Serbo-Croats

The term Serbo-Croats was late 19th and early 20th century, partly as a common name for Serbs and Croats (including Bosniaks and Montenegrins ) in use. It was based on the theory that the existence of a common Serbo-Croatian language necessarily implies the existence of a common people. This theory had spread among other things, due to the efforts of the Illyrism to unite the South Slavic peoples.

The term Serbo-Croats was then used in statistics. In the nationality statistics of the Austrian half of the Habsburg dual monarchy of Austria - Hungary all residents were classified with Serbo-Croatian native language as Serbo-Croats. In the Hungarian half of the empire, and this included Croatia, Serbs and Croats were, however, listed officially separated.

Founded in 1918, The Yugoslav government classified its southern Slav inhabitants depending on the native language as Serbo-Croats and Slovenes.

In the second Yugoslavia after 1945 Serbs and Croats were listed as separate ethnic groups, as well as later the Montenegrins and Bosniaks were ( under the name Muslims) recognized as a distinct ethnic groups. From the term Serbo-Croats only sticking to a single possible language of Serbo-Croatian standard language persisted with different dialects.

• Yugoslavia
• Serbian history
• Croatian history
• History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• History of Montenegro
• Balkans