Editing Morlachs (section)

===16th century===
Although the first [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Ottoman invasion]] of Croatia took place in the early 15th century, the threat to Dalmatian towns began only after the conquest of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] in 1463. During the [[Ottoman–Venetian wars|Ottoman–Venetian war of 1499-1502]], a considerable demographic shift took place in the Dalmatian hinterland, leading to the abandonment of many of the region settlements by their previous inhabitants.{{sfn|Juran|2014|p=130}} During the years following the Ottoman conquest of [[Skradin]] and [[Knin]] in 1522, local Ottoman rulers started to resettle the depopulated areas with their Vlach subjects.{{sfn|Juran|2014|p=131}} Referred to as Morlachs in the Venetian records, the newcomers to [[Šibenik]] hinterland ({{langx|sh|Zagora}}) came from [[Old Herzegovina|Herzegovina]] and among them, three Vlach clans ([[Katun (community)|katuns]]) predominated: the Mirilovići, the Radohnići, and the Vojihnići.{{sfn|Juran|2014|p=150}} 

At the same time, the [[Austrian Empire]] established the [[Military Frontier]], which served as a buffer zone against Ottoman incursions.{{sfn|Suppan|Graf|2010|p=55-57}} Thus, other Vlachs, Slavicized Vlachs and Serbs fled the Ottomans and settled in this area.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stoianovich |first=Traian |title=Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe |date=1992 |publisher=Routledge |location=Armonk |isbn=9781563240324 |page=152}}</ref> As a consequence, Vlachs{{refn|group="nb"|"[[Vlachs]]", referring to pastoralists, since the 16th century was a common name for Serbs in the Ottoman Empire and later.<ref name=LING>{{cite journal |url=http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas2003/pas2003-02.pdf |title=Elements of ethnic identification of the Serbs |last=Gavrilović |first=Danijela |journal=Facta Universitatis, Series: Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology and History |year=2003 |volume=2 |issue=10}}</ref> Tihomir Đorđević points to the already known fact that the name "Vlach" didn't only refer to genuine [[Vlachs of Croatia|Vlachs]] or [[Serbs of Croatia|Serbs]] but also to cattle breeders in general.<ref name="LING"/> In the work ''About the Vlachs'' from 1806, Metropolitan Stevan Stratimirović states that Roman Catholics from Croatia and Slavonia scornfully used the name "Vlach" for ''"the Slovenians (Slavs) and Serbs, who are of our, Eastern confession (Orthodoxy)"'', and that ''"the Turks in Bosnia and Serbia also call every Bosnian or Serbian Christian a Vlach"'' (T. Đorđević, 1984:110).<ref name=LING/>}} were used by both the Ottomans on one side, and Austria and Venice on the other.{{sfn|Suppan|Graf|2010|p=52, 59}}

From the 16th century onwards, the name "Morlach" became specifically used by the Venetians to refer the any inhabitant of the hinterland, as opposed to those of the coastal towns, in an area stretching from the north of [[Kotor]] to the [[Kvarner Gulf]] region. In particular, the area around the [[Velebit]] mountain range was largely populated by Morlachs, to the extent that the Venetians called it ''Montagne della Morlacca'' ("mountain of the Morlachs"), while they used the name ''Canale della Morlacca'' to designate the [[Velebit Channel]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Enciklopedija Leksikografskog zavoda: Majmonid-Pérez |editor-last1=Kostrenčić |editor-first1=Marko |editor-last2=Krleža |editor-first2=Miroslav |publisher=Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod |location=Zagreb |year=1961 |page=268 |url=https://bopks.google.com/books?id=Mwg8o8bBtxQC}}</ref>

Between the end of the [[War of Cyprus]] in 1573 and the start of the [[Cretan War (1645-1669)|Cretan War]] in 1645, trading relations between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire improved significantly. As the border region between the two, Dalmatia became a dynamic center of these relations. In particular, Morlachs from the hinterland played an important role in trade, bringing corn, meat, cheese and wool to towns like Šibenik, and buying fabrics, jewelry, clothing, delicacies and, above all, salt.{{sfn|Juran|2015|p=47}} During this period, a significant number of Morlachs immigrated to the Venetian side near Šibenik, either temporarily or permanently. These migrations were mainly in search of employment as soldiers or servants, or through "mixed" marriages. Most of these Morlach migrants came from the areas of Zagora, [[Petrovo Polje (Croatia)|Petrovo Polje]], the [[Miljevci, Dalmatia|Miljevci plateau]] and the [[Cetina|Cetina valley]].{{sfn|Juran|2015|p=48}}

In 1579, several groups of ''Morlachs'' immigrated and requested to be employed as military colonists.<ref name="Rothenberg1960">{{cite book|author=Gunther Erich Rothenberg|title=The Austrian military border in Croatia, 1522–1747|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g701AAAAIAAJ|year=1960|publisher=University of Illinois Press|page=50|quote=<!--Morlachs, a Serbian tribe-->}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Morlachs were not necessarily Serbs, this source from 1960 is largely outdated|date=July 2024}} Initially, there were some tensions between these immigrants and the established [[Uskoks]].<ref name="Rothenberg1960"/> In 1593, ''[[provveditore]] generale'' (Overseer) Cristoforo Valier mentioned three nations constituting the Uskoks: the "natives of Senj, Croatians, and Morlachs from the Turkish parts".{{sfn|Fine|2006|p=218}}