Ragusa is an ancient republic and stood independent of the rest of Dalmatia until united thereto by Napoleon in 1809. The history of Ragusa is exceedingly interesting. The rich seaport, established since the seventh century, was coveted by many of the nations around, and from time to time for safety’s sake the inhabitants had to submit nominally, at least, to one or another in order to preserve their real independence. In this way they came under the sway of Venice, they bowed subsequently to Hungary and even paid tribute to the Turks, but they managed nevertheless to keep their plums unfingered. In the fifteenth century 300 ships traded from the port, Ragusa boasted 40,000 inhabitants, and had agents and consuls at all known Mediterranean ports. But in 1667 a cruel earthquake tore the town to pieces, killing over 5000 people, and the town never completely recovered from the blow. After having been joined to Dalmatia it came into the possession of Austria. Even now, though containing but a few thousand inhabitants, it is known as a centre of Slav literature, and the reminiscences of the early days, when in the Middle Ages it was the seat of a school of Slav poetry which produced works still considered classics, hang around it. Ragusa has brought forth many famous sons including the mathematician, Bos Kovic.
Trieste occupies the proud position of being Austria’s only port, and supports the burden easily. Through a long and chequered history the city has generally managed to retain control of its own affairs, and the inhabitants look on themselves as a race apart. Standing on the debatable ground between Italy and Austria, ground so often drenched in blood, coveted as a jewel beyond price by the Venetians, Trieste is scarred with war. She carries the traffic, necessitated by her being the outlet for the empire, without difficulty, and holds her own in political affairs. As a writer in the Times (December 13, 1912) says:
Austrian shipping has developed greatly during recent years. In 1901 the Commercial Marine consisted of 211 steamers of a net tonnage of 190,000. By the end of 1911 the steamers numbered 330 and the net tonnage was 367,785. During the same period the number of sailing vessels decreased and their net tonnage fell from 30,000 to 19,607. In appreciating this development it must be remembered that Austria is unfavourably situated for maritime trade. In spite of the length of the Dalmatian coast and its good natural harbours, Dalmatia is one of the poorest districts in Europe, and is without a developed interior or railway communication. Trieste thus remains for Austria, like Fiume for Hungary, the only considerable port. Trieste suffers, however, from the lack of an inland region with navigable rivers and developed industrial districts. Such districts exist only in the north of Austria and their products gravitate naturally towards Hamburg by way of the Elbe, notwithstanding the reductions of Austrian railway tariffs. In view of this circumstance the growth of Austrian shipping since the beginning of the century is the more remarkable, especially as it proceeds less from trade with the Levant and Asiatic harbours than from trade with South America, for which Genoa is more favourably situated, and with North America, to which Northern and Western Europe enjoy shorter access by sea.
RAGUSA: THE PLOČE ROAD FROM SAN GIACOMO. MORNING
Trieste is connected with Villach and Salzburg by rail, and this is one of the routes on which the Austrian government has agreed to place the Canadian observation cars. The steamers of the Austrian-Lloyd line sail from here, and it is the point of departure for India, China, and Japan. Quite recently the Canadian-Pacific Railway Company have put on a service of steamers to link up Austria with Canada, a fact of which numbers of emigrants are taking advantage. A voyage of four and a half hours lies between Trieste and Pola, the Austrian naval base. The principal government dockyard is at Pola, but at Trieste there are two building slips capable of receiving dreadnoughts.
CHAPTER XVI
TRANSYLVANIA AND GALICIA
On the west of Hungary lies that mountainous land, rich in minerals, namely Transylvania, which so long stood alone and even now is possessed of a spirit of independence, which is likely to give trouble, though for the time in full legislative and political union with Hungary. The Magyar name for the country is Erdely, meaning forest-land, and is akin to the Latin one with its obvious signification “beyond the woods.” The country contains about 21,000 square miles, and on account of its rugged heights resembles a great natural fortress. The chief peoples, the Wallachians, Saxons, and Roumanians, different as they are among themselves, are united in common discontent against the attempts of Hungary to impose her own language and ideas on the land they share. They cannot forget that for nearly two centuries, from 1538, they were an independent kingdom under a king of their own choosing, and it was not till 1699 that the influence of Austria as suzerain was allowed. The support of the Turks alone rendered this independence possible, it is true, but, however obtained, it gave the people a taste for freedom. In 1849 Transylvania became an Austrian crown-land, but since the settlement of 1867 it has been an integral part of Hungary. The university founded at Klausenburg or Kolozsvar in 1872 is Hungarian, and Magyar is the official language.
The hardy race of men called Wallachs are as different from the Magyars as the Magyars are from the Austrians. Besides the Wallachs and Roumanians, which are the two dominant races, there are also Jews, Armenians, Saxons, and Szeklers, who are descended from early Magyar settlers, and have developed on different lines from their brothers in the plain. The Transylvanians are as restless, and as great a thorn in the side of Hungary as she is in that of Austria, and the complete Magyarisation of the country can never be carried out with these opposing elements behind. The State schools teach in Magyar, but in opposition to these a large number of elementary voluntary schools are kept up where Roumanian is the principal tongue.
There are passes into the country from the Hungarian side, but toward Russia the mountains are so precipitous and steep that they give the appearance of artificial escarpments made for defence on a giant scale. The highest peaks attain a height of over 8000 feet. The climate varies greatly, the summers being very hot and the winters intensely cold.