Editing State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Short description|1918 unrecognised pan-Slavic state in Southeast Europe}}
{{distinguish|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
| native_name            = {{native name list|tag1=sl|name1=Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov|tag2=hr|name2=Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba|tag3=sr|name3=Држава Словенаца, Хрвата и Срба}}
| common_name            = Slovenes, Croats and Serbs<!--- Used for category sorting; do not prefix with "State of" --->|
| image_flag             = Flag of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.svg
| image_coat             = Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.png
| image_map              = State of Slovenes Croats and Serbs.png
| image_map_caption      = The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in 1918. [[Istria]] was a disputed area, officially ceded to Italy by the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]]. Southern [[Carinthia]] and [[Lower Styria]] were also disputed areas, with the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain]] demarcating the border of the newly-created [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] with Austria.|
| status                 = [[List of states with limited recognition|Unrecognised]] [[provisional government]] seeking unification with [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]]|
| p1                     = Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina{{!}}Bosnia and Herzegovina
| flag_p1                = OostenrijkHongarije-Bosnie.png
| p2                     = Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia{{!}}Kingdom of {{nowrap|Croatia-Slavonia}}
| flag_p2                = Flag of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.svg
| p3                     = Duchy of Carniola
| flag_p3                = Flag of Krain.svg
| p4                     = Kingdom of Dalmatia
| flag_p4                = Flag of the Kingdom of Dalmatia.svg
| s1                     = Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
| flag_s1                = Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.svg
| s2                     = Kingdom of Italy
| flag_s2                = Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg|
| era                    = [[Interwar period]] 
[[World War 1]]
| event_start            = Proclaimed [[secession]]
| date_start             = 29 October
| year_start             = 1918
| event_end              = Joined [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]
| date_end               = <br/>1 December
| year_end               = 1918|
| common_languages       = {{startplainlist}}
*[[Serbo-Croatian]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]]
{{endplainlist}}
| capital                = [[Zagreb]]|
| title_leader           = President of National Council
| leader1                = [[Anton Korošec]]
| year_leader1           = 1918
| title_deputy           = Vice President
| deputy1                = [[Ante Pavelić (1869–1938)|Ante Pavelić Sr.]]
| year_deputy1           = 1918
| deputy2                = [[Svetozar Pribićević]]
| year_deputy2           = 1918
| legislature            = [[National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs]]
| population_estimate    = 6,000,000
| life_span              = 1918
}}
The '''State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs''' ({{langx|sh|Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba}} / {{lang|sh|Држава Словенаца, Хрвата и Срба}}; {{langx|sl|Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov}}) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of [[World War I]], by [[Slovenes]], [[Croats]] and [[Serbs]] ([[Prečani (Serbs)|Prečani]]) residing in what were the southernmost parts of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. Although [[List of states with limited recognition|internationally unrecognised]], this was the first incarnation of a [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] state founded on the [[Pan-Slavism|Pan-Slavic]] ideology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicalreview.org/index.php/historicalReview/article/viewFile/233/129 |title=Serbia's Great War, 1914–1918 |last=Mitrović |first=Andrej |location=London |publisher=Hurst & Company |year=2007 |format=PDF |access-date=15 November 2010 |archive-date=3 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303154152/http://www.historicalreview.org/index.php/historicalReview/article/viewFile/233/129 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thirty-three days after it was proclaimed, the state joined the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] to form the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]].

== Name ==
The state's name derives from the three main [[South Slavs|South Slavic]] [[ethnic group]]s that inhabited it: the [[Slovenes]], [[Croats]], and [[Serbs]].

The Croats identified in the name were those residing in the preceding kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia|Croatia-Slavonia]], [[Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and [[Kingdom of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] (including [[Boka Kotorska]]).

The Serbs identified in the name were those residing in [[Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]], Croatia-Slavonia, [[Kingdom of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] (including [[Boka Kotorska]] and [[Montenegrin Littoral]]), not those residing in the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] (which included the territory of the present-day [[Republic of North Macedonia|North Macedonia]]), nor those living in the [[Kingdom of Montenegro]] or [[Vojvodina]] (including [[Banat]], [[Bačka]], [[Baranya (region)|Baranya]]).<ref name="corovic-2006"/><ref name="njegovan-2004"/>

The Slovenes identified in the name were the residents of the [[Duchy of Carniola]], [[Duchy of Styria]], [[Duchy of Carinthia]] and [[Prekmurje]].

== Creation ==
=== Background ===
{{see also|Corfu Declaration}}
[[File:Austria hungary 1911.jpg|thumb|285px|"Distribution of Races in Austria–Hungary" from the ''Historical Atlas'' by [[William R. Shepherd]], 1911, indicating those areas inhabited by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Most of those territories were included in the State.]]
In 1918, the final year of the War, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was suffering from an internal crisis accompanied by unrest amongst the multiple Slavic peoples within its borders.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=36}} The [[South Slavic peoples]] were divided between various subdivisions of the monarchy:
* [[Cisleithania]]: The [[Austrian Littoral]], [[Duchy of Carniola]] and the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]] were under Austrian jurisdiction. The neighbouring duchies of [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]] and the [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]] also included a significant South Slavic population.
* [[Transleithania]]: The [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]] and [[Corpus separatum (Fiume)|Fiume (corpus separatum)]] were under Hungarian jurisdiction. The [[Kingdom of Hungary]] itself included a significant South Slavic populations in [[Prekmurje]], [[Međimurje]], [[Baranya (region)|Baranja]] and territories that had been part of the [[Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar]].
* The [[Austro-Hungarian Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina]].

Activities of the pro-Yugoslav forces in the [[Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen|Transleithania]]n [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]] on 30 May 1917 resulted in adoption of the [[May Declaration]] by the Yugoslav Club, a group of Croatian and Slovene deputies in the ''[[Imperial Council (Austria)|Reichsrat]]'' (the legislature of Cisleithania in Vienna). The Declaration sought the unification of all the lands in the Habsburg monarchy populated by Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs in one independent entity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/svibanjska-deklaracija|title=Svibanjska deklaracija|website=enciklopedija.hr}}</ref>

On 2–3 March 1918,<ref name=Boban>{{harvnb|Boban|1993}}</ref> a grass-roots meeting was held in [[Zagreb]] that included representatives of various aspects of public life as well as members of several political parties, primarily the [[Mile Starčević (politician, born 1862)|Mile Starčević]] faction of the [[Party of Rights]] led by [[Ante Pavelić (1869–1938)|Ante Pavelić]] and the [[Slovene People's Party (historical)|Slovene People's Party]].<ref name="stambuk-skalic-matijevic-2008">{{harvnb|Štambuk-Škalić|Matijević|2008}}
</ref> The ruling [[Croat-Serb Coalition]] and its opposition the [[Croatian People's Peasant Party]], however, were excluded. The meeting produced the [[Zagreb Resolution]] that proclaimed the unity of the people of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (a "unified nation" with the latter described as equal "tribes" whose peculiar historical positions and desires are to be accommodated), demanded a right of [[self-determination]] and possession of the territory they occupied, including the whole of Cisleithania.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=43}}

In July and August 1918, the so-called "People's organizations of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs" were formed in [[Split (city)|Split]] (for Dalmatia), [[Sušak, Rijeka|Sušak]] (for the [[Croatian Littoral]]) and [[Ljubljana]] (for the [[Slovene lands]]) to advance these policies. In late August, the Croatia-Slavonia parties met again in Zagreb to discuss how to proceed and, in particular, how to gain the support of the [[Croat-Serb Coalition]].{{sfn|Matijević|2008|pp=44-45}}

On 14 September 1918, [[Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister]] [[Stephan Burián von Rajecz]] issued a statement advocating a settlement of World War I by peace treaty and it became apparent that the war was coming to an end. By early October, the Slovene-Croat-Serb movement were planning to set up a National Assembly. [[Svetozar Pribićević]], the leader of the Croat-Serb Coalition, confronted [[Srđan Budisavljević]], one of the leaders of this movement, in an effort to determine whether these plans were meant to undermine the Coalition, and the two reached an understanding whereby the Coalition would be invited to join any future National Council before a National Assembly was formed. At the same time, the organizers obtained support from the Croatian People's Peasant Party and the [[Serb People's Radical Party]]. On 5 and 6 October, a provisional assembly was convened and the formation of executive committees begun. Seats were apportioned to members of all parties,<ref name="stambuk-skalic-matijevic-2008"/> but not without acrimony over the ''[[ad hoc]]'' nature of the proceedings.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=45-48}}

=== Establishment ===

[[File:SHS slavlje 1918.jpg|left|thumb|280px|Celebrations of South Slavs in [[Zagreb]] during the formation of the [[National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs]], October 1918]]
[[File:StampYugoslavia1918Michel51.jpg|left|thumb|160px|[[Postage stamp]] of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs issued in [[Croatia]]]]
The People's Council ({{langx|sh|Narodno vijeće}}, {{langx|sl|Narodni svet}}) was established on 5–8 October 1918 in Zagreb, pursuant to the decisions reached in March 1918. The Council declared itself a political representative body of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs living in Croatia-Slavonia, Fiume, Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, [[Istria]], [[Trieste]], [[Carniola]], [[Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca|Gorizia and Gradisca]], [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]], [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]], [[Bačka]], [[Banat]], [[Baranya (region)|Baranya]], [[Međimurje]] and elsewhere in southwest Hungary. The Council established its own Central Committee and Presidency, while one member of the Council was to be representative of a 100,000 people. In addition, it comprised five representatives of Croatian [[Sabor]], the [[Diet of Bosnia]] and Reichsrat for a total of 95 representatives. 32 voting members were required to form the [[quorum]], and two-thirds majority was needed for any decisions. Members of regional parliaments were allowed to attend as non-voting observers. The Council elected up to 30 Central Committee members, who could appoint a further 10 to the committee by a two-thirds vote.<ref name=Boban/>

The [[Kingdom of Hungary]] signed a truce with the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] on 13 October 1918. Pavelić and others started negotiating with the Serbian envoy to the National Assembly [[Dušan T. Simović]] as soon as Simović had said that their military victory and the treaty with Hungary gave them right to most of the territory of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, whereas Pavelić said that they want unification with [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]], but that they needed a federal state as well as a delineation of Croatian and Serbian population that would assume a [[population transfer]]. Simović rejected the talk of federalization and Pavelić yielded, and there was no further discussion on either issue.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=61}}

On 14 October 1918, Austrian foreign minister Burián asked for an armistice based on the ''[[Fourteen Points]]'' outlined in January 1918 by American president [[Woodrow Wilson]], whose Point 10 read: "The people of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity to [[Self-determination|autonomous development]]." Two days later, Emperor [[Charles I of Austria|Karl]] issued a proclamation ("Imperial Manifesto of 16 October 1918"), which envisaged a significant modification the structure of the Empire by granting wide autonomy to its peoples, including [[federalization]] of Cisleithania.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=48}} Karl's proposal was rejected on 18 October by U.S. Secretary of State [[Robert Lansing]] who said autonomy for the nationalities was no longer enough. On 19 October, the [[National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs]] declared itself the supreme representative body of all South-Slavic peoples in the monarchy.<ref name="Boban"/>

On 21 and 22 October, members of the [[Pure Party of Rights]] who still advocated a [[Trialism in Austria-Hungary|trialist monarchy]] secured formal support for a trialist manifesto from Emperor Karl and Prime Minister [[Sándor Wekerle]] in Hungary, but the latter was deposed the next day.

Numerous mass rallies were held in Zagreb in support the Yugoslav cause, especially on 22 October. 
[[File:Session of Sabor.jpg|thumb|Session of the Croatian parliament, the ''[[Sabor]]'', on 29 October 1918]]
[[File:KongressfallofAH.jpg|thumb|Proclamation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in [[Congress Square]], [[Ljubljana]], 29 October 1918]]
On 28 October, [[Gyula Andrássy the Younger]] sent a peace note to the American government while the [[Ban of Croatia]], [[Antun Mihalović]], reported to the Emperor and was dismissed with the instruction "Do as you please".{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=50}} The Ministry of War had also decided to allow the local military commands to approach the people's councils in order to help maintain law and order. All this was taken as a sign that the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was disintegrating and that the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was an attainable goal.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|pp=50-51}}

The state was proclaimed officially on 29 October 1918. Its first president was a Slovene, [[Anton Korošec]]. The two vice presidents were a Serb, [[Svetozar Pribićević]], and a Croat, [[Ante Pavelić (politician born 1869)|Ante Pavelić]].<ref name=Boban/>

The new state aspired to include all those territories of the former [[Austria-Hungary]] that were inhabited by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Those representing the [[History and culture of Serbs in Vojvodina|Serbs in Vojvodina]], however{{spaced ndash}}including those in [[Banat, Bačka and Baranja]]{{spaced ndash}}objected and formed their own administration under the supreme authority of the [[Serbian National Board]] in [[Novi Sad]]. Vojvodina then joined the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] on 25 November 1918. One day earlier, on 24 November 1918, the region of [[Syrmia]], which had become part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, seceded and also joined the Kingdom of Serbia.<ref name="corovic-2006">{{in lang|sr}} [[Vladimir Ćorović]], ''Ilustrovana istorija Srba (knjiga šesta)'', Belgrade, 2006.</ref><ref name="njegovan-2004">{{in lang|sr}} Drago Njegovan, ''Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji'', Novi Sad, 2004.</ref>

== Conflict with Italy ==
{{main|Adriatic Question}}
In order to avoid handing them to the [[Allies of World War I|Entente Powers]], Emperor Karl assigned the entire [[Austro-Hungarian Navy]], the Austro-Hungarian merchant fleet and all Austro-Hungarian harbours, arsenals and shore fortifications to the National Council. The National Council sent diplomatic notes to the Entente governments notifying them that they had taken control of these assets and were not at war. The fleet, however, was soon attacked and dismembered by the Italian navy, the [[Regia Marina]].

Austria-Hungary reached an armistice with Italy through the [[Armistice of Villa Giusti]] signed on 4 November 1918. This agreement stipulated that Italy could occupy large parts of the territory that had been included in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Italian troops then occupied Istria and much of Dalmatia within the [[occupation of the eastern Adriatic]] and remained there until 1921, when the [[Treaty of Rapallo, 1920|Treaty of Rapallo]] came into effect.

== Creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes ==
{{see also|Creation of Yugoslavia}}
[[File:Serbian Army enters Zagreb.jpg|thumb|Delegation of the [[Royal Serbian Army|Serbian Army]] in a joint parade in [[Zagreb]]'s [[Ban Jelačić Square]] in 1918]]
[[File:SHS 1918 adresa Aleksandru.jpg|thumb|Delegation of the National Council of the '' State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs'' led by [[Ante Pavelić (1869–1938)|Ante Pavelić]] reading the address in front of regent Alexander, 1 December 1918]]

The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs did not obtain international [[diplomatic recognition]] before it ceased to exist. In a note of 31 October, the National Council informed the governments of the [[United Kingdom]], [[French Third Republic|France]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] and the [[United States]] that the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was constituted in the South-Slavic areas that had been part of Austria-Hungary, and that the new state intended to form a common state with Serbia and Montenegro. The same note was sent to the government of the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] and the Yugoslav Committee in London. Serbia's prime minister [[Nikola Pašić]] responded to the note on 8 November, recognizing the National Council in Zagreb as "legal government of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes living in the territory of the Austria-Hungary", and notified the governments of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United States asking them to do the same.

On 23–24 November, the National Council declared "unification of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed on the entire, contiguous South-Slavic area of the former Austria-Hungary with the Kingdom of Serbia and Montenegro into a unified State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs". 28 members of the council were appointed to implement that decision based on National Council's adopted directions on implementation of the agreement of organization of the unified state with the government of the Kingdom of Serbia and representatives of political parties in Serbia and Montenegro. The instructions were largely ignored by the delegation members who negotiated with [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|Regent Alexander]] instead.<ref name=Boban/>

[[Stjepan Radić]]'s Peasant Party participated in the National Council, but after it decided to merge with Serbia, they started to back off, calling the move foolish, and disputing the decision based on the fact that the Croatian Parliament never explicitly approved it.<ref name="hss-history">{{cite web | url = http://www.hss.hr/files/Povijest_HSS.pdf | language = hr | title = Povijest HSS-a | publisher = [[Croatian Peasant Party]] | page = 10 | quote = 24. studenog – Govor Stjepana Radića na sjednici središnjeg odbora Narodnog vijeća SHS – ''Gospodo! Još nije prekasno! Ne srljajte kao guske u maglu.'' 1. prosinca 1918. Adresa delegacije Narodnog vijeća SHS regentu Aleksandru i proglašenje nove države Kraljevstva Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca. Ulazak Hrvatske u ovu državnu tvorevinu Hrvatski sabor nije odobrio ni potvrdio, na što je opetovano ukazivao Stjepan Radić, osporavajući na taj način njezin legitimitet. 31. prosinca u ''DOM-u'' objavljen članak S. Radića ''Republika ili slobodna narodna država konstituanta ili narodni revolucionarni sabor''. | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130407180451/http://www.hss.hr/files/Povijest_HSS.pdf | archive-date = 7 April 2013 }}</ref>

On 1 December, Regent Alexander proclaimed unification of "Serbia with lands of the independent State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs into a unified [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes]]". As the National Council ceased to operate, it never formally ratified the proclamation, nor did the Parliament of Serbia, which took note of the declaration on 29 December 1918.<ref name=Boban/>

The National Council's final important task was to appoint representatives to the [[Temporary National Representation]] in early 1919.{{sfn|Matijević|2008|p=66}}

== See also ==
*[[Geneva Declaration (1918)]]
*[[Lipošćak affair]]
*[[Podgorica Assembly]]
*[[History of Yugoslavia]]
*[[Verigar issue]]
*[[Slovene March (Kingdom of Hungary)|Slovene March]]
*[[Timeline of Croatian history]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite journal | url = http://hrcak.srce.hr/29290?lang=en |journal=Fontes |publisher=[[Croatian State Archives]] |issn=1330-6804 |number=14 |date=November 2008 |language=hr |title=Narodno vijeće Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba u Zagrebu: Osnutak, djelovanje i nestanak (1918/1919) | first = Zlatko | last = Matijević |volume=14 | pages = 35–66 |format=PDF}}
* {{cite journal | url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=46053&lang=en |language=hr |title=Narodno vijeće Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba u Zagrebu 1918–1919. Izabrani dokumenti |editor1-first=Marina |editor1-last=Štambuk-Škalić |editor2-first=Zlatko |editor2-last=Matijević |date=November 2008 |journal=Fontes |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=71–596 |publisher=Croatian State Archives |access-date=8 December 2010}}
* {{cite journal | url = http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=76927&lang=en | language=hr|title=Kada je i kako nastala Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba|trans-title=When and how was the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed | first = Ljubo | last = Boban | author-link = Ljubo Boban | pages=187–198|journal=Radovi – Journal – Institute of Croatian History|issn=0353-295X|publisher=Institute of Croatian History, [[Faculty of Philosophy, Zagreb]]|volume=26|issue=1|date=October 1993|access-date=16 December 2012}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://archive.today/20050309195049/http://members.tripod.com/~MiYeonJan/croatia_flags_c04.html Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba (1918)] {{in lang|hr}}
*[http://www.terra.es/personal7/jqvaraderey/193818BK.GIF Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121205002244/http://www.terra.es/personal7/jqvaraderey/193818BK.GIF |date=5 December 2012 }}

{{Croatia topics |collapsed}}
{{Yug-timeline}}
{{Dissolution of Austria–Hungary}}

{{Coord|45|48|N|15|58|E|type:country_source:kolossus-eswiki|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs}}
[[Category:States succeeding Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:1918 in Croatia]]
[[Category:1918 in Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:1918 in Slovenia]]
[[Category:1918 in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1918]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:1918 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1918 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Former countries of the interwar period]]
[[Category:Yugoslavism]]
[[Category:Provisional governments]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Serbo-Croatian is an official language]]