Banovina of Croatia

The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian: Banovina Hrvatska, Бановина Хрватска) was an administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed between 1939 and 1941. This area was created by joining several smaller regions called banovinas, including Sava and Littoral, with bits from Drina, Zeta, Vrbas, and Danube banovinas.

The main city, or capital, of this region was Zagreb. It covered most of what is now Croatia and also included parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. During its short time as a separate area, the only leader, known as a Ban, was Ivan Šubašić.

Background

The Vidovdan Constitution of 1921 set up 33 areas in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, each led by a government leader. This system was created by Nikola Pašić and Svetozar Pribićević to give more power to ethnic Serbs. The constitution was made when Croatian leaders were not in parliament, and later changes in voting rules favored Serbs even more, making many Croats unhappy.

When talks to fix the problems between Serbs and Croats failed, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia took control in 1929 and renamed the country the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He created new areas called banovinas, but many still had Serb majorities, which made Croats even more unhappy. Years later, in 1939, a new agreement called the Cvetković-Maček Agreement merged two areas into one called the Banovina of Croatia, hoping to gain Croat support.

History

The Banate of Croatia was created in 1939 based on an agreement between two leaders, Cvetković and Maček. It was formed by combining two areas called the Sava and Littoral Banovinas, and adding parts of four other regions. Its capital was Zagreb, and it covered most of what is now Croatia, plus some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

Under this agreement, the central government still controlled important areas like defense and foreign policy. However, Croatia had its own elected group and a leader appointed by the crown to handle local matters. Unfortunately, this agreement caused disagreements. Some people wanted full independence for Croatia, others wanted more democracy, and there were calls for changes in how the country was governed. In 1941, World War II began, and Yugoslavia was occupied by Axis powers. The Banate of Croatia was divided, with some areas taken by Italy and others becoming part of a new state called the Independent State of Croatia.

Population

In 1939, the Banovina of Croatia had a population of 4,299,430 people. Most of them, about three quarters, were Roman Catholic. One-fifth were Orthodox, and 4 percent were Muslim. The area was split into 116 districts, with 95 of them having mostly Catholic people and 5 having a smaller majority. The census helped show the ethnic groups, as ethnic Croats and Slovenes were mostly Catholic, while other groups were not.

Sports

The Croatian Football Federation was in charge of football in the Banovina. It ran a league and a national team. The Banovina of Croatia, led by Jozo Jakopić, played four international matches: two home games and two away games against Switzerland and Hungary. The Croatian Rowing Championships took place on June 29, 1940.

The Croatia men's national ice hockey team played its first friendly game against Slovakia on February 9, 1941, in Bratislava, and lost with a score of 6-1.

The Croatian Boxing Federation was reestablished on October 5, 1939, to oversee boxing in the Banovina of Croatia.