International
Give Croatia True Historical Recognition
By Hilda Marija Foley, FT 3/6/08
May 6, 2008 - 11:38:40 AM

Norman di Giovanni, writing about Croatia's Hvar island, cannot reconcile himself to the historical truth that Italy does not own the Croatian coast or its Adriatic islands. He demeans Croatians by writing that "Slavs" came to that area in the 7th century, refusing to acknowledge that these Slavs were Croats, not Serbs, Slovenes, Czechs or Bulgarians. They were Croatians who in the 8th century became western Christians and formed their dukedom and later kingdom from the 9th to the 11th centuries.

Yes, the Venetian republic acquired from time to time parts of Croatia's Dalmatia but it became by no means a permanent part of Italy. Venetians were defeated by Croatia's Prince Branimir in 887 and had to pay tribute to Croatia for free navigation.

Pope John VIII recognised him as ruler and Croatia received international recognition as an independent state. Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus wrote that during King Tomislav's (925) reign Croatia was an important military power, stretching from Istria to Drina in Bosnia, Drava and Danube in the north and the Adriatic sea along the coast to Kotor.

In the 15th century Venetians conquered parts of Dalmatia and islands while the Croatians, then part of Hungary by the Pacta Conventa agreement, were fighting the Ottoman Turks' invasion, saving the west from disaster.