Illyrian Provinces

Illyrian Provinces, stretch of territory along the Dalmatian coast that constituted a part of Napoleon’s French Empire from 1809 to 1814. When the French victory of 1809 compelled Austria to cede a portion of its South Slav lands to France, Napoleon combined Carniola, western Carinthia, Görz (Gorica; modern Gorizia), Istria, and parts of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik) to form the Illyrian Provinces, which he incorporated into his empire. Napoleon’s dominant interest in creating this political unit was to cut off Austria’s access to Italy and the Mediterranean Sea. He also placed the capable marshal A.-F.-L. Viesse de Marmont in charge of the provinces.

Under Marmont’s supervision, the provinces’ government organization was revised, the Code Napoléon was introduced, and roads and schools were constructed. Local citizens were given administrative posts, and native languages were used to conduct official business. In addition, serfs were freed and given possession of the land they cultivated.

As a result of the French administration, which ended in 1814, when the French were forced to return the Illyrian Provinces to the Austrian Empire, the region not only made cultural and economic advances but also began to develop a sense of Slav unity and national awareness that matured and manifested itself in the 1830s and 1840s in the powerful literary and political Illyrian movement.