Rezultati naseljavanja stranih kolonista u prnjavorskom kotaru (1883–1910)
Results of the settlement of foreign colonists in the Prnjavor district (1883–1910)

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, we tried to explain the process of colonization of the Prnjavor district by foreign agrarian population. We noticed that this process began to take place simultaneously with the neighboring districts, but the establishment of the first colony did not happen until 1892. The motives of the Austro-Hungarian administration in colonizing the Prnjavor district ranged from demographic to political, i.e. from the repopulation of the state’s abandoned forest land to the settlement of dominantly Orthodox areas with loyal foreign national elements. Starting in 1883, Italians, Czechs, Slovenians, Hungarians, Germans, Poles and Ruthenians settled in the mentioned district. The administration justified their settlement by the positive influence they could have on the agricultural production of the mentioned region. However, the unresolved agrarian issue and the existence of a large number of the population in serf status only deepened the mistrust between the resident population and the foreign colonists. Supported by the administration, the settlers created compact settlements, resistant to any form of assimilation. In their settlements, foreign colonists nurtured strong national and religious ties with their compatriots. By settling foreign colonists, the Austro-Hungarian administration permanently changed the ethnic and religious structure of this district of Prnjavor.

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