Austrian “Kingdom of Serbia” (1718- 1739). The Infrastructural Innovations introduced by the Habsburg Domination
Austrian “Kingdom of Serbia” (1718- 1739). The Infrastructural Innovations introduced by the Habsburg Domination

Summary/Abstract: From the Treaty of Passarowitz up to the Treaty of Belgrade, Austrian domination of Northern Serbia, and also of Posavina, Oltenia and Banat improved, although temporarily, the former Ottoman administrative apparatus even if only temporarily. While a Commissio Neoacquistica nominated the administrative personnel for the new acquired lands exclusively among the personalities of greater trust for the Viennese court, the local population knew some important infrastructural benefits whose effects weren’t completely cancelled after the 1739 Peace Treaty. Northern Serbia, in particular, had therefore experienced the flourishing, albeit at an early stage, of a manufacturing economy and the beginning of an accumulation of capital. The Orthodox Church administration was also reformed with fundamental long-term effects and favoured the consolidation of the Militärgrenze in whose settlement it benefited, as also the Serbs, settled there and incorporated into the newly constituted territory. Emperor Charles VI interfered with them through granting land to the community’s family members, exemption from feudal obligations, religious freedom, but also the obligation to fight against the enemies of the Empire, with the aim to create a national militia under his direct control, setting the stage for the future Serbian war and revolutionary history between the XVIII and the XIX century.

• Details
• Contents