HOME | DD

Description
I realized while making this that this is the third Italian-Illyrian Microstate map I've done, after Fiume and Trieste. I guess this counts as a miniseries now.
---
At the Congress of Berlin, where the Napoleonic Wars were finally ended, the goal was to establish a new balance of power, where no one nation could become stronger than the other. And between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire, Dalmatia became an issue. With the Republic of Venice disestablished its territory was annexed by Austria including the Dalmatian Littoral, surrounding the Ottoman province of Bosnia and furthermore annexing a city which had been an Ottoman protectorate prior to the war. Although the Ottomans had not taken part in most of the war, they were still strong and were opposed to Austrian expansion into the Balkans. Austria meanwhile was hemmed in by rival powers in Russia and Prussia, and was anxious to not have the Ottomans box them in.

The solution was to simply restore the city's pre-war independence. Thus was reborn the Republic of Ragusa, which would exist as a neutral state in free association with both the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire so that neither would be able to use the city as a base from which to threaten the Strait of Otranto for either nation. The Republic had existed for centuries beforehand as well, known as Ragusa to the Italian nobles who had governed the Republic and as Dubrovnik to the Croats who made up the majority of its population. It had been a protectorate of Venice, and ultimately of the Ottoman Empire before being conquered by the French in 1806. Prior to its conquest it had been an aristocratic maritime republic, focused on trade much as had been the case for Venice.

The new "Second Republic of Ragusa" was a much different entity. Merchant city-states had declined long before the age of consolidation marked by the post-Napoleonic era and the Italian nobles who had governed much of the city found themselves prevented from simply re-enforcing their rule. Even before the Revolutions of 1848 the republic found itself struggling from being caught at the crossroads of both Austria and the Ottoman Empire, and as Ottoman rule in the Balkans began to collapse the idea of Balkan Slavic nationalism began to flare into revolts against the Italian aristocratic rulers of the city, particularly after Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro broke away from Ottoman rule and began the inexorable process of the Ottoman withdrawal from the Balkans.

Ragusa managed to struggle onwards until the Revolutions of 1848 swept across Europe. Ragusa was not only caught between Vienna and Kostantiniyye, but now caught between the new ideas of Pan-Italianism and Pan-Slavism. Not only were the Croatian majority population revolting against the Italian ruling class, but many in the Italian ruling class were also fighting over whether Ragusa would be part of this new idea of the Kingdom of Italy. In the end the Ottoman Empire ended up intervening with a force to restore order, but it was clear that even the Ottomans weren't interested in simply restoring the status quo. To everyone involved, it was clear that Ragusa would have to rebuild itself as more than simply what had existed before the Napoleonic Wars (much as was becoming apparent for Europe).

The ruling aristocratic nobility of the Republic had been decimated by 1849, and the broader Croat majority was clearly uninterested in a return to being ruled by this aristocratic oligarchy. Out of necessity the Republic, now once again under the thumb of the Ottoman Empire, would have to reform. The Italian ruling class still held considerable influence but began to allow broader voting rights and increased civil liberties for its citizens, along with further integrating the Croats into the government. It was far from perfect and the damage done by the revolution had left the city in severe need for rebuilding, but it was enough to restore a sense of order.

Issues of nationalism and identity would continue to plague Ragusa: was it an Italian state, or a Slavic state? Even within that there were other questions. Pan-Slavism, and the rise of "Yugoslavism" were plaguing the idea of separation between Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs. Ragusa itself mostly considered itself to be Croat but it bordered a region dominated by Bosniak and Serbian identities, naturally there was a great deal of diffusion. Making matters worse Ragusa was outside of the Italian Peninsula and there were enough issues over whether there was to be a monarchy, a republic, or some kind of Papal leadership. Wherever its nationalists sympathies lay, Ragusa was firmly committed to the idea of republicanism.

As such when Italy did end up unifying in 1861 under the Sardinian monarchy, Ragusa felt itself alienated politically and initial heady excitement fell away. Lingering sympathies towards Austria were also fueling a desire to avoid being part of this new Italian state, made worse by Italy's open ambitions towards the Austrian Littoral, which if it was annexed would inevitably lead to Ragusan annexation as well. Others pointed towards San Marino remaining independent as an example, and this was further fueled by the developing idea of "Ragusanism", the idea that regardless of Croat or Italian heritage, that Ragusa was something unique in the Balkans for being a state which existed for its own purpose without needing a nationalist justification. It was similar to other ideas justifying Luxembourg remaining separate from Germany or France, or Belgium being a nation undivided between France and the Netherlands.

When considering that the surrounding nations were more often than not autocratic monarchies which gave mere lip service to reform, the Republic of Ragusa did seem like a much more appealing alternative for those living in it. After all by the 1880s the Republic, though firmly in the status of a minor state, was still a decent place to live which gave its residents civil and political liberties beyond that of the other surrounding states. Broadening civil rights and increased integration between the Italian and Croatian communities were also leading to a sort of syncretic merging of the two cultures. The languages were separate, yes, there was no "Ragusan" or "Dubrovnik" language, but this "Ragusanist" identity was slowly taking on its own form through the later years of the 19th Century, such that even as Austria became Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire was clearly on the decline, this nation began to feel much more capable of justifying its existence.

Things began to take a turn for the worse almost the moment that the 20th Century began. In 1908, Austria-Hungary aggressively annexed Bosnia, replacing Ragusa's Ottoman border with an Austro-Hungarian one. In 1912, the First Balkan War saw the dwindling Ottoman holdings in the Balkans collapse entirely. All at once the Balkans were a much more volatile place, and Serbia openly held ambitions over Austria-Hungary's Croat, Bosnian, and Slovene lands, which included Ragusa. The small nation barely had time to worry before the First World War broke out in 1914, eventually resulting in Italy going to war with the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. When the smoke cleared the empires of Vienna and Kostantiniyye had fallen. Italy was unable to push for its claim along the Dalmatian Littoral, and Serbia became the core of a new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia).

The political situation was now one of extreme tenuousness. Italy was furious over not gaining its greater territorial ambitions, what it called the "Irredenta". Yugoslavia was similarly angry that Ragusa's neutrality meant that it had avoided being merged with Yugoslavia. It was hardly the most prestigious or strategically critical city to have but it represented a similar concept of irredenta to Yugoslavia. Making matters worse Italy's descent into fascism meant that there was a much greater chance for Italy to aggressively move against it. A desperate hope that its neutrality would protect it was scuttled when Italy invaded and forced the submission of its erstwhile ally of Albania. On 7 November 1939, as the Second World War began, Italy issued an ultimatum to Ragusa to submit or be invaded. The next day, after a painful night of deliberation, President Benedetto Gundulić announced that the Republic would willingly submit its territory to Italy but that he and much of its government would be going into exile, promising to fight for their Republic overseas and return when it was liberated. In doing so they effectively cost Italy its legitimacy to controlling Ragusa.

Throughout the war Ragusa was annexed directly to Italy, but found conflict with the German puppet state of Croatia and the Ustaše, who claimed Ragusa for itself. Partisan activity also regularly caused division, but the territory of the tiny occupied nation found some capacity to resist by being designated a "Jewish Zone" that Italy would deport Italian Jews to, much to the anger of Germany and Croatia who sought to exterminate them. Near the end of the war as Italy was divided between north and south the Ustaše invaded the city to attempt to take it over in 1943 but was quickly rebuffed by forces claiming loyalty to either Ragusa itself, the Kingdom of Italy, or Yugoslavia, dividing the city in its loyalties even as Gundulić returned and declared Ragusa's liberation in 1944. By the time the war ended in 1945, things were a wreck. But its independence was restored.

Even now though, the threats remained. Yugoslavia had come under a pro-Moscow communist government that as before sought to annex Ragusa, while Italy hoped that it might somehow retain Ragusa as a small enclave in Dalmatia even as Trieste was being divided from it. The focus of the Great Powers was largely over Germany, but enough attention was afforded to Ragusa that it was able to present its case for continuing independence. Stalin wanted Ragusa to be part of Yugoslavia, the Americans were ambivalent on its independence. So Ragusa moved first, appealing to Yugoslavia that it could accept the Italian diaspora in Dalmatia as Yugoslavia sought to expel them. It also offered to remain neutral in the developing Cold War, giving Yugoslavia a tariff-free port that it could export goods through as a sort of intermediary between the Communist and Capitalist blocs. Tito was reluctant but eventually Stalin and Truman agreed, and with pressure from the great powers Ragusa had managed to secure its independence by the skin of its teeth.

This was maintained even as Yugoslavia split with Moscow, and going into the 1950s the tiny little Republic absorbed a number of Italian Dalmatians who were deported to either Ragusa or Italy. This character eventually gave Ragusa more justification for its existence as something separate from Yugoslavia, and it had been blocked from being re-annexed by Italy at behest of Stalin as well. Although it was now surrounded entirely by Yugoslavia it was still a sovereign nation that became the "Western Outpost in the East", perhaps even more than West Berlin. It gained a reputation for spies from both the Eastern Bloc and Western Bloc (making Ragusa the setting of many a spy novel) but toed a line between them which kept it separate from Yugoslavia, Italy, East, or West. Tito never fully dropped his ambitions to annexing Ragusa but Ragusa's stubborn dedication to its independence just wouldn't go away, helped by Yugoslav political exiles fleeing to Ragusa.

The last major crisis for Ragusa would come in the early 1990s as Yugoslavia fell apart. Faced with an outbreak of ethnic violence along its border, especially as Bosnia saw brutal fighting between Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks over the region, Ragusa was flooded with refugees and nationalist ambitions by the newly independent Croatia to annex it once again. It flared into violence when Serb-dominated Yugoslav forces deliberately shelled Ragusa City and later subjected it to an aerial bombardment on 7 January 1992, claiming that it had become a haven for the fascist Ustaše. Making matters worse it also saw a Montenegrin invasion from the south on 8 January 1992 that captured Ragusa Veccia and threatened to overrun the whole nation, which prompted Croatia to invade Curzola Island two days later. At that point the "Crisis in Ragusa" was met by a UN intervention which pushed back Yugoslav, Croat, and Montenegrin forces in support of Ragusan sovereignty. This UN presence was maintained until the end of hostilities in later 1992.

Having been attacked from all sides, any lingering sentiments towards joining Croatia or Serbia died completely. Ragusa, flooded again with refugees, was now firmly its own entity in the Balkans and began militarizing its border, propping up fences and setting up armed patrols even when the chaos died down. This would only end with the Gradina Accords between Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Ragusa in 2005, after which the land borders were re-opened. It would later join the European Union in 2007, followed by Croatia in 2012. With this, many felt that Ragusa's independence was finally secured without doubt, after nearly 200 years of constant war, debate, and international mediation. Somehow it had managed to avoid being annexed by Italy, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenego, and had indeed fulfilled the idea of "Ragusanism", that Ragusa/Dubrovnik was something unique in a region (indeed, an entire continent) torn apart by ethnic conflict in that it was able to create a society of Italians, Croats, and later even Jews that persisted as a multiethnic, multicultural blend of nations.

Description
I realized while making this that this is the third Italian-Illyrian Microstate map I've done, after Fiume and Trieste. I guess this counts as a miniseries now.
---
At the Congress of Berlin, where the Napoleonic Wars were finally ended, the goal was to establish a new balance of power, where no one nation could become stronger than the other. And between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire, Dalmatia became an issue. With the Republic of Venice disestablished its territory was annexed by Austria including the Dalmatian Littoral, surrounding the Ottoman province of Bosnia and furthermore annexing a city which had been an Ottoman protectorate prior to the war. Although the Ottomans had not taken part in most of the war, they were still strong and were opposed to Austrian expansion into the Balkans. Austria meanwhile was hemmed in by rival powers in Russia and Prussia, and was anxious to not have the Ottomans box them in.

The solution was to simply restore the city's pre-war independence. Thus was reborn the Republic of Ragusa, which would exist as a neutral state in free association with both the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire so that neither would be able to use the city as a base from which to threaten the Strait of Otranto for either nation. The Republic had existed for centuries beforehand as well, known as Ragusa to the Italian nobles who had governed the Republic and as Dubrovnik to the Croats who made up the majority of its population. It had been a protectorate of Venice, and ultimately of the Ottoman Empire before being conquered by the French in 1806. Prior to its conquest it had been an aristocratic maritime republic, focused on trade much as had been the case for Venice.

The new "Second Republic of Ragusa" was a much different entity. Merchant city-states had declined long before the age of consolidation marked by the post-Napoleonic era and the Italian nobles who had governed much of the city found themselves prevented from simply re-enforcing their rule. Even before the Revolutions of 1848 the republic found itself struggling from being caught at the crossroads of both Austria and the Ottoman Empire, and as Ottoman rule in the Balkans began to collapse the idea of Balkan Slavic nationalism began to flare into revolts against the Italian aristocratic rulers of the city, particularly after Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro broke away from Ottoman rule and began the inexorable process of the Ottoman withdrawal from the Balkans.

Ragusa managed to struggle onwards until the Revolutions of 1848 swept across Europe. Ragusa was not only caught between Vienna and Kostantiniyye, but now caught between the new ideas of Pan-Italianism and Pan-Slavism. Not only were the Croatian majority population revolting against the Italian ruling class, but many in the Italian ruling class were also fighting over whether Ragusa would be part of this new idea of the Kingdom of Italy. In the end the Ottoman Empire ended up intervening with a force to restore order, but it was clear that even the Ottomans weren't interested in simply restoring the status quo. To everyone involved, it was clear that Ragusa would have to rebuild itself as more than simply what had existed before the Napoleonic Wars (much as was becoming apparent for Europe).

The ruling aristocratic nobility of the Republic had been decimated by 1849, and the broader Croat majority was clearly uninterested in a return to being ruled by this aristocratic oligarchy. Out of necessity the Republic, now once again under the thumb of the Ottoman Empire, would have to reform. The Italian ruling class still held considerable influence but began to allow broader voting rights and increased civil liberties for its citizens, along with further integrating the Croats into the government. It was far from perfect and the damage done by the revolution had left the city in severe need for rebuilding, but it was enough to restore a sense of order.

Issues of nationalism and identity would continue to plague Ragusa: was it an Italian state, or a Slavic state? Even within that there were other questions. Pan-Slavism, and the rise of "Yugoslavism" were plaguing the idea of separation between Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs. Ragusa itself mostly considered itself to be Croat but it bordered a region dominated by Bosniak and Serbian identities, naturally there was a great deal of diffusion. Making matters worse Ragusa was outside of the Italian Peninsula and there were enough issues over whether there was to be a monarchy, a republic, or some kind of Papal leadership. Wherever its nationalists sympathies lay, Ragusa was firmly committed to the idea of republicanism.

As such when Italy did end up unifying in 1861 under the Sardinian monarchy, Ragusa felt itself alienated politically and initial heady excitement fell away. Lingering sympathies towards Austria were also fueling a desire to avoid being part of this new Italian state, made worse by Italy's open ambitions towards the Austrian Littoral, which if it was annexed would inevitably lead to Ragusan annexation as well. Others pointed towards San Marino remaining independent as an example, and this was further fueled by the developing idea of "Ragusanism", the idea that regardless of Croat or Italian heritage, that Ragusa was something unique in the Balkans for being a state which existed for its own purpose without needing a nationalist justification. It was similar to other ideas justifying Luxembourg remaining separate from Germany or France, or Belgium being a nation undivided between France and the Netherlands.

When considering that the surrounding nations were more often than not autocratic monarchies which gave mere lip service to reform, the Republic of Ragusa did seem like a much more appealing alternative for those living in it. After all by the 1880s the Republic, though firmly in the status of a minor state, was still a decent place to live which gave its residents civil and political liberties beyond that of the other surrounding states. Broadening civil rights and increased integration between the Italian and Croatian communities were also leading to a sort of syncretic merging of the two cultures. The languages were separate, yes, there was no "Ragusan" or "Dubrovnik" language, but this "Ragusanist" identity was slowly taking on its own form through the later years of the 19th Century, such that even as Austria became Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire was clearly on the decline, this nation began to feel much more capable of justifying its existence.

Things began to take a turn for the worse almost the moment that the 20th Century began. In 1908, Austria-Hungary aggressively annexed Bosnia, replacing Ragusa's Ottoman border with an Austro-Hungarian one. In 1912, the First Balkan War saw the dwindling Ottoman holdings in the Balkans collapse entirely. All at once the Balkans were a much more volatile place, and Serbia openly held ambitions over Austria-Hungary's Croat, Bosnian, and Slovene lands, which included Ragusa. The small nation barely had time to worry before the First World War broke out in 1914, eventually resulting in Italy going to war with the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. When the smoke cleared the empires of Vienna and Kostantiniyye had fallen. Italy was unable to push for its claim along the Dalmatian Littoral, and Serbia became the core of a new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia).

The political situation was now one of extreme tenuousness. Italy was furious over not gaining its greater territorial ambitions, what it called the "Irredenta". Yugoslavia was similarly angry that Ragusa's neutrality meant that it had avoided being merged with Yugoslavia. It was hardly the most prestigious or strategically critical city to have but it represented a similar concept of irredenta to Yugoslavia. Making matters worse Italy's descent into fascism meant that there was a much greater chance for Italy to aggressively move against it. A desperate hope that its neutrality would protect it was scuttled when Italy invaded and forced the submission of its erstwhile ally of Albania. On 7 November 1939, as the Second World War began, Italy issued an ultimatum to Ragusa to submit or be invaded. The next day, after a painful night of deliberation, President Benedetto Gundulić announced that the Republic would willingly submit its territory to Italy but that he and much of its government would be going into exile, promising to fight for their Republic overseas and return when it was liberated. In doing so they effectively cost Italy its legitimacy to controlling Ragusa.

Throughout the war Ragusa was annexed directly to Italy, but found conflict with the German puppet state of Croatia and the Ustaše, who claimed Ragusa for itself. Partisan activity also regularly caused division, but the territory of the tiny occupied nation found some capacity to resist by being designated a "Jewish Zone" that Italy would deport Italian Jews to, much to the anger of Germany and Croatia who sought to exterminate them. Near the end of the war as Italy was divided between north and south the Ustaše invaded the city to attempt to take it over in 1943 but was quickly rebuffed by forces claiming loyalty to either Ragusa itself, the Kingdom of Italy, or Yugoslavia, dividing the city in its loyalties even as Gundulić returned and declared Ragusa's liberation in 1944. By the time the war ended in 1945, things were a wreck. But its independence was restored.

Even now though, the threats remained. Yugoslavia had come under a pro-Moscow communist government that as before sought to annex Ragusa, while Italy hoped that it might somehow retain Ragusa as a small enclave in Dalmatia even as Trieste was being divided from it. The focus of the Great Powers was largely over Germany, but enough attention was afforded to Ragusa that it was able to present its case for continuing independence. Stalin wanted Ragusa to be part of Yugoslavia, the Americans were ambivalent on its independence. So Ragusa moved first, appealing to Yugoslavia that it could accept the Italian diaspora in Dalmatia as Yugoslavia sought to expel them. It also offered to remain neutral in the developing Cold War, giving Yugoslavia a tariff-free port that it could export goods through as a sort of intermediary between the Communist and Capitalist blocs. Tito was reluctant but eventually Stalin and Truman agreed, and with pressure from the great powers Ragusa had managed to secure its independence by the skin of its teeth.

This was maintained even as Yugoslavia split with Moscow, and going into the 1950s the tiny little Republic absorbed a number of Italian Dalmatians who were deported to either Ragusa or Italy. This character eventually gave Ragusa more justification for its existence as something separate from Yugoslavia, and it had been blocked from being re-annexed by Italy at behest of Stalin as well. Although it was now surrounded entirely by Yugoslavia it was still a sovereign nation that became the "Western Outpost in the East", perhaps even more than West Berlin. It gained a reputation for spies from both the Eastern Bloc and Western Bloc (making Ragusa the setting of many a spy novel) but toed a line between them which kept it separate from Yugoslavia, Italy, East, or West. Tito never fully dropped his ambitions to annexing Ragusa but Ragusa's stubborn dedication to its independence just wouldn't go away, helped by Yugoslav political exiles fleeing to Ragusa.

The last major crisis for Ragusa would come in the early 1990s as Yugoslavia fell apart. Faced with an outbreak of ethnic violence along its border, especially as Bosnia saw brutal fighting between Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks over the region, Ragusa was flooded with refugees and nationalist ambitions by the newly independent Croatia to annex it once again. It flared into violence when Serb-dominated Yugoslav forces deliberately shelled Ragusa City and later subjected it to an aerial bombardment on 7 January 1992, claiming that it had become a haven for the fascist Ustaše. Making matters worse it also saw a Montenegrin invasion from the south on 8 January 1992 that captured Ragusa Veccia and threatened to overrun the whole nation, which prompted Croatia to invade Curzola Island two days later. At that point the "Crisis in Ragusa" was met by a UN intervention which pushed back Yugoslav, Croat, and Montenegrin forces in support of Ragusan sovereignty. This UN presence was maintained until the end of hostilities in later 1992.

Having been attacked from all sides, any lingering sentiments towards joining Croatia or Serbia died completely. Ragusa, flooded again with refugees, was now firmly its own entity in the Balkans and began militarizing its border, propping up fences and setting up armed patrols even when the chaos died down. This would only end with the Gradina Accords between Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Ragusa in 2005, after which the land borders were re-opened. It would later join the European Union in 2007, followed by Croatia in 2012. With this, many felt that Ragusa's independence was finally secured without doubt, after nearly 200 years of constant war, debate, and international mediation. Somehow it had managed to avoid being annexed by Italy, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenego, and had indeed fulfilled the idea of "Ragusanism", that Ragusa/Dubrovnik was something unique in a region (indeed, an entire continent) torn apart by ethnic conflict in that it was able to create a society of Italians, Croats, and later even Jews that persisted as a multiethnic, multicultural blend of nations.