguist, lawyer and politician who is considered to be one of the most important figures in Croatia's political and cultural life in the mid-19th century. Mažuranić se ...
. It was applied to persons who were both Croats and Serbs. He also pointed out Nikola IV Zrinski and Josip Jelačić as servants to foreigners, and named the participants of the Zrinski-Frankopan Conspiracy as their opposite. He wrote positively about the Serbian Nemanjić dynasty
The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent Serbian dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal and imperial house produced List of Serbian monarchs, twelv ...
.[ However, he accordingly claimed they were a Croatian dynasty.]
The term "Slavoserbianism" did not refer to the Serbs as a nation, but persons and groups that were "politically servile". The misinterpretation of Starčević's views by the Pure Party of Rights, which split off from Starčević's Party of Rights and was led by Josip Frank
Josip Frank (; 16 April 1844 – 17 December 1911) was a Croatian lawyer and politician, a noted representative of the Party of Rights in the Croatian Parliament, and a vocal advocate of Croatian national independence in Austria-Hungary.
Early ...
, and later by the Ustaše movement, incorrectly implied that Starčević was anti-Serb. Starčević used the terms "breed" and "unclean blood" for "Slavoserbs", for which some labeled him a racist. However, he applied the term based on what he perceived as anti-Croatian actions, rather than someone's ethnic origin. The Croatian-Jewish historian Mirjana Gross writes that Starčević's ideology "did not allow biological racism". The historian Nevenko Bartulin writes that Starčević's views on race were "confused and contradictory because they were in theoretical opposition to his idea of a civic Croatian state", although his "recourse to racial ideas and language is significant to hediscussion on the development of racial theory in late nineteenth-century Croatia". He introduced the idea of non-Slav and Vlach origin of most Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia, and Croat blood origin of the Bosnian Muslims, which became a key component of Ustaše racial ideology. However, he did not argue that Croats were racially superior to other groups but that they were an "exceptional and unique" people. The historian Ivo Goldstein
Ivo Goldstein (; born 16 March 1958) is a historian, author and ambassador from Croatia. Goldstein is a recipient of the Order of Danica Hrvatska (2007) and the City of Zagreb Award (2005).
Biography Education
Ivo Goldstein graduated from ...
wrote that those who allege Starčević's racism and anti-Serbianism either falsify or distort his ideological positions. Goldstein also wrote that in modern political terms, Starčević would probably be a kind of progressive or liberal.[
According to the historian Sabrina P. Ramet, Starčević "was interested in building up a state of equal citizens (a “citizens' state”) and not in constructing an exclusivist ideology on the basis of either national or religious homogeneity". According to the historian ]Jozo Tomasevich
Josip "Jozo" Tomasevich (1908October 15, 1994; ) was an American economist and historian whose speciality was the economic and social history of Yugoslavia. Tomasevich was born in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, then part of Austria-Hungary, and after ...
: "Despite his many exaggerations, inconsistencies, and gross mistakes of fact, Starčević was by far the most important political thinker and ideologist in Croatia during the second half of the nineteenth century". He also wrote that "with respect to both independence and anti-Serbianism, the Ustashas cannot be taken as the heirs to Starčević's ideology." Goldstein writes that the Ustaše tried to portray Starčević as their forerunner and founder, but were completely different from Starčević, and writes: "The NDH had nothing to do with Croatian political traditions or previous political conceptions (not even those of Ante Starčević). There is a huge difference between Ante Starčević and Ante Pavelić, in fact an abyss, in every sense."[ According to writer and journalist Marcus Tanner, Starčević was "grossly misinterpreted" by those that later claimed to be his followers, and that it is "hard to imagine him bestowing approval on Pavelić’s Nazi puppet state". The historian Sabrina P. Ramet echoes this reflection.
]
Starčević and the Catholic Church
Starčević espoused secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...
views: he advocated the separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
, and argued that faith should not guide the political life, and that the insistence on religious differences is harmful to the national interests. He sharply criticized the Roman Catholic clergy in Croatia due to the fact that it sided with his political opponents. He saw the Croatian Catholic clergy as servants of foreign masters who were instrumental in enslaving and destroying Croatian people on behalf of Austrian and Hungarian interests. At the same time, Starčević was not an atheist: he believed that a civilized society could not exist without faith in God and the immortal soul, which is why he saw atheists as untrustworthy.
He and the bishop of Đakovo, Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; ; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church, politician and benefactor (law), benefactor. Between 1849 and his death, he served as the Bishop of Đakovo, Bishop ...
, disagreed about Croatian politics. Strossmayer was sympathetic towards panslavic unity of South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
(future Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
). Starčević, on the other hand, demanded an independent Croatian state and opposed any solution that would include Croats within some other multi-ethnic country.
Legacy
Croatian writer Antun Gustav Matoš wrote a tractate about him. In it, he proclaims Starčević as the greatest Croat and the greatest patriot in the 19th century. He also describes Starčević as the greatest Croatian thinker.
For his political and literary work, Starčević is commonly called Father of the Nation
The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...
( Croatian: ''Otac domovine'') among Croats, a name first used by Eugen Kvaternik while Starčević was still alive. His portrait was depicted on the obverse
The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...
of the Croatian 1000 kuna banknote, issued in 1993.
Many streets and squares are named after Starčević; in 2008, a total of 203 streets in Croatia were named after him, making him the sixth most common person eponym of streets in the country. There are also schools named after him. Most right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
parties in Croatia claim his politics as their legacy.
See also
* Order of Ante Starčević
*Party of Rights
The Party of Rights () was a Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influ ...
*Croatian nationalism
Croatian nationalism is nationalism that asserts the nationality of Croats and promotes the cultural unity of Croats.
Modern Croatian nationalism first arose in the 19th century after Budapest exerted increasing pressure for Magyarization of Cro ...
* Stjepan Radić
Notes
References
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* Barišić, Pavo, Ante Starčević (1823–1896) // Liberalna misao u Hrvatskoj / Feldman, Andrea; *Stipetić, Vladimir; Zenko, Franjo (ur.).Zagreb: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, 2000.
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starcevic, Ante
1823 births
1896 deaths
People from Gospić
19th-century Croatian people
Party of Rights politicians
Representatives in the Croatian Parliament (1848–1918)
University of Pécs alumni
Croatian nationalists
Croatian monarchists
History of Gospić
Politicians from Austria-Hungary
Writers from Austria-Hungary
Croatian satirists
Croatian short story writers
Croatian essayists