Croatian–Slovene Peasant Revolt

{{Short description|South Slavic peasant uprising against the perceived tyranny of a baron}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Slovene-Croatian Peasant Revolt

| partof =

| image = Oton Ivekovic, Smaknuce Matije Gupca (na trgu ispred crkve sv. Marka u Zagrebu).jpg

| caption = A non-contemporary representation of the execution of Matija Gubec at the square in front of St. Mark's Church in Zagreb, by Oton Iveković (1912)

| date = 28 January – 9 February 1573

| place = Northwest Croatia, Carniola and Styria, Habsburg monarchy

| territory =

| result = Rebellion suppressed

| combatant1 = Slovene and Croatian peasants

| combatant2 = Carniolan, Croatian, and Styrian nobility
Uskoks

| commander1 = Ambroz "Matija" Gubec{{Executed}}
Ilija Gregorić{{Executed}}
Andrija Pasanec{{Executed}}
Ivan Pasanec{{KIA}}
Nikola Kupinić

| commander2 = Juraj Drašković
Gašpar Alapić
Josip "Jošt" Thurn
Ferenc Tahy
Vid Hallek

| strength1 = 8,000–12,000{{sfn|Čečuk|1960|p=499}} peasants

| strength2 = 5,000{{sfn|Čečuk|1960|p=499}} soldiers

| casualties1 = 3,000–5,000{{sfn|Čečuk|1960|p=500}} killed

| casualties2 =

}}

The Slovene-Croatian Peasant Revolt ({{langx|sl|slovensko-hrvaško kmečki upor}}, {{langx|hr|seljačka buna}}), Gubec's Rebellion ({{langx|hr|Gupčeva buna}}) or Gubec's peasant uprising of 1573 was a large peasant revolt on territory forming modern-day northwestern Croatia and southeastern Slovenia. The revolt, sparked by cruel treatment of serfs by Baron Ferenc Tahy, ended after 12 days with the defeat of the rebels and bloody retribution by the nobility.

Background

{{Further|Susedgrad Wars}}[[File:Kingdom of Croatia 1573.png|thumb|Map of Croatia in 1573, at the time of the rebellion

{{legend|#b1f894|Kingdom of Hungary}}]]

In the late 16th century, the threat of Ottoman incursions strained the economy of the southern flanks of the Holy Roman Empire, and feudal lords continually increased their demands on the peasantry. In Croatian Zagorje, this was compounded by cruel treatment of peasants by Baron Ferenc Tahy and his disputes with neighbouring barons over land, dating back to 1564, which escalated into armed conflicts.{{sfn|Adamček|1968}} When multiple complaints to the emperor went unheard, the peasants conspired to rebel with their peers in the neighbouring provinces of Styria and Carniola and with the lower classes of townspeople.

Revolt

The rebellion broke out simultaneously in large parts of Carniola, Styria, and Croatia on 28 January 1573. The rebels' political program was to replace the nobility with peasant officials answerable directly to the emperor, and to abolish all feudal holdings and obligations to the Roman Catholic Church. A peasant government was formed with Matija Gubec, Ivan Pasanec, and Ivan Mogaić as members.{{sfn|Adamček|1968|p=91}} Far-reaching plans were drawn up, including abolition of provincial borders, opening of highways for trade, and self-rule by the peasants.

The captain of the rebels, Ilija Gregorić, planned an extensive military operation to secure victory for the revolt. Each peasant household provided one man for his army, which met with some initial success; their revolutionary goals alarmed the nobility, however, which raised armies in response. The rebels used a network of informers who relayed the information on movements of the opposing units; in turn, spies among the peasants themselves passed the information on the spread of the rebellion to the nobility.{{sfn|Antoljak|1973|pp=95–96}}

Backlash

{{Location map many

| Slovenia

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}}

On 5 February,{{cite book|author=Belgrade (Serbia). Vojni muzej Jugoslovenske narodne armije|title=Fourteen Centuries of Struggle for Freedom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2m8MAQAAMAAJ|year=1968|publisher=Military Museum|page=xxvi}} Uskok captain and baron Jobst Joseph von Thurn ({{langx|hr|Josip Turn}}) led an army of 500 Uskoks from Kostanjevica and some German soldiers{{cite book|author=Владимир Ћоровић|title=Историја Југославије|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eM1NAAAAMAAJ|year=1933|publisher=Народно дело|page=326}} that defeated a rebel detachment of Nikola Kupinič at Krško (in Lower Styria), which was the first larger rebel defeat. This rapidly weakened the rebellion in Carniola and Styria.

The next day, another rebel force was defeated near Samobor. On 9 February, the decisive Battle of Stubičko polje was fought. Gubec and his 10,000 men resisted fiercely, but after a bloody four-hour battle the baronial army defeated and captured Gubec. The revolt failed.

Retribution was brutal: in addition to the 3,000 peasants who died in the battle, many captives were hanged or maimed. Matija Gubec was publicly tortured and executed on 15 February. Officers Petar Ljubojević, Vuk Suković, and Dane Bolčeta (who were Orthodox), and Juraj Martijanović and Tomo Tortić (Catholics) were all sentenced to life in prison and lost all their property.{{sfn|Klaić|1928|p=14}} Mogaić was killed in the final battle, and Pasanec was most probably killed in one of the skirmishes in early February. Gregorić managed to escape, but was captured within weeks, brought to Vienna for interrogation, and executed in Zagreb in 1574.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://hbl.lzmk.hr/clanak.aspx?id=20|title=GREGORIĆ, Ilija|encyclopedia=Croatian Biographical Lexicon|publisher=Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography|year=2002|language=hr|accessdate=1 February 2018}}

Legacy

The revolt and torture of Gubec acquired legendary status in Croatia and Slovenia. It has inspired many writers and artists, including the writers Miroslav Krleža and August Šenoa, the poet Anton Aškerc and the sculptors Antun Augustinčić and Stojan Batič. Leading Croatian film director Vatroslav Mimica produced the film about uprising, entitled Anno Domini 1573, in 1975, as well as television series in four parts. Gubec-beg, the first Croatian rock opera (1975), was also inspired by the events.{{cite web|url=https://hrvatski-vojnik.hr/aktualno/novosti-iz-osrh/item/3612-simfonijski-puhacki-orkestar-izveo-rock-operu-gubec-beg-u-povodu-dana-neovisnosti-rh.html|title=Simfonijski puhački orkestar izveo rock-operu Gubec-beg u povodu Dana neovisnosti RH|date=11 October 2017|language=hr|accessdate=17 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117190638/https://hrvatski-vojnik.hr/aktualno/novosti-iz-osrh/item/3612-simfonijski-puhacki-orkestar-izveo-rock-operu-gubec-beg-u-povodu-dana-neovisnosti-rh.html|archive-date=17 January 2018|url-status=dead}} The painter Krsto Hegedušić made in 1969 the stage curtain for the Hrvatsko Narodno Kazalište in Zagreb, titled A.D. 1573.{{cite web|url=https://www.hnk.hr/hr/o-nama/o-zgradi/sve%C4%8Dani-zastori/ |title=svečani zastori}}

A museum near Oršić Castle in Gornja Stubica and one in Krško (Slovenia) are dedicated to the revolt.

A reenactment of the Battle of Stubičko polje, held every year since 2008, has since become one of the most popular historical reenactments in Croatia.{{cite web|url=http://www.nacional.hr/spektakularna-bitka-kod-stubice-ove-godine-slavi-desetu-godisnjicu/|title=Spektakularna 'Bitka kod Stubice' ove godine slavi desetu godišnjicu|work=nacional.hr|date=31 January 2018|language=hr|accessdate=31 January 2018}}

Gallery

File:Spomenik seljačkoj buni 1573..JPG|Large monument in Gornja Stubica
(Antun Augustinčić, 1971)

File:Matija Gubec statue head closeup.jpg|Matija Gubec's bust in Zagreb

File:Matija.jpg|Statue of Matija Gubec, St. Mark's Square, Zagreb, Croatia

Footnotes

References

{{cite journal|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/176309|title=Prilozi povijesti seljačke bune 1573.|journal=Radovi Filozofskog Fakulteta: Odsjek Za Povijest|issue=6|date=October 1968|last=Adamček|first=Josip|pages=51–96|language=hr|format=PDF|accessdate=1 February 2018}}
{{cite journal|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/57241|title=Nekoliko marginalnih opaski o seljačkoj buni 1573. godine|trans-title=Marginalia to the 1573 peasant uprising|journal=Radovi Zavoda za hrvatsku povijest Filozofskoga fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu|volume=5|issue=1|date=November 1973|last=Antoljak|first=Stjepan|pages=93–111|language=hr|format=PDF|accessdate=6 September 2017}}
{{cite journal|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/83712|title=Tragom poginulih seljaka u Seljačkoj buni 1573. godine|first=Božidar|last=Čečuk|pages=499–503|volume=3|date=March 1960|journal=Papers and Proceedings of the Department of Historical Research of the Institute of Historical and Social Research of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts|publisher=Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts|location=Zagreb, Croatia|format=PDF|language=hr|accessdate=5 September 2017}}
{{cite book|first=Vjekoslav|last=Klaić|author-link=Vjekoslav Klaić|title=Crtice iz Hrvatske prošlosti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx0iAAAAMAAJ|year=1928|publisher=Matica hrvatska|language=hr}}