Due to its positioning on the geo-strategical crossroads of cultural, military, political, socio-economic and numerous other interests, the Croatian historical space was significantly marked by various migration types. As a multiple borderland, it shared the influences of the Hapsburgs, the Venetians and the Ottomans, being from the early modern period, the area of warfare and conflicts but also of diverse migrations of individuals or groups, of intense communications, various social influences and economic and cultural exchange. All these circumstances led to the development of miscellaneous identities of the area and its inhabitants. Many foreigners who settled there temporarily or moved in permanently left multiple imprints on its cultural, social, religious, economic, technological or political development. Similarly, a number of emigrants from Croatian lands, namely intellectuals or professionals, kept their connections with their homeland, enabling the spread of innovative ideas back home.
The main objective of this interdisciplinary project is to explore the modalities of prominent migrant individuals’ contribution to the overall development of the Croatian historical space during the proto-modern period. Following this, the results will be disseminated to a wider audience of key stakeholders and the general public. As a collaborative project between two institutions, this project shall further disseminate the content and results of contemporary as well as of previous research projects of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies and the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. The main goal is gaining deeper insights into this period while the popularising our research work, strengthening further cross-institutional research cooperation and networking. Finally, preliminary results will be used to inform future project planning and feed into further project applications across the correlating national academic and professional space on topics such as Croatian culture, heritage and identity in the historical perspective.
Project leader: dr Dubravka Mlinarić
Project team: dr Sanja Lazanin (IMIN), dr Iva Mandušić (LZMK), Ivan Krašnjak (LZMK), Karlo Radečić (LZMK)
Duration: 36 months (2022 – )
Funding: Collaborative scientific – professional project of the Institute for Migrations and Ethnic Studies and the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography