CHAPTEH V. 



THE COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTHERN SLAVS. 



(Cakniola, Croatia, Slatonia.) 



General Aspects. 



EO GRAPHICALLY and etlinologically these countries are one, 

 but politically they have been cut asunder. The Germans, 

 anxious to retain the passes of the Alps which give access to the 

 Adriatic, have taken possession of the country of the Slovenes 

 of Carniola, or Krain, whilst the Magyars claim the Servians 

 and Croats of the " Mesopotamia " formed by the Drave and the Save as 

 their subjects. The inhabitants, however, yield but surlily to their foreign 

 masters. The Croats more especially not ouly look to their kinsmen beyond 

 their own frontiers when clamouring for their ancient independence, but 

 also appeal to "historical rights." Though far from having attained all they 

 desire, they have succeeded in making themselves respected, and amongst the 

 nationalities struggling within the limits of the Austro Hungarian Empire 

 they are not the least influential. The Magyar is no longer able to speak of 

 them with contempt, for the events of 1848 and 1849 have taught him that the 

 Croat is a redoubtable adversary. The animosity of the two nations has given a 

 renewed lease to the Austrian bureaucrats. United, they might have gloried in 

 the foundation of a Danubian Confederation, and spared themselves untold 

 miseries. 



The countries of the Southern Slavs extend far beyond the limits of the 

 Austrian Empire, for they include Servia, Bosnia, and a considerable portion of 

 the Balkan peninsula, as far as the Black Sea and the Gulf of Saloniki. In 

 extent they rival several of the empires of Europe. Their political disunion is 

 due in a large measure to geographical features. The territories to the south 

 of the Save and the Danube are filled with a labyrinth of mountains, and are 

 difficult of access. The Mussulmans, aided by feudal institutions, succeeded in 

 enslaving most of the inhabitants, for, owing to the difficulties of communication, 

 their Christian kinsmen beyond the Save were unable to render the succour 

 which would have been forthcomius: under more favourable circumstances. To 



