Review and Timeline of the Banat’S Colonisation

Zoran Cvetković

Review of the National Center for Digitization, Tome 42 (2023) no. 1

Résumé

In the early 1700s, Banat was one of the least developed parts of the Habsburg monarchy. Because of its strategic position on the southern border with Turkey, the interests of Austria, Hungary and Turkey overlapped at Banat. To ensure and strengthen control over the territory of Banat, the Habsburg monarchy set up a loyal population and established Banat military border. The first settlers of Banat met mostly marshland and a sharp continental climate. Not adapting to such conditions, some colonists became ill, and most of the rest left Banat. Realizing the problems, subsequent plans for the settlement of Banat included activities aimed at providing acceptable living conditions and independent employment for the settlers and the local population. This article provides a concise overview of 250 years of the Banat’s colonisation.