The Balkan Nations MRS
The Balkan Nations
In 1918, a new term crept into the English language: balkanize. The word balkanize means to break up into small, mutually hostile political units. It is what occurred in the Balkans after World War I. the term grew out of the complex cultural and political geography of the Balkan Peninsula. Perhaps the one thing that Balkans share is their historical experience. The peoples of this region have all known the ordeal of foreign domination. Today the Balkan Peninsula is divided into 5 nations, including GREECE. Four of these nations --- YUGOSLAVIA, ALBANIA, ROMANIA, and BULGARIA. Most of them fell under Communist control after 1948, but anticommunist revolutions transformed the governments of these states in the late 1990s. Internal strife and conflict between nations have nevertheless continued to affect the region’s borders.
YUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia: Divided Regions “We’re all supposed to be Yugoslavs. But scratch one of us, and you’ll find a Serb or Croat or something else.” This comment by Croat lawyer provides a clue to the human geography of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia contains twenty- four million. But they are divided among twenty- four ethnic groups and three religions--- Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Islam. Both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets are used in Yugoslavia, which is composed of six republics. These republics: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Macedonia Yugoslavia’s physical geography is equally varied. To the north stretches the Danube River and Hungarian Basin.
A Nation Divided
Yugoslavia means “Land of the Southern Slavs”. But a common Slavic ancestry does not mean unity. In fact it means twenty- four fiercely independent ethnic groups living in an area roughly the size of the State of Wyoming. The two largest groups are the Serbs and the Croats. Serbs make up about 40 percent of the nation’s populations. Most live in Serbia, home of the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade. Croats account
In 1918, a new term crept into the English language: balkanize. The word balkanize means to break up into small, mutually hostile political units. It is what occurred in the Balkans after World War I. the term grew out of the complex cultural and political geography of the Balkan Peninsula. Perhaps the one thing that Balkans share is their historical experience. The peoples of this region have all known the ordeal of foreign domination. Today the Balkan Peninsula is divided into 5 nations, including GREECE. Four of these nations --- YUGOSLAVIA, ALBANIA, ROMANIA, and BULGARIA. Most of them fell under Communist control after 1948, but anticommunist revolutions transformed the governments of these states in the late 1990s. Internal strife and conflict between nations have nevertheless continued to affect the region’s borders.
YUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia: Divided Regions “We’re all supposed to be Yugoslavs. But scratch one of us, and you’ll find a Serb or Croat or something else.” This comment by Croat lawyer provides a clue to the human geography of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia contains twenty- four million. But they are divided among twenty- four ethnic groups and three religions--- Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Islam. Both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets are used in Yugoslavia, which is composed of six republics. These republics: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Macedonia Yugoslavia’s physical geography is equally varied. To the north stretches the Danube River and Hungarian Basin.
A Nation Divided
Yugoslavia means “Land of the Southern Slavs”. But a common Slavic ancestry does not mean unity. In fact it means twenty- four fiercely independent ethnic groups living in an area roughly the size of the State of Wyoming. The two largest groups are the Serbs and the Croats. Serbs make up about 40 percent of the nation’s populations. Most live in Serbia, home of the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade. Croats account