THE ROLE OF THE ORTODOX TRADERS FOR THE SERB NATIONAL INTEGRATION DURING THE 18th CENTURY

Abstract

The phenomenon of the influence of “Turkish” , i.e. Orthodox traders from the Ottoman Empire in the Habsburg Monarchy to Serb national integration during the 18th century was presented in the paper, on the basis of relevant sources and literature. The provisions of the trade convention between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire dated July 27, 1718, as well as other acts on the regulation of trade, were analyzed as particularly significant. In this period, the traders became the elite of the Serb people, its leading state, and on the most important trade route, in the Moravian Valley and the middle Danube, the center of the Serb statehood was established in the modern age.