Kraljevstvo Srbija (1720-1739)

Abstract

Following the signing of the 1718 peace agreement in Pozarevac, the Serbian territories south of Sava and Danube joined the Habsburg monarchy. The newly formed country was named “The Kingdom of Serbia” and was under the rule of the representatives of the Court War Council (Hofkriegsrath) and the Court Chamber Council (Hofkammer) until the Austro-Hungarian war from 1737 to 1739. The topics examined in the following chapters relate to the administrative services which endeavoured to enforce the state policies within the key segments relevant to the society. By establishing the Belgrade Administration, the organisation of governance was divided into sections whose operational field grew over time. The Forestry administration controlled the distribution of the forest resources, for the requirements of the state on one hand, and on the other, for the needs of the public. A more detailed analysis of the public life in villages of the Serbian districts has been examined from the registers which contained data used by the chamber authorities for a more precise calculation of tax duties. The migratory movements depended on the state authorities’ competency to establish a uniform tax system, not only in Serbia, but in other newly conquered states of the Habsburg Monarchy. A particular emphasis in this study is placed on the customs administration, by underlining the royal legal directives which regulated this area. Their aim was a more effective regulation of mercantilistic politics established much earlier, while the inclusion of trade companies with monopolistic privileges initiated a commercial breakthrough to the East. The widespread activities of the Administration in formulating the economic life in Serbia are additionally presented through organisation of the mining industry, where the stockholder Unions had a leading role. New data cited in the study are followed by enclosures in the form of historical maps and construction graphs which have not been published either in the national or international historiography to date.