Description
Book SynopsisIn this highly original work, Catherine Wendy Bracewell reconstructs and analyzes the tumultuous history of the uskoks of Senj, the martial bands who operated on the Habsburg Military Frontier in Croatia between the 1530s and the 1620s.
Trade ReviewThe Uskoks of Senj is a study of piracy, privateering, and banditry in an area stretching from the Adriatic Bay of Kotor to Istria, and along the military frontiers of three empires—Habsburg, Ottoman, and Venetian. Complemented by a splendid choice of published sources, the book is an exemplary contribution to the history of the sixteenth-century Adriatic and Balkans.
* American Historical Review *
Bracewell delves into the cultural and political attributes that transformed the coastal town of Senj into a crusading fortress. She also strives to ascertain exactly who undertook the hazardous and often ineffectual labor of combating the Ottoman 'Turk,' and why they did so. Bracewell argues that frontier culture shaped the Uskoks and their ethos. It forced them to be obstinate and shockingly pitiless.
* Journal of Modern History *
Bracewell explains with care why the uskoks were able to provide a vehicle for the expression of a political and social identity for the people of the border. This book not only brings the uskoks into the light but also is a pathbreaking study of the nature of group identity and popular political consciousness in the sixteenth century.
* Sixteenth Century Journal *
Table of Contents1. Introduction
The Uskoks of Senj between Three Empires
Approaches to the Uskoks
Sources
2. The Borders and Border Military Systems
The Impact of Ottoman Invasion
Conflict and Community on the Borders
Border Military Systems
Klis and Senj in the Military Frontier
3. Origins and Motives of the Uskoks
Origins and Numbers
Why Become an Uskok?
4. The Raiding Economy
Military Frontier Subsidies
The Economies of Raiding
Trade as a Function of Plunder
5. Military Authority and Raiding
Senj Citizens and Uskoks
Uskok Rank-and-File: Venturini and Stipendiati
Uskok Commanders
Captains of Senj
The Habsburgs and the Military Frontier Administration
6. Legitimating Raiding: The Uskok Code
The Uskok antemurale Christianitatis
Honor and Vengeance
Solidarity and Conflict
7. Allies and Victims
Relations with the Infidel
Uskoks and Ottoman Christians
Christian Neighbors: Venice and Dubrovnik
Merchants and Cities
The Rural Population of Dalmatia
8. The Final Decades
Deteriorating Relations with Venice
Rabatta's Commission in Senj
Dissent over the Limits of Raids
The Peace of Zsitvatorok and Conflict with the Hofkriegsrat
Popular Support for the Uskoks
Vlatkovic's Trial: The End of the Independent Vojvodas
Toward War with Venice
9. The Dispersal of the Uskoks
Appendix I: Chronology
Appendix II: Glossary
Bibliography
Index
