page_title: Serbs in Vojvodina
section_title: Habsburg rule
hierarchical_section_title: Serbs in Vojvodina / History / Habsburg rule
caption_attribution_description: Serbian May assembly in Karlovci in May 1848. Majska skupština Srba u Karlovcima u maju 1848. godine.
context_page_description: The Serbs of Vojvodina are the largest ethnic group in this northern province of Serbia. For centuries, Vojvodina was ruled by several European powers, but Vojvodina Serbs never assimilated into cultures of those countries. Thus, they have consistently been a recognized indigenous ethnic minority with its own culture, language and religion. According to the 2011 census, there were 1,289,635 Serbs in Vojvodina or 66.76% of the population of the province.
context_section_description: The Habsburg Monarchy took control of Vojvodina among other lands by the treaties of Karlovci (1699) and Požarevac (1718). The Serbian patriarch, Arsenije III Čarnojević, fearing the revenge of the Turks, immigrated in the last decade of the 17th century to the Habsburg Monarchy with as many as 36,000 families, but these Serbs mostly went further to the north and settled in the territory of what is now Republic of Hungary with only small part of them settling in the territory of present-day north-western Vojvodina. However, because of this event, the Habsburg Emperor promised religious freedom to all Serbs in the Monarchy as well as the right to elect their own "vojvoda" (military and civil governor). Much of the area of present-day Vojvodina where Serbs lived was incorporated into the Military Frontier. The emperor also recognized Serbs as one of the official nations of the Habsburg Monarchy and he recognized the right of Serbs to have territorial autonomy within one separate voivodeship. This right, however, was not realized before the revolution in 1848–1849. The immigration of Serbs to the Habsburg Monarchy was maintained during the 18th century.
  During the Kuruc War (1703–1711) of Francis II Rakoczi, the territory of present-day Vojvodina was a battlefield between Hungarian rebels and local Serbs who fought on the side of the Habsburg Emperor. Serbs in Bačka suffered the greatest losses. Hungarian rebels burned Serb villages and many Serbs were expelled from Bačka. Darvas, the prime military commander of the Hungarian rebels, which fought against Serbs in Bačka, wrote: "We burned all large places of Rascia, on the both banks of the rivers Danube and Tisa".
  During the Austrian rule many non-Serbs also settled in the territory of present-day Vojvodina. They were mainly (Catholic) Germans and Hungarians, but also Ruthenians, Slovaks, Czechs,
  Poles, Romanians, and others. Because of this immigration, Vojvodina became one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Europe. However, there was also some emigration of Serbs from Vojvodina: after the Tisa-Moriš section of the Military Frontier was abolished, Serbs from the north-eastern parts of Bačka left this region and immigrated to Russia (notably to Nova Serbia and Slavo-Serbia) in 1752, and this region was then populated with new Hungarian settlers. Serbs, however, remained the single largest ethnic group in Vojvodina, until the second half of 20th century, when they became the absolute majority.
  Between the 16th and 19th centuries, Vojvodina was a cultural centre of the Serb people. Especially important cultural centres were: Novi Sad, Sremski Karlovci, and the monasteries of Fruška Gora. In the first half of the 19th century, Novi Sad was the largest Serb city; in 1820 this city had about 20,000 inhabitants, of whom 2/3 were Serbs. The Matica Srpska moved to Novi Sad from Budapest in 1864. The Serbian gymnasiums of Novi Sad and Sremski Karlovci were at the time considered to be among the best in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Novi Sad was being called the "Serb Athens".
  During the Revolutions of 1848, the Hungarians demanded national rights and autonomy within the Austrian Empire. However, they did not recognized the national rights of other peoples which lived in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary in that time. Wishing to express their national individuality and confronted with the new Hungarian authorities, Serbs declared the constitution of the Serbian Voivodship (Serbian Duchy) at the May Assembly in Sremski Karlovci (May 13–15, 1848). The Serbian Voivodship consisted of Srem, Bačka, Banat, and Baranja regions. The Serbs also formed a political alliance with the Croats "based on freedom and perfect equality". They also recognized the Romanian nationality. The metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Josif Rajačić, was elected patriarch, while Stevan Šupljikac the first Voivode (duke). A National committee was formed as the new government of the Serbian Voivodship. Instead of the old feudal regime a new reign was founded based on the national boards with the Head Serbian Na
caption: Proclamation of Serbian Vojvodina – May Assembly in 1848 in Sremski Karlovci
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