Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
5.1. Morlacchia: otherness, territorialization and regional concept
The first image of the triple border area is related to the recognition of Morlacchi, a distinct
social group as Other. Their presence in the borderlands is a consequence of the population
shifts due to the warfare and border fluctuations. Autochthonous sedentary population
abandoned land and migrated towards more secure areas, while a large portion of the
Croatian borderlands became a destination of new semi-nomadic pastoral communities
from the Dinaric mountain hinterland. These borderlands communities are generally called
Vlachs
or
Morlacchi
in the Venetian tradition. Morlacchi communities partly immigrated to
the borderlands area spontaneously, combining the pastoral economy with military service,
while they were partly colonized and settled by the official politics of Venice and
Habsburgs.
The toponyms
Morlaccha
or
Morlacchia
with a number of some other corresponding forms,
such as
Morlacca, Morlacha, Murlacha and Morlakia
can be found on the maps as early as the
16
th
century (Figure 5).
Originating from the Venetian term for social community, the derived toponymic forms
became a common name for the border region for more than three hundred years in
circumstances where three imperial forces met. Throughout the course of centuries, the term
Morlacchi has been related to the territory they have settled. The term gradually has got the
spatial connotation [14,16].
Territorialization is seen as a reflection of perceived otherness of Morlacchi community;
primarily through different social organization, lifestyle and customs in relation to the
prevailing population. Perception of otherness and uniqueness is the basis of regionality
and regional identity that is leading to the construction of the regional concept of
Morlacchia. The image of otherness is very well expressed on Vitezović's map (Figure 4).
What we can read “between the lines” of the notification along the border: “
Terra deserta olim
nunc a Valachis habitata”
(deserted, depopulated and uninhabited land, yet inhabited by
Vlachs!)
is that Vlachs are considered as Others in terms of social and religious
differentiation [11,16].
It has been clearly proved [14] that the regional concept of Morlacchia is found to be
common to all European cartographies, even if the term for the social group is Vlach
(Habsburg tradition). Morlacchia was an important regional concept if looking at the
significance given by the typography (see Figure 2, 5). On Coronelli's map for instance,
La Morlaquie
is listed in the title of the map along with Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary and
Croatia.
With the disappearance of triple border conditions by the end of the wars with Ottoman
Empire and the fall of Venetian Republic in 19
th
century, the context of significance within
which the Morlacchi community have been evaluated throughout the centuries, was
dissolved.
