Serbs in Colony: Sources for the history of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918)

The era of imperialism in world history is complementary to the period of Austro-Hungarian rule over the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. After thirty years of occupation, by an act of annexation in 1908, these provinces became a formal part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Regardless of the formal and legal change in status, the provinces remained a nearby colony - a separate body in a kind of legal limbo of the monarchy until its historical collapse in 1918. Four decades of foreign rule left a deep mark on the history of these areas and led to fundamental changes in all social spheres. The Serbian people, as a relative majority in Bosnia and Herzegovina, went through numerous trials under Austro-Hungarian colonial rule. This historical period was marked, among others, by the uprising in Herzegovina in 1881/82. years, the movement of Serbs for religious and educational autonomy (1896–1905), the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1908), the proclamation of the Constitution and the beginning of the work of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and finally the First World War (1914–1918), the end of which also marked the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the creation of the first Yugoslav state.
The collection of sources aims to provide interested readers with an overview of the political relations of the time, social circumstances, the cultural rise of the Serbian community, school and economic circumstances, everyday life and folk customs. It is the fruit of many years of research experience of the editors and their work at the Department of History of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Banja Luka. Each collection of sources represents not only the time to which it is dedicated, but also an insight into the scientific view and understanding of the editors. We believe that our treatment of various issues of the period of Austro-Hungarian rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1878 to 1918 represents a comparative advantage in the selection of various texts that are before the readers. The collection is primarily intended for history students, in both cycles of studies, who study Serbian national history of the new century, but we believe that it will also be useful to fellow historians, and even to a wider reading public.