Croatian Americans
Američki Hrvati
Total population
414,714[1]–1.2 million+ (est.)[2]
Regions with significant populations
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, California, North Carolina, Pacific Northwest, New York, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Missouri
Languages
American English and Croatian
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Slavic Americans, Croatian Canadians, European Americans

Croatian Americans or Croat Americans[a] (Croatian: Američki Hrvati) are Americans who have full or partial Croatian ancestry. In 2012, there were 414,714 American citizens[1] of Croat or Croatian descent living in the United States as per revised 2010 United States Census. The figure includes all people affiliated with United States who claim Croatian ancestry, both those born in the country and naturalized citizens, as well as those with dual citizenship who affiliate themselves with both countries or cultures.

Croatian Americans identify with other European American ethnic groups, especially Slavic Americans and are predominantly of Roman Catholic faith. Regions with significant Croatian American population include metropolitan areas of Chicago, Cleveland, New York City, Southern California and especially Pittsburgh, the seat of Croatian Fraternal Union, fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora.[3][4] Croatia's State Office for the Croats Abroad estimated that there are up to 1.2 million Croats and their descendants living in the United States.[2]

Demographics

Numbers

According to the 2007 U.S. Community Survey, there were 420,763 Americans of full or partial Croatian descent.[5] According to the 1990 United States Census, there were over 544,270 Croatian Americans who identified themselves as being of Croatian descent or being born in Croatia.[6] As of 2012, there were 414,714 American citizens.[1] It is estimated by the Croatia's State Office for the Croats Abroad that there are around 1,200,000 Croats and their descendants living in the United States today.[2]

In the 2006–2010 American Community Survey, the states with the largest Croatian American populations are:[7]

History

  • 1880 estimate: 20,000[8]
  • 1980 census: 252,970[9]
  • 1990 census: 544,270[10]
  • 2000 census: 374,241[10]
  • 2005 community survey: 401,208[11]

Croatian-born population

Croatian-born population in the U.S. from 2010 to 2017 according to the American FactFinder numbered:[12]

Year Number
2010 47,740
2011 Decrease 41,484
2012 Increase 45,295
2013 Decrease 39,026
2014 Increase 43,067
2015 Decrease 36,978
2016 Increase 39,747
2017 Decrease 35,962

History

The first major immigration of Croats was recorded in 1715.[13] At the time, approximately twelve hundred Croatian Protestants, whose ancestors had left the Austrian Empire after unsuccessful peasant revolts in 1573 and anti-Reformation edict of 1598, arrived in the American colony of Georgia. They settled in the valley of Savannah River.[13] Those settlers introduced silk-worm cultivation in Georgia. The community prospered for 150 years, until it was demolished during the Civil War.[14]

In 1683, a Croat Jesuit, named Ivan Ratkaj (Juan Ratkay) established a mission in northwest New Spain. In 1746, another Jesuit, Ferdinand Konšak (Consago Gonzales), drew the first dependable map of Baja California. Beginning in 1783, Joseph Kundek, a Croat missionary, helped to develop several midwestern towns, including Ferdinand and Jasper, both in Dubois County, Indiana. In the 1830s, various groups in the Austrian Empire sent financial aid to America to support missionary activities.[14]

Many early Croat immigrants settled in New Orleans,[13] and were employed as traders, artisans and fishermen. By the 1860s, there were around six hundred Croat families in New Orleans. Several families settled permanently in Alabama. During the Civil War, some three thousand Croats resided in the South, mostly in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Hundreds of them volunteered for the Confederate Army and Navy. After the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865, many Croats who had served in the Confederate military moved to the West.[14]

Significant emigration from what is now Croatia dates from the late 1890s and early 1900s, peaking around 1910, when many Croatians, the majority of them Roman Catholics, began emigrating to the United States. Many were economic immigrants, while others considered themselves political refugees.[15][16]

Like other immigrants of that period, they migrated to find employment. Many of them, mostly single young men but, often, married women with or without their families, settled in small towns in Pennsylvania and New York as coal miners or steelworkers. Many also settled in factory towns and farming areas in Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. For most of the single men, the stay was only temporary. Once they had saved enough money, many Croatian men returned to Croatia. However, those who did choose to stay found permanent residence.[13][15][17]

Within a comparatively short period of time, Croatians could be found all over the United States from New York to California, from New Orleans to Minneapolis-St. Paul.[15] As it went through its most rapid expansion during the time of the 1890-1914 Great Migration and shortly thereafter from the onset of the First World War to the general clampdown on immigration in 1924, Croats and other South and West Slavs and members of other groups peaking in influx at the time were prominent in the history of the mining industry in the Iron Range of Minnesota; much the same is the case with the forestry-related industries there, elsewhere in Minnesota and in much of Wisconsin. A notable Croatian-American from the Iron Range was Rudy Perpich, the 34th and 36th Governor of the state representing the Democrat/Farmer-Labor Party; he served terms in office from December 29, 1976, to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991, spans of time which add up to make him the longest-serving governor in the state's history. In private life, Perpich was a dentist and after leaving office in 1991 assisted the post-communist government of Croatia. He was born in Carson Lake, Minnesota (now part of Hibbing) on June 27, 1928, and died of cancer in Minnetonka, Minnesota on September 21, 1995.

A new wave of Croatian immigrants began to arrive after World War II. These were mostly political refugees, including orphans whose parents had been killed during the war, individuals and families fleeing Yugoslavia's communist authorities.[15] Most of these Croatians settled in established Croatian colonies, often among relatives and friends. Beginning in 1965, America saw a new influx of Croatians.[15] Gradually, this new wave of immigrants joined Croatian Catholic parishes and organizations, and soon became the contemporary bearers of Croatian culture and tradition in the United States. Currently, only a small number of Croatians continue to emigrate, mostly those who have relatives already well established in America.[16]

Croatian immigrants also settled in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri (esp. Kansas City and St. Louis).[18] A Croatian community developed in Mobile, Alabama[19] and another similar community in Pueblo, Colorado.[20]

Mississippi and Biloxi declared 22 September Croatian Heritage Day on 22 September 2023.[21]

Settlements

Group of Croatian men in the club of town Joliet, Illinois around 1900

The first recorded Croatian immigrants to the United States arrived in 1850, often via the resettlement from nations that are presently known as Austria, Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal, and southern France. During this period many Croats, who were employed in manufacturing the maritime sector of the Mediterranean states, began emigrating to the Americas. This first wave arrived in regions of the United States where employment opportunities were similar to where they had arrived from. By the middle of the 20th Century, the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area and the region of Southern California had the largest populations of people with Croatian ancestry.[22][18]

Croatian Place district in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California.

Croatian immigrants first settled in the Western United States in the second half of the 19th century, mainly in what were then growing urban centers of Los Angeles, San Pedro, San Francisco, Phoenix and Santa Ana.[23] It is estimated that more than 35,000 Croats live in Los Angeles metropolitan area today, making it the biggest Croatian community on the Pacific coast.[23] San Francisco became the center of Croatian social life in California, where they established the first Croatian emigration society, Croatian American Cultural Center of San Francisco, in 1857.[15][24] Tadich Grill in San Francisco is an example from the era, the oldest continuously running restaurant in the city.[25] The Los Angeles metropolitan area was a major destination for the post-1980s Yugoslavian immigration, including Croats and Bosnian Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina who escaped the Bosnian civil war in the 1990s. They formed several communities in Orange County, San Diego and San Fernando Valley.[15]

An unspecified number of Croats also settled in Washington state and Oregon, particularly metropolitan areas of Seattle and Portland respectively.[15][23]

Some of the first groups of immigrants settled in Pennsylvania as well.[15][16] As a major industrial center of the state, Pittsburgh employed a lot of immigrants from Croatia, many of them were working in the heavy industry. At the beginning of the century there were an estimated 38,000 Croats in Pittsburgh. It was estimated that there were more than 200,000 Croatians and their descendants living in Pennsylvania in the early 1990s.[4]

The first Croatian settlers in Michigan appeared in the late 19th century.[15][23] In Illinois, the Croatians started concentrating mostly around Chicago. Although it was created a bit later, the Croatian settlement in Chicago became one of the most important ones in the United States. The settlement especially started developing after World War I and Chicago became the center of all Croatian cultural and political activities. It is calculated that there were roughly 50,000 Croats in Chicago in the 1990s, while there were altogether 100,000 Croats living in 54 additional Croatian settlements in Illinois. Croats form a large community in Indianapolis in Indiana since the 1910s, as well in Gary, Fort Wayne and South Bend.[15][16]

While at first New York City served merely as a station on arriving settlers' way elsewhere into the United States, mainly the Midwest, East Coast saw an influx of Croatian and other European settlers in early 19th, before and following First World War; mainly the cities of Hoboken and New York, latter of which is the site of SS. Cyril, Methodius, and Raphael's Church, a Roman Catholic parish, part of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.[26][27]

During the Klondike Gold Rush, a group of 3,000 Croatian immigrants settled in Alaska and Canada.[23]

There is a Croatian community in Las Vegas.[28]

Culture

Social association

Croatian Americans maintain a close relationship with the region they come from.[15] The diaspora is considered to have played a pivotal role in securing Croatia's victory in Croatian War of Independence by providing substantial financial aid and advocating for American involvement in the conflict.[29] Chain migration contributed to the creation of settlements of Croats coming from the same regions of Croatia.[17] They were connected because of their similar occupations that they had, equal social status and Roman Catholic religion.[17] The most popular informal meeting points of Croatians were the saloons. They were usually engaged in various charity organizations, and were among the first Croatian immigrants who learned to speak English.[30] Beside these informal gatherings, Croatian Americans established several thousand organizations of different importance. In his work, "Early Croatian Immigration to America After 1945", Prpic states that there were around 3,000 organizations founded between 1880 and 1940 in the United States.[30] Croatians first started founding charitable, cultural, educational, religious, business, political, sporting or athletic organizations. All these organizations were firmly rooted in the settlement where they were initiated. Croatians were a minority group both in relation to Americans and other nationalities.[26] Furthermore, the Croats came with the latest groups of immigrants, which led to a further feeling of insecurity. Most of early settlers did not speak English and held low-paid jobs, which created an inferiority complex. They found security within an organization of their own ethnic group.[26][30]

Religion

Croatian diaspora is predominantly Roman Catholic.[15] Croatian missionaries founded parishes, churches and benevolent societies throughout the country wherever Croatian Americans settled.[15] Often, the priests were the only educated members of the Croatian colonies, and thus they had to assume leadership roles; moreover, they were among the first to learn English well and often served as translators and interpreters.[17] Their primary responsibility, however, was the organization of Croatian Catholic parishes in the urban centers with substantial Croatian populations. Thus, at the beginning of this century there were Croatian churches in Pittsburgh and Steelton, Pennsylvania, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Saint Louis and other cities. The oldest parish is St. Nicholas Church in Pittsburgh, founded in 1894; several others were erected in the early 1900s, such as the Church of the Nativity in San Francisco. Even before being officially established in 1926, the Croatian Franciscan friars traveled throughout the United States, establishing and assisting in Croatian parishes and keeping alive the religious and national sentiments of their people.[15] Today, there are over 30 Croatian parishes in North America.[31] For example, in New Jersey there are St. Cyril and Methodius and St. Raphael Catholic parishes that also serve as Croatian Catholic missions.[32]

Organizations

  • The Croatian American organization Croatian Fraternal Union is a society with long roots in the country. It was founded in 1897.[3] During World War II, the organization provided financial aid for Croatia.[3] The CFU contributes to Croatian Americans by scholarships and cultural learning.[3]
  • The National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation was founded in 1993 in Chicago[33] as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the interest of the Croatian people - embodying heritage of culture and language, integrity in human rights and equality in self-determination, advancing economic development, and freedom from persecution.[34]
  • The Croatian American Association is a group which lobbies the United States Congress on issues related to Croatia.[35]
  • In 2007, the annual Croatian Film Festival in New York was founded by The Doors Art Foundation.[36]
  • In October 2022, National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation held inaugural induction of laureates in the Croatian-American Sports Hall of Fame in Cleveland: Helen Crlenkovich, Fred Couples, John Havlicek, Mickey Lolich, Roger Maris, Kevin McHale, George Mikan, Mark Pavelich, Joe Sakic and Joe Stydahar.[37]

Clubs

In 1973, Croatian Cultural Club Cardinal Stepinac was established in Montville, New Jersey at the land acquired by the Croatian community, parishioners of St. Cyril and Methodius and St. Raphael parishes, on the initiative of the Father Mladen Čuvalo.[32] Club gathers Croats of New Jersey.[32]

Events

City of Los Angeles Croatian Culture Week is held in LA from 19 to 28 May 2023., with Croatian Heritage Night hosted by Los Angeles Football Club and Southern California Croatian Bocce Ball Tournament.[38] Croatian Festival and Picnic of the Croatian Catholic Parish of St. Anthony in Los Angeles is traditionally organized on the feast day of Nativity of Mary.[39] Traditional picnic for the same occasion is also organized in New York by Cultural Club Cardinal Stepinac.[40]

San Pedro, California is a host of the Croatian Tennis Tournament.[41]

Radio Days of Vinko Kužina (Croatian: Radijski dani Vinka Kužine) premiered at the Croatian parish of ‘St. Cyril and Methodius’ in Manhattan, at the end of October 2023.[42]

Notable people

Notable Croatian Americans, past and present, include:

Art

Film

Music

Science

Politics

Entrepreneurs

Sports

Religion

Other

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croatian diaspora in the United States.

Notes and references

  1. ^
    "Croat Americans" is seldom used in the United States, with "Croatian Americans" being far more common. In Croatian itself, "American Croats" (Američki Hrvati) is most commonly used, with "Croats in America" (Hrvati u Americi) being a close alternative.
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 "Table B04006 - PEOPLE REPORTING ANCESTRY. - 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau.
  2. 1 2 3 "Croatian Diaspora in the United States of America". Republic of Croatia State Office for Croats Abroad. 2013. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America". CFU. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Croatia: Small Country Has Big Impact on Pittsburgh". popularpittsburgh.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ "S0201 - Selected Population Profile in the United States - Population Group: Croatian (109-110), Data Set: 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Survey: American Community Survey". US Census Bureau.
  6. ↑ Elliott Robert Barkan (2013). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. ABC-CLIO. p. 1294. ISBN 978-1-59884-220-3. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Table B01003: 2006-2010 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Croatian Americans - History, Modern era, The first croatians in america, Missionaries". Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ Brittingham, Angela; G. Patricia de la Cruz. "Persons Who Reported at Least One Specific Ancestry Group for United States: 1980" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Ancestry:2000 - Census 2000 Brief C2KBR-35". US Census Bureau. June 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2004. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Population Group: Croatian (109-110) - Data Set: 2005 American Community Survey". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020.
  12. ↑ "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Preveden, Francis (1962). A History of the Croatian People. New York: Philosophic.
  14. 1 2 3 Thompson Dele Olasiji, Migrants, Immigrants, and Slaves: Racial and Ethnic Groups in America, pp. 119-123
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Čuka, Anica (April 14, 2009). "Hrvati u SAD-u" [Croats in the United States] (in Croatian). geografija.hr. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Veza s Hrvatima izvan Republike Hrvatske" [Connection of Croats outside of the Croatian Republic] (in Croatian). hia.com.hr. 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Gorvorchin, Gerald G. (1961). A History of the Croatian People. Gainesville: University of Florida.
  18. 1 2 "Naslovna". Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  19. ↑ "ABOUT CROATIA AND CROATIANS". Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  20. ↑ Barkan, Elliott Robert (2013). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781598842197.
  21. ↑ "Mississippi and Biloxi declare September 22 Croatian Heritage Day". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  22. ↑ Prpic, George J. (July 15, 1997). "Croatians". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Eterovich, Francis H.; Spalatin, Christopher, eds. (1964). Croatia: Land, People, and Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  24. ↑ "Croatian American Cultural Center of San Francisco". sanfrancisco.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  25. ↑ Berne, Amanda (September 28, 2005). "A grand old Grill / After 155 years, San Francisco's iconic restaurant still packs them in". SFGate. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  26. 1 2 3 Shapiro, Ellen (1989). The Croatian Americans. New York: Chelsea House.
  27. ↑ "History". Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  28. ↑ Simich, Jerry L.; Wright, Thomas C. (March 7, 2005). The Peoples Of Las Vegas: One City, Many Faces. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 9780874176513.
  29. ↑ Benković, Vladimir (1999). Dokumenti iz iseljeništva - Uloga hrvatskih intelektualaca u borbi za slobodnu Hrvatsku [Documents from exile - the role of Croatian intellectuals in a fight for independent Croatia]. AMCA Toronto.
  30. 1 2 3 Prpic, George (1971). The Croatian Immigrants in America. New York: Philosophic. ISBN 9780802220356.
  31. 1 2 Gledhill, Shelly (March 3, 2005). "Colby Vranes, awaiting his mission in life". eagle.ceu.edu. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010.
  32. 1 2 3 "50 years of Croatian Land and Croatian Cultural Club Cardinal Stepinac in America". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  33. ↑ National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation celebrates 30th anniversary in nation’s capital croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. Published 7 June 2023. Access date 10 June 2023.
  34. ↑ "National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation". Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Croatian American Association". caausa.org. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Croatian Film Festival Opens in New York". javno.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Inaugural Croatian-American Sports Hall of Fame induction held". croatianweek.com. October 18, 2022.
  38. ↑ First-ever Croatian Culture Week in Los Angeles starts croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. Published 20 May 2023.
  39. ↑ "Croatian citizenship ceremony highlights LA's vibrant Croatian festival & picnic". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. September 12, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Croatian-American community celebrates 'Mala Gospa' with traditional picnic". croatiaweek.com. Croatian Week. September 11, 2023.
  41. ↑ "San Pedro hosts Croatian Tennis Tournament as Team USA prepares for Croatian World Games". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. April 3, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Celebrating a Croatian-American visionary: 'Radio Days of Vinko Kužina' premieres in New York". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. October 31, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  43. ↑ Hawley, Charles C.; Miscovich, John; Miscovich, Andrew (2006). "Peter Miscovich". Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
Bibliography
  • Barkan, Elliott Robert (2013). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-219-7.
  • Dele Olasiji, Thompson (1995). Migrants, Immigrants, and Slaves: Racial and Ethnic Groups in America. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-81919-738-2.
  • Eterovich, Francis H.; Spalatin, Christopher, eds. (1964). Croatia: Land, People, and Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  • Gorvorchin, Gerald G. (1961). A History of the Croatian People. Gainesville: University of Florida.
  • Preveden, Francis (1962). A History of the Croatian People. New York: Philosophic.
  • Prpic, George (1971). The Croatian Immigrants in America. New York: Philosophic. ISBN 9780802220356.
  • Shapiro, Ellen (1989). The Croatian Americans. New York: Chelsea House.

Further reading

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