Croatia: History

The Republic of Croatia developed under the influence of several different cultures that shaped it, making it a unique ‘melting pot’. Some of these influences were Greek, Roman, Celtic, Illyrian, Austrian, Hungarian, Byzantine and Islamic. The history of the Croats begins with their arrival in the Balkans in the 7th century. Between 1102 and 1526, the Croats were part of the Hungarian state until after the First World War, when Croatia was included in the newborn republic of Yugoslavia. In 1941, the Germans invaded Yugoslavia and Croatia gained its independence under the fascist dictator Ante Pavelic. The country was liberated from this regime by the resistance movement led by Tito in 1945. Croatia was a communist country until 1991 when it declared its independence. In the same year, the Serb population of Croatia revolted and proclaimed a separate state known as the Republic of Serbian Krajina. This triggered a war that ended in 1995 with the Daytona Agreement. The complete reintegration of the Serbian-controlled territories was accomplished in 1998 under UN supervision. Currently, Croatia is preparing to join the European Union in 2009.