History of Slovenia
History of Slovenia
Slovenia was inhabited by ancient Illyrian and Celtic tribes, followed by Greeks and Romans. Slavs, including Slovenes, began settling the Balkans in the sixth century AD. The Slovenes enjoyed brief independence in the state of Carantania from 620 until 745, when they recognized Bavarian supremacy. The Carantanian constitution was one model referenced by writers of the U.S. Constitution. The Bavarian state submitted to a Germanic group known as the Franks in 788 and eventually (in 963) became part of the Holy Roman Empire.
During the Bavarian period, Slovenes began to accept Christianity. Later it was embraced more fully when early priests Cyril and Methodius along with others taught the faith in Slavic languages. In addition to continuing pressures of Germanization, the Slovenes suffered terribly from Turkish raids in the 15th and 16th centuries. Peasant uprisings against feudal masters began at the end of the 15th century and lasted almost250 years.
In 1804, Slovene territory fell under the domination of the Hapsburg Dynasty. However, for a short time (1809–13), much of Slovenia was under French rule as the province of Illyria. This period marked the rise of nationalism and the use of the Slovene language. The national consciousness continued to grow even after the Hapsburgs regained control of Slovene territory in 1814. The enlightenment of 1830 to 1848 further promoted the development of Slovene language and literature.
At the beginning of the 20th century, hopes that a South Slav state would be created and include Slovenia under a Viennese crown were never realized, so Slovenia continued as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed at the end of World War I, Slovenia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929) under a Serbian monarch. Italy and Germany occupied Slovenia during World War II. Some Slovenes allied themselves with fascist forces, but others joined communist fighters to resist the Germans and wage a war for control of the region. The resistance forces were helped to victory by Allied troops. After World War II, Slovenia became one of the six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a communist state ruled by Josip Broz Tito.
When democracy began sweeping through Eastern Europe, the Slovenes voted for self-determination and proclaimed independence in 1991. This move prompted an attack by the Yugoslav army. A 10-day war in the summer of 1991 was resolved
Page 1 of 2 History of Slovenia peacefully, and the last Yugoslav soldier left Slovenia in October 1991. In 1992, Slovenes elected Milan Kučan to be president; he was reelected in 1997. With other leaders, he worked to stabilize society and build the economy, now one of the strongest among former communist-bloc nations.
Slovenia began negotiations for full membership in the European Union (EU) in 1998 and became a member in 2004, adopting the euro in 2007. The country also joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2004.
References:
“Republic of Slovenia.” CultureGrams World Edition. 2008.
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