Count Josip Jelačić of Bužim, 16 October 1801 – 20 May 1859; also spelled Jellachich, Jellačić or Jellasics,in Croatian: Josip grof Jelačić Bužimski; in German: Joseph Graf Jelačić von Bužim; in Hungarian: Jelasics (Jellacsics) József, was the Ban of Croatia between 23 March 1848 and 19 May 1859. He was a member of the House of Jelačić and a noted army general, remembered for his military campaigns during the Revolutions of 1848 and for his abolition of serfdom in Croatia. The son of Croatian Baron Franjo Jelačić Bužimski (or in other documents, Franz Freiherr Jelačić von Bužim) (1746 – 1810) a lieutenant Field Marshal and Austrian mother Anna Portner von Höflein, Jelačić was born in the town of Petrovaradin, at the time part of the Slavonian Krajina in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Empire, which encompasses present Vojvodina, in Serbia. He was educated in Vienna at the Theresian Military Academy, where he received a versatile education, showing particular interest in history and foreign languages. He entrained in the Austrian army on 11 March 1819 with the rank of lieutenant Vinko Freiherr von Knežević Regiment, named for his uncle. He was fluent in all South-Slavic languages, as well as German, Italian, and French. On 1 May 1825 he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and to Captain by 1 September 1830 in Karlovac, Croatia. On 17 October 1835, he led a military campaign against Bosnian Ottoman troops in Velika Kladuša for which he received a medal. He was promoted to Major on 20 February 1837 in the Freiherr von Gollner regiment, and on the first of May in 1841 to Lieutenant Colonel in the 1st Croatian Frontier Guard Regiment in Glina, Croatia, then promoted to Colonel on October 18. As colonel, the administrative commander in the region, he won the sympathy of the nations bordering his own, which would prove to be advantageous in his future exploits. On 22 March, Jelačić was promoted to Major-general, and simultaneously the Sabor (the National Assembly of Croatia, which was subservient to the Kingdom of Hungary) elected him as Ban of Croatia. The Sabor also declared that the first elections or representatives to the assembly would be held in May 1848. Jelačić was promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal on 7 April 1848, becoming the commander of all Habsburg troops in Croatia. In 1850. he married Sofija Stockau, daughter of Count Georg Stockau, in Napjedla. Jelačić, now Ban, supported the Croatian aim to maintain autonomy from the Kingdom of Hungary. Jelačić proceeded to sever all official ties of Croatia from Hungary. The Austrian Imperial Court initially opposed this act as one of disobedience and separatism, declaring him to be a rebel and the Sabor to be illegitimate. But the court soon realized Jelačić and his Croatian army were a support against the newly formed Batthyány Government. Traveling back to Zagreb in April, Jelačić refused to cede to this new government, refused any cooperation, and called for elections to the Sabor on 25 March 1848. The patriotic song Ustani bane (Rise, Ban) was written to glorify Jelačić. In Hungary, he is a very unpopular historical figure. He is often referred to as Jelasics the coward, who runs back to Vienna with his army beaten, quote from Sándor Petőfis poem A vén zászlótartó.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 07:22:34 +0000
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