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Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Michigan
[[File:250px-Croatia-Dalmatia.png|thumb|right|500px|Dalmatia (the dark purple) within todays modern [[Croatia]]]]
[[File:250px-Croatia-Dalmatia.png|thumb|right|500px|Dalmatia (the dark purple) within todays modern [[Croatia]]]]
The '''region''' of the former Yugoslavia (Western Balkans) has problems when interpreting its multicultural, multiethnic history and societies. This most certainly applies to the history of '''Dalmatian Italians''', the former Republic of Ragusa and other regions. The statement below comes from a book called ''Dalmatia'' (History, Culture, Art Heritage) written by Antun Travirka: {{Cquote|''By the 14th century the city had become wholly Croatian'' <ref>Dalmatia (History, Culture, Art Heritage) by Antun Travirka (p137)</ref>}}
The '''region''' of the former Yugoslavia (Western Balkans) has problems when interpreting its multicultural, multiethnic history and societies. This most certainly applies to the history of '''Dalmatian Italians''', the former Republic of Ragusa and other regions. The statement below comes from a book called ''Dalmatia'' (History, Culture, Art Heritage) written by Antun Travirka: {{Cquote|''By the 14th century the city had become wholly Croatian'' <ref>Dalmatia (History, Culture, Art Heritage) by Antun Travirka (p137)</ref>}}
The book itself is primarily for the tourist market and is easily available in several languages. This quote is on page 137 and it’s referring to the ''Republic of Ragusa''. The old Republic of Ragusa (with it's famous city Dubrovnik) <ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172803/Dubrovnik|title="Dubrovnik." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. |date=[[2011]]|accessdate=2011-03-8}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143561/Croatia|title="Croatia." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 09 Mar. 2011.|date=[[2011]]|accessdate=2011-03-8}}</ref><ref>[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Ragusa,_Austria Encyclopaedia Britannica (publ. 1911):]</ref> is now within the borders of the modern [[Croatia]]. This monolithic description is an outright lie and it’s a form of cultural genocide (the crucial word is '''''wholly'''''). Additionally the book did not even use the term Republic of Ragusa (the closest that it got to this was ''RESPUBLICA RAGUSINA'' on page 141),<ref>Dalmatia (History, Culture, Art Heritage) by Antun Travirka (p141)</ref> which was used for more than a millennium. The Republic was set up by Latin/Illyrian families and was a nation in its own right. It was also made up of many ethnic nationalities.<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=CaK6DeZXX7sC&pg=PA190&dq=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&hl=en&ei=2D52TfSIN9DzcbSmhf8E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=republic%20of%20ragusa%20dubrovnik%20jewish%20community&f=false Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Mediterranean World after 1492] By Alisa Meyuhas Ginio (p190)</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=RsoMAQAAMAAJ&q=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&dq=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&hl=en&ei=2D52TfSIN9DzcbSmhf8E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA The Chicago Jewish forum, Volume 23] by Benjamin Weintroub (p271)</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=33KU0F-p2HcC&pg=PA271&dq=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&hl=en&ei=M0N2TeamIM6WcZaj7IwF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=republic%20of%20ragusa%20dubrovnik%20jewish%20community&f=false Footprint Croatia] by Jane Foster (p271)</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=7RyKgdyV8VgC&pg=PA82&dq=orthodox+church++Dubrovnik&hl=en&ei=VEh2TZPoJsfJcb6kkYUF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=orthodox%20church%20%20Dubrovnik&f=false Croatia] by Michael Schuman (p82)</ref> As a Maritime nation it traded all over the Mediterranean and even had trade with the Americas. Additionally it was in competition with Venice, the most powerful and influential maritime nation during that era.
The book itself is primarily for the tourist market and is easily available in several languages. This quote is on page 137 and it’s referring to the ''Republic of Ragusa''. The old Republic of Ragusa (with it's famous city Dubrovnik) <ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172803/Dubrovnik|title="Dubrovnik." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. |date=[[2011]]|accessdate=2011-03-8}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143561/Croatia|title="Croatia." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 09 Mar. 2011.|date=[[2011]]|accessdate=2011-03-8}}</ref><ref>[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Ragusa,_Austria Encyclopaedia Britannica (publ. 1911):]</ref> is now within the borders of the modern [[Croatia]]. This monolithic description is an outright lie and it’s a form of cultural genocide (the crucial word is '''''wholly'''''). Additionally the book did not even use the term Republic of Ragusa (the closest that it got to this was ''RESPUBLICA RAGUSINA'' on page 141),<ref>Dalmatia (History, Culture, Art Heritage) by Antun Travirka (p141)</ref> which was used for more than a '''millennium'''. The Republic was set up by Latin/Illyrian families and was a nation in its own right. It was also made up of many ethnic nationalities.<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=CaK6DeZXX7sC&pg=PA190&dq=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&hl=en&ei=2D52TfSIN9DzcbSmhf8E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=republic%20of%20ragusa%20dubrovnik%20jewish%20community&f=false Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Mediterranean World after 1492] By Alisa Meyuhas Ginio (p190)</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=RsoMAQAAMAAJ&q=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&dq=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&hl=en&ei=2D52TfSIN9DzcbSmhf8E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA The Chicago Jewish forum, Volume 23] by Benjamin Weintroub (p271)</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=33KU0F-p2HcC&pg=PA271&dq=republic+of+ragusa+dubrovnik+jewish+community&hl=en&ei=M0N2TeamIM6WcZaj7IwF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=republic%20of%20ragusa%20dubrovnik%20jewish%20community&f=false Footprint Croatia] by Jane Foster (p271)</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=7RyKgdyV8VgC&pg=PA82&dq=orthodox+church++Dubrovnik&hl=en&ei=VEh2TZPoJsfJcb6kkYUF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CF8Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=orthodox%20church%20%20Dubrovnik&f=false Croatia] by Michael Schuman (p82)</ref> As a Maritime nation it traded all over the Mediterranean and even had trade with the Americas. Additionally it was in competition with Venice, the most powerful and influential maritime nation during that era.
*Statement made by the contemporary historian John Van Antwerp Fine: {{Cquote|''This is not surprising since the “Ragusans” identified themselves as Ragusans and not as Croats.''<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=wEF5oN5erE0C&pg=PA157&dq=When+Ethnicity+did+not+Matter+in+the+Balkans+call+themselves+ragusans&hl=en&ei=_WmHTa-ZAo_Bcc63hZcD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=When%20Ethnicity%20did%20not%20Matter%20in%20the%20Balkans%20call%20themselves%20ragusans&f=false When Ethnicity did not Matter in the Balkans:] by John Van Antwerp Fine (p157)</ref>}}
*Statement made by the contemporary historian John Van Antwerp Fine (Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Michigan, USA): {{Cquote|''This is not surprising since the “Ragusans” identified themselves as Ragusans and not as Croats.''<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=wEF5oN5erE0C&pg=PA157&dq=When+Ethnicity+did+not+Matter+in+the+Balkans+call+themselves+ragusans&hl=en&ei=_WmHTa-ZAo_Bcc63hZcD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=When%20Ethnicity%20did%20not%20Matter%20in%20the%20Balkans%20call%20themselves%20ragusans&f=false When Ethnicity did not Matter in the Balkans:] by John Van Antwerp Fine (p157)</ref>}}
The former Communist '''Yugoslavia''' (which Croatia was part of) played a major role during the Cold War era in depicting this style of historical documentation (''Dalmatia'' - History, Culture, Art Heritage) of the region’s past. Yugoslav Communist history is now dogma in Croatia. This also would apply to the history of the Dalmatian Italians. Many of today’s Croatians live with this dogma as their reality even though the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia had a '''profound''' effect on the region.<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=o5cefCSRx5EC&pg=PA47&dq=tito+cult+propaganda&hl=en&ei=8NneS5e1H9egkQX77rzOBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=tito%20cult%20propaganda&f=false The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia:] Nationalism and War in the Balkans ''by'' Aleksandar Pavkovic.(p 47)
The former Communist '''Yugoslavia''' (which Croatia was part of) played a major role during the Cold War era in depicting this style of historical documentation (''Dalmatia'' - History, Culture, Art Heritage) of the region’s past. Yugoslav Communist history is now dogma in Croatia. This also would apply to the history of the Dalmatian Italians. Many of today’s Croatians live with this dogma as their reality even though the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia had a '''profound''' effect on the region.<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=o5cefCSRx5EC&pg=PA47&dq=tito+cult+propaganda&hl=en&ei=8NneS5e1H9egkQX77rzOBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=tito%20cult%20propaganda&f=false The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia:] Nationalism and War in the Balkans ''by'' Aleksandar Pavkovic.(p 47)
An example of the Venetian cultural and historical presence can be seen in the small town of Perast (Perasto) in coastal Montenegro. Perast under the Republic of Venice (Albania Veneta), had four active shipyards, a fleet of around one hundred ships, and 1,643 residents. Some of the buildings are ornate baroque palaces which was typical Venetian architecture. The town kept the war-flag of the Venetian Navys, called ''"La fedelissma Gonfaloniera"''.
An example of the Venetian cultural and historical presence can be seen in the small town of Perast (Perasto) in coastal Montenegro. Perast under the Republic of Venice (Albania Veneta), had four active shipyards, a fleet of around one hundred ships, and 1,643 residents. Some of the buildings are ornate baroque palaces which was typical Venetian architecture. The town kept the war-flag of the Venetian Navys, called ''"La fedelissma Gonfaloniera"''.
The sailors of Perast were involved in the last battle of the Venetian navy, fought in Venice in 1797. At the fall of the "Serenissima" (1797) Perast was the last city of the Republic to lower the Venetian flag. On 12 May 1797, the Republic of Venice ended. On 22 August 1797 the Count Giuseppe Viscovich, Captain of Perast, lowered the Venetian war-flag of the Lion of Saint Mark pronouncing the farewell words in front of the crying people of the city and buried the "Gonfalon of Venice" under the altar of the main church of Perast.
The sailors of Perast were involved in the last battle of the Venetian navy, fought in Venice in 1797. At the fall of the " Venetian Republic" (on 12 May 1797) Perast was the last city of the Republic to lower the Venetian flag. On 22 August 1797 the Count Giuseppe Viscovich, Captain of Perast, lowered the Venetian war-flag of the Lion of Saint Mark pronouncing the farewell words in front of the crying people of the city and buried the "Gonfalon of Venice" under the altar of the main church of Perast.
The population has since decreased to 430 in 1910 and around 360 today. According to the "Comunita' nazionale italiana del Montenegro", in Perast actually there are 140 persons who still speak at home the original Venetian dialect of Perast (called "veneto da mar").
The population has since decreased to 430 in 1910 and around 360 today. According to the "Comunita' nazionale italiana del Montenegro", in Perast actually there are 140 persons who still speak at home the original Venetian dialect of Perast (called "veneto da mar").