On the Position of the Croat Peasantry During the Ottoman Government

Abstract

The Analysis of "testing samples" from the Ottoman detailed tax register for the region of Dalmatinska Zagora, Eastem Lika, Slavonija and Westem Srijem (years 1528, 1550, 1565, 1568 and 1604), supplemented by the statements of the other, Turkish and non Turkish sources, allows prehminary conclusions to be made on some essential characteristics of the Ottoman fiscal policy and its consequences on economic and social fields. So, on the one hand, a steady opinion is being confrrmed that, by their administrative measures, the Ottomans diđ not drasticahy changed the way of life and the forms of the economic activities of the peasant population they happened to find on the ground, but on the other hand, starting from the interests of the centralized state which was bound to ensure income to the members of military - bureucratics group (spahijas etc?) in a rational way, they levied proportionally higher taxes to those branches of farmer production which did not represent the existential basis of the population, and very little, almost no taxes on some fundamental products of a certain region. It appears that surpluses in sheep farming in Dinara region, pig farming in Panonia region and in vineyards in both these regions, as the basis for life, were assigned (after a portion was sold at the market) to cover cash taxes to the State, starting from the headmoney to various extraordinary levies that were constantly growing and transformed into the money amounts. The percentage rates of the money and nahiral assessments are also suggesting such conclusion.