Keywords
mercantilist policies
Consilium regium croaticum
glass manufactures
silk manufactures
food production
industrial revolution in Croatia in 1848
ownership structure of manufactures
foreign market
Categories
How to Cite
Number of views: 20
Number of downloads: 13
Abstract
The history of manufactures in Croatia and Slavonia has been examined so far mainly in separate studies of individual enterprises or production branches. A synthetic account of the origin and development of all the major manufacturing branches within both manufacturing periods - from the era of Maria Theresa to 1848 - has been lacking, although the manufacturing period formed the economic foundation for the subsequent industrial revolution in Croatia.
This article examines the origin and development of manufactures in Croatia up to the year 1848, analyzing the main production branches (mining and metalware manufactures, glass manufactures, silk manufactures, food production, and others), the two manufacturing periods, the ownership structure, and the position of manufactures on domestic and foreign markets.
The study draws on contemporary Croatian and Austrian archival sources and on research listed in the bibliography, including the main monograph by Bićanić (Zagreb 1951) and the author's own earlier studies on glass manufactures and on the economy of Varaždin.
The analysis reveals that the first manufacturing period in Croatia proceeded under the mercantilist policies of Maria Theresa and the Consilium regium croaticum (1767-1779), which encouraged numerous manufactures through privileges and state support. After a brief stagnation, a second manufacturing period (1813-1848) emerged, dominated by glass manufactures but also including silk manufactures, silk spinning, food production, and other branches. Owners and lessees were predominantly merchants, officers, and nobles; skilled workers had to be recruited mostly from abroad (Bohemia, Germany). The domestic market was weak, as the nobility preferred imported goods. Glassware was even exported to America. Poor quality and financial difficulties shortened the operating life of many manufactures, which nonetheless served as a solid foundation for Croatia's industrial revolution in the 1840s.
References
Bach, I. (1943) ‘Poviest upotrebne umjetnosti u Hrvatskoj’, in Lukas, F. (ed.) Naša domovina, vol. 1, part 2. Zagreb: Glavni ustaški stan, pp. 720–737.
Beer, A. (1891) Die österreichische Handelspolitik im neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Wien: Manz’sche k. u. k. Hof-Verlags- und Universitäts-Buchhandlung.
Bićanić, R. (1951) Doba manufakture u Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji 1750–1860. Zagreb: Izdavački zavod Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti.
Despot, M. (1956) ‘Staklana Zvečevo, njen postanak i razvoj’, Zbornik Muzeja primenjene umetnosti, 2, pp. 99–109.
Despot, M. (1959) ‘Die Glasproduktion in Kroatien im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert’, Alte und moderne Kunst, 10, pp. 20–23.
Despot, M. (1962) Pokušaji manufakture u Građanskoj Hrvatskoj u 18. stoljeću. Građa za gospodarsku povijest Hrvatske, 12. Zagreb: Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti.
Despot, M. (1964) ‘O privredi grada Varaždina u prvoj polovini XIX stoljeća: prilog privrednoj historiji Hrvatske u XIX st.’, Zbornik Historijskog instituta Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, 5, pp. 107–124.
Despot, M. (1968) ‘Über den Aufstand der Bergarbeiter im Kupferbergwerk Rude im Jahre 1808’, Freiberger Forschungshefte, D 59(5), pp. 61–68.
Firinger, K. (1958) ‘Počeci manufakture i industrije u Osijeku’, Osječki zbornik, 6, pp. 143–169.
Firinger, K. (1961–1962) ‘Jedno stoljeće osječkog svilarstva (1761–1861)’, Arhivski vjesnik, 4–5, pp. 295–321.
Ilijanić, M. (1954) ‘Prilog istraživanju krapinske keramike’, Peristil, 1(1), pp. 147–153.
Karaman, I. (1966) ‘Ekonomske prilike u vrijeme hrvatskog narodnog preporoda’, Kolo, 8–10, pp. 180–193.
Klobučar, O. (1957) ‘Tvornica kamenine u Zagrebu’, in Buntak, F. et al. (eds) Iz starog i novog Zagreba, vol. 1. Zagreb: Muzej grada Zagreba, pp. 229–237.
Mirković, M. (1958) Ekonomska historija Jugoslavije. Zagreb: Ekonomski pregled.
Pivec-Stellé, M. (1930) La vie économique des provinces Illyriennes 1809–1813, suivie d’une bibliographie critique. Paris: Institut d’études slaves de l’Université de Paris.
Rath, S. (1962) Lobmeyr: vom Adel des Handwerks. Wien–München: Verlag Herold.
Schneider, M. (1960) ‘Dvorane zagrebačke karte’, in Buntak, F. et al. (eds) Iz starog i novog Zagreba, vol. 2. Zagreb: Muzej grada Zagreba, pp. 203–224.
Slokar, J. (1914) Geschichte der österreichischen Industrie und ihrer Förderung unter Kaiser Franz I. Wien: F. Tempsky.
Vučo, N. (1948) Privredna istorija naroda FNRJ do Prvog svetskog rata. Beograd: Naučna knjiga.