Under the Ottoman Empire's millet system, Christians and Jews were considered dhimmi (meaning "protected") under Ottoman law in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax.
Orthodox Christians were the largest non-Muslim group. With the rise of Imperial Russia, the Russians became a kind of protector of the Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire.
The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croatian: Hrvati Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Croats (bosanski Hrvati) or Herzegovinian Croats (hercegovački Hrvati), are native to Bosnia and Herzegovina and constitute the third most populous ethnic group, after Bosniaks and Serbs. They are one of the three constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina have made significant contributions to the culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most Croats identify themselves as Catholics and speak Croatian language.
Croats have been present in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Slavic migrations to the Balkans. The Kingdom of Croatia under native rulers and later in personal union with Hungary encompassed large parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the west until the 16th century. The Croats also lived under the Kingdom of Bosnia until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 15th century. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, Catholics in Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina were often persecuted by the Ottomans, prompting many to flee the area, especially during the Great Turkish War and the Morean War in the second half of the 17th century, when their numbers were reduced to 30,000. At the end of the 17th century and in the early 18th century, the number of Catholics began to increase, with many of those who had fled returning. In the second half of the 19th century, especially during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croats became active political subjects, participating in Croatian national revival. The 20th century brought political turmoil, and poor economic conditions led to increased emigration. Ethnic cleansing within Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s saw Croats forced to go to different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite having lived in numerous regions before the Bosnian War. The 2013 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 544,780 residents registering as of Croat ethnicity.
The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey's Destruction of Its Christian Minorities, 1894–1924 is a 2019 history book written by Benny Morris and Dror Ze'evi. They argue that the Armenian genocide and other contemporaneous persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire constitute an extermination campaign, or genocide, carried out by the Ottoman Empire against its Christian subjects.
The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croatian: Hrvati Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Croats (bosanski Hrvati) or Herzegovinian Croats (hercegovački Hrvati), are native to Bosnia and Herzegovina and constitute the third most populous ethnic group, after Bosniaks and Serbs. They are one of the three constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most Croats identify themselves as Catholics and speak Croatian language.
Croats have been present in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Slavic migrations to the Balkans in the 7th century. The medieval Kingdom of Croatia under native rulers and, later, in personal union with Hungary, encompassed large parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the west until the 16th century. The Croats also lived under the Kingdom of Bosnia until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 15th century. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, the Catholics in the Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina were often persecuted by the Ottomans, prompting many to flee the area, especially during the Great Turkish War and the Morean War in the second half of the 17th century, when their numbers were reduced to 30,000. At the end of the 17th century and in the early 18th century, the number of Catholics began to increase, with many of those who had fled returning. In the second half of the 19th century, especially during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croats became active political subjects, participating in Croatian national revival. The 20th century brought political turmoil, and poor economic conditions led to increased emigration. Ethnic cleansing within Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s saw Croats forced to go to different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite having lived in numerous regions before the Bosnian War. The 2013 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 544,780 residents registering as of Croat ethnicity.