Serbian Vojvodina was a short-lived self-proclaimed autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (official) Austrian province named Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat. It was created and led by political leaders of Serbs in regions of Syrmia, Banat, Bačka and Baranja. The Serbian Vojvodina gave its name to the present Vojvodina autonomous region in Serbia.

The first capital was Sremski Karlovci. It was later moved to Zemun, Veliki Bečkerek (today known as Zrenjanin), and Temišvar (Timișoara).

Name

In Serbian historiography, it is known as Srpska Vojvodina (), rendered "Serbian Vojvodina" in English. In contemporary Serbo-Croatian, it was known as Vojvodovina Srbska (), or Vojvodovina for short. In contemporary German, it was known as Serbische Woiwodina, or Wojwodina. In Hungarian, it is known as Szerb Vajdaság. The name is made up of the Serb ethnonym and vojvod(ov)ina, a "domain ruled by a vojvoda" (the title of the revolutionary leader). By naming the self-proclaimed province a "voivodeship", recalling the Imperial privileges given to the Serbs through history, the Serb leaders sought to attain a self-government within the Habsburg Monarchy, headed by a Serb vojvoda. The Austrian leadership avoided naming the province a duchy () and instead adopted the special administrative term Woiwodschaft.

Background

During the 1848 Revolution, the Hungarians demanded independence from the Austrian Empire. However, they did not recognize the national rights of other nationalities which lived in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary at that time. Therefore, the Serbs of Srem, Bačka, Banat, Baranya took action to separate from the Kingdom of Hungary (which at that time was part of Habsburg Austria).

Government

An assembly was convened in Sremski Karlovci lasting from May 13 to 15, 1848, where Serb representatives demanded the addition of Vojvodina to the Principality of Serbia and the restoration of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć. Serbs declared the constitution of Serbian Vojvodina which included the regions of Srem (Syrmia), Bačka (Batschka), Banat, and Baranja (Branau). They also formed a political alliance with the Kingdom of Croatia "based on freedom and perfect equality". They also recognized the Wallachian-Romanian nation. The metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Josif Rajačić, was elected for patriarch, while Stevan Šupljikac for vojvoda ("duke"). A National committee was formed as the new government of Serbian Vojvodina. Instead of the old feudal regime, a new regime was formed based on the national boards with the Head of the Serbian National Board presiding.

thumb|Serbian patriarch Josif Rajačić is giving a blessing to the army of Serbian Vojvodina in 1848

  • Stevan Šupljikac, vojvoda (1848)
  • Josif Rajačić, administrator (1848–1849)

Revolutions

By 1840 data, Serbs formed relative majority of 49.1% in Vojvodina (compared to absolute majority of 51.1% in 1828). Besides Serbs, these areas were also populated by some other ethnic groups such as Hungarians, Germans, Romanians and Croats. The new Hungarian government responded to the Serb political actions by using force. On June 12, 1848, a war between the Serbs and Hungarians began. Austria took the side of the Kingdom of Hungary at first, while Serbs were aided by volunteers from the Principality of Serbia. A consequence of this war was the growth of conservative factions on both sides.

In early 1849, when the Austrian army lost battle to the Hungarian hussars, the feudal and clerical circles of Vojvodina formed an alliance with Austria. Serb troops from Vojvodina then joined the Habsburg army and helped in crushing the revolution in Hungary. With the help of Imperial Russia, the forces of reaction smothered the revolution in the summer of 1849, defeating Hungarian national movement in the Habsburg monarchy.

Austrian patents and establishment of Voivodeship

The Imperial Patent of 4th March (1849), known as the March Constitution, imposed constitutional reorganization of the Austrian Empire, and provided (in article 72) a formal base for the creation of a special administrative unit under the name: Vojvodina Serbia (), also allowing the possibility for consequent association of that province with other crown lands.

After the defeat of the Hungarian revolution, by a decision of the Austrian emperor, in November 1849, an Austrian crownland known as Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was formed as the successor of Serbian Vojvodina. However, Serbs were not fully satisfied with the new voivodeship, which was more ethnically mixed and included ethnic Romanian eastern parts of Banat, but excluded some areas with Serb majority.

Flag and coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Serbian Vojvodina was essentially the Austrian Habsburg imperial arms, with the coat of arms of the Serbs (Serbian cross, with four Cyrillic letters "S", on the chest of a black eagle). The bearer of the Serbian arms was the Austrian black eagle, instead of the Serbian white one, in order to show the fidelity of the newly established Voivodship to the Imperial Court in Vienna. The coat of arms was simply added to the Serbian national tricolour. Thus the flag differed from the flag of the Principality of Serbia, which had a different arms in the middle of its state flag.

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Image:The_May_Assembly_1848_in_Sremski_Karlovci.jpg|Proclamation of Serbian Vojvodina in 1848 in Sremski Karlovci

Image:Vojvodina front lines 1848 1849.png|Frontlines in Vojvodina in 1848-1849

Image:Serbia and Vojvodina 1848.png|Principality of Serbia and Serbian Vojvodina in 1848.

Image:Патријарх_српски_Јосиф.jpg|Josif Rajačić (1785–1861), administrator of Serbian Vojvodina

File:Асигнат из 1848. године. грб Српске Војводине.jpg|An assignat with the coat of arm of Serbian Vojvodina from 1848

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See also

  • Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar
  • History of Vojvodina
  • History of Serbia
  • Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)

References

Sources

Further reading

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