Uskoks



The Uskoks (Uskoci, ; singular: Uskok; names in other languages) were Croatian Habsburg  soldiers that inhabited the areas of the eastern Adriatic and the surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Etymologically, the word uskoci itself means "the ones who jumped in" ("the ones who ambushed") in Croatian. Bands of Uskoks fought a fairly successful guerrilla war against the Ottomans, and they formed small units and rowed swift boats. Since the uskoks were checked on land and were rarely paid their annual subsidy, they resorted to acts of piracy.

The exploits of the Uskoks contributed to a renewal of war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire (1571–1573). An extremely curious picture of contemporary manners is presented by the Venetian agents, whose reports on this war resemble a knightly chronicle of the Middle Ages. These chronicles contain information pertaining to single combats, tournaments and other chivalrous adventures.

Many of these troops served abroad. At the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, for example, a Dalmatian squadron assisted the allied fleets of Spain, Venice, Austria and the Papal States to crush the Ottoman navy. After a series of incidents that escalated into the Uskok War (1615–1618), the Uskok activity in their stronghold of Senj mostly ceased.

Early period
The Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the early years of the 16th century drove large numbers of Croats from their homes, which in the town of Klis prompted the formation of the Uskok military. Owing to its location, Klis Fortress was an important defensive position which stands on the route by which the Ottomans could penetrate the mountain barrier separating the coastal lowlands from around Split in Croatia, from Turkish-held Bosnia. A body of these "uskoks" led by Croatian captain Petar Kružić used the base at Klis both to hold the Turks at bay, and to engage in marauding and piracy against coastal shipping. Although nominally accepting the sovereignty of the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand I, who obtained the Croatian crown in 1527, Kružić and his freebooting Uskoci were a law unto themselves.

After Petar Kružić's death, and the lack of water supplies Klis defenders finally surrendered to the Ottomans in exchange for their freedom. On March 12, 1537, the city and the fortress was released to the Turk hands, many of the citizens left the town while the Uskoci went to the city of Senj on the Croatian coast, where they continued fighting the Turkish invaders.

As early as 1520 the Uskok bands started to gather in areas surrounding Senj, Croatia. Large portions of the population began to travel to Senj in 1520 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the Balkan Peninsula with raids and destruction, bringing Senj natives together with those from the lands of Habsburg, other Croatians from Dalmatia and Dubrovnik, Albanians from southern Venetian territories, and Italians from the western shores of the Adriatic.

At Senj, the Uskoci of Klis were soon joined by other refugees from Novi Vinodolski in northwestern Croatia, from Otočac on the Gacka River, and from other Croatian towns and villages. Also, large numbers of Serbian and Croatian fugitives from Bosnia and Serbia fleeing Ottoman persecution, joined the ranks of the Uskok bands.

In 1522 the border territory of Senj was taken over by the Habsburgs under the authority of Archduke Ferdinand, forming a state-controlled Militärgrenze, or Military Frontier. The Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I instituted a system of planting colonies of defenders along the Military Frontier. Moreover, the uskoks were promised an annual subsidy in return for their services.

Numerous refugees from Ottoman areas began settling along this territory, crossing the border to escape the terror of Ottoman attacks. Reasons for fleeing Ottoman areas changed after the Battle of Mohács in 1526 when Ottoman authorities, the Turks, put a limit on the privileges that Christians were given, unless these Christians were to convert to the Muslim faith. Christian guerilla resistance in Turk-occupied areas of Dalmatia and Bosnia caused these people to flee and settle down, first at the fortress of Klis along the Military Frontier, then at Senj.

The new Uskok stronghold, screened by mountains and forests, was unassailable by cavalry or artillery. However, the fortress was admirably suitable to the lightly armed uskoks who were excellent in guerrilla warfare. The Martelossi were employed by the Ottomans to discourage Uskok penetration of Turkish territory, which was not very profitable anyhow. Since the uskoks were checked on land and were rarely paid their annual subsidy, they resorted to acts of piracy. Large galleys could not anchor in the bay of Senj, which is shallow and exposed to sudden gales. So, the uskoks fitted out a fleet of swift boats, which were light enough to navigate the smallest creeks and inlets of the shores of Illyria. Moreover, these boats were helpful in providing the uskoks a temporary landing on shore. With these they were able to attack numerous commercial areas on the Adriatic. The uskoks saw their ranks swell as outlaws from all nations joined them. Eventually, the whole city of Senj lived from piracy. The expeditions were blessed in the local church and the monasteries of the Dominicans and the Franciscans received tenths from the loot.

After the War of the Holy League in 1537 against the Ottoman Empire, a truce between Venice and the Ottomans was created in 1539. This led to the evacuation of all Uskoks in Dalmatia in 1541 where they had been defending a Christian enclave in the mountains during the war. Throughout the following years the Habsburgs were up in arms with the Turks, giving the Uskoks the opportunity to repeatedly raid Bosnia and Dalmatia. The Uskoks were able to continue doing so up until 1547 when peace was established between the two, forcing the Uskoks to find other ways of making ends meet. As with other Slavic pirates, the Uskok territory was not suitable for any form of agriculture, forcing them to turn to piracy once more.

Uskok Code
As a group whose central reason for being brought together was Christianity, the Uskoks’ explanation for piracy and warfare rested in their religion. These people felt they were fighting a holy war against the Muslim enemy in defense of the boundaries of Christendom. Seeing that these people were once refugees from Ottoman nations, they were given no choice but to leave in order to continue following the religion they had been their entire lives. The Uskok people established a code to follow, holding Senj honor and its values in a central place of that code. Honor is what they believed to be the most important quality that a hero could have, which all Uskoks strived to be. Other important aspects of the Uskok heroic honor are: loyalty to their city, army, and band; honorable attention to every knight and obligation; readiness to lay down their lives or spill their blood in time of war; experience in warfare; ability to benefit their city; success and glory in duels with the Turks and other enemies of the Christian faith; and severity in punishing those who were disobedient or rebellious. It was also made known the Uskok qualities that would cancel out one’s honor: reluctance to shed one’s own blood; failure to engage the enemy in battle; groundless boasting; avoidance of risks on the frontier; failure to take prisoners, trophies, or booty; meanness in rewards to comrades or spies; the absence of any general recognition of one’s manliness; and the lack of battle scars or wounds. From these principles it is clear that the Uskoks admired the strength and arrogance of a hero and despised the weakness displayed by a coward. The importance of these principles was instilled in boys at a young age. Taught to take part in competitions, they would test their strength and dexterity though racing, fighting, and throwing stones at one another until blood ran. Over time, this code would be broken, ignored, and overlooked as the Uskok attitude and motives would change.

Ottoman invasion and Venice
Beginning as inland pirates, the Uskoci shortly turned to the seas once realizing the full potential of the geography of Senj. The land was protected by thick forests and mountains while the jagged cliffs near the seas prevented warships from entering. The seas in the Gulf of Quarnero were quite rough, which posed navigational hazards as further protection from their enemies. Uskoks began their attacks upon Turkish ships with boats large enough to hold thirty to fifty men.

After 1540, however, Venice, as mistress of the seas, guaranteed the safety of Ottoman merchant vessels, and provided them with an escort of galleys. The uskoks retaliated by ravaging the Venetian islands of Krk, Rab and Pag. Moreover, they utilized the Venetian territories in Dalmatia as a springboard in order to launch attacks against the Ottomans.

After 1561 the Uskoci attacked Christian shipping in Dubrovnik with numbers never exceeding 2000 men. By 1573 the Uskoks caused considerable concern in Venice with frequent attacks once Venetian attempts of protection had proven to be ineffective. The following years led the reputation of the Uskoks to spread, becoming the resort of refugees and outlaws of all kinds from all nations.

Meanwhile, the corsairs of Greece and Africa were free to raid the unprotected southern shores of Italy. Venice was besieged with complaints from the Porte, the Vatican, and the Viceroy of Naples with his sovereign, the King of Spain. A Venetian appeal to Austria for help met with little success, and the offenses of the uskoks against the Venetians were outweighed by their attacks against the Ottomans. Minuccio Minucci, a Venetian envoy at Graz, states that a share of the uskoks' spoils of silk, velvet and jewels, went to the ladies of the Archducal Court of Graz, where important matters between Venice and Austria were negotiated.

From 1577 onwards, Venice endeavored to crush the pirates without offending Austria, enlisting Albanians in place of their Dalmatian crews, who feared reprisals at home. For a time the uskoks only ventured forth at night, during the winter season and even during stormy weather.

In 1592, a strong Ottoman army invaded Croatia hoping to capture Senj. Led by Telli Hasan Pasha, the beylerbey of Bosnia, the Ottomans managed to capture a number of uskok settlements, killing and enslaving the population. However, the army was routed and dispersed in the following year. Austria was involved in war with the Ottomans and the Venetian admiral Giovanni Bembo blockaded Trieste and Rijeka (Fiume), where the pirates forwarded their booty for sale. They also erected two forts to command the passages from Senj to the open sea.

A raid by the Uskoks upon Istria resulted in an agreement between Venice and Austria, and Count Joseph de Rabatta was appointed to act as commissioner to those in Senj as well as the chief negotiator with the Venetians. Rabatta came to Senj in 1600 with a strong bodyguard detail, and was very energetic. His time ruling over the Uskoks was brutal where many Uskoks were hung or sent to fight in the Turkish war, revealing his favor over the Venetian side. He soon lost all military support, giving the Uskoks the opportunity to overthrow his rule and was ultimately killed in January 1602, enabling Senj to return to its usual state, with the fugitive Uskoks returning to Senj where they resumed their acts of piracy.

Up until 1611 the Uskoks were relatively undisturbed. Piracy was strictly forbidden at this point but it was tolerated in order to avoid payment of subsides owed to those of Senj. A Venetian squadron intercepted an Uskok fleet in the spring of 1613 in response to the complaints regarding Uskok activity and, as reported, sixty Uskoks were beheaded with their heads then displayed in St. Mark’s Square. In response to this offense the Uskok captured a galley of Venetians, slaughtered the crew, and used the blood of the victims to flavor their bread.

The uskoks would conduct such acts up until 1615 when their piracy went so far as creating an open war between Venice and Austria. Venice, frustrated with the piracy, launched an attack after the Archduke Ferdinand of Styria refused to reprimand the uskoks. A peace treaty was signed at Madrid in autumn 1617 which arranged for the uskoks be disbanded, as well as their ships and fortresses be destroyed.

An agreement between the Habsburg and Venetians in 1618 expelled the Uskoks from Senj, sending them more inland into Croatia with very few families who were proven to be peaceful remaining in Senj, bringing their reign to its end.

The pirates and their families were, accordingly, transported to the interior of Croatia, where they gave their name to the "Uskoken Gebirge", a group of mountains on the borders of Carniola now called Žumberak/Gorjanci. They were also settled in the nearby White Carniola and Kostel in what is now Slovenia. Their presence has also been traced near Učka in Istria, where such significant family names as Novlian (from Novi Vinodolski), Ottocian (from Otočac) and Clissan (from Klis, older orthography), were noted by Franceschi in 1879.

However, the Austrian Military Sea Frontier authority survived, and Uskok activity resumed in later years, almost causing another war between Habsburg and Venice in 1707.

Modern
Today, a traditional unit of uskoks called Kliški uskoci ("Klisian uskoks") exists as a ceremonial regiment in honour of the national legacy of uskoks in Croatia. The unit of Klis uskoks are composed entirely of Croatian war veterans. After the war for independence, the former soldiers wanted to revitalize the historical and cultural heritage of Klis, the town whose bloody history gave much inspiration during the war. The veterans participate in historical and cultural events to renew the memory of the uskoks of Klis. They were among the six historic Croatian military units represented at the funeral of Otto von Habsburg in July 2011.

Notable uskoci

 * Petar Kružić
 * Ivan Lenković
 * Stojan Janković
 * Janko Mitrović
 * Elia Peraizza
 * Ivo Senjanin

Names in other languages

 * German: Uskoken
 * Italian: Uscocchi
 * Serbian: Latin: Uskoci; Cyrillic: Ускоци
 * Uskoki