Croatians arrived in the 7th century and were the first Balkan Slavs to establish a unified state in 925. Two centuries later they teamed up with Hungary to fight off the Byzantines.

From the 16th to the 20th centuries Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Croatia became part of Yugoslavia in 1918 and suffered under increasing Serbian rule.

Desiring autonomy, Croatians used the German and Italian invasion in 1941 to declare an independent fascist state which turned out to be a Nazi puppet. Thousands of Jews, Serbs and Roma (Gypsies) died and resentment for the persecution led to Serbian violence in the 1990s.

During World War II, many Croatians partnered with other Slavs to defeat the fascists and eventually communists won control of Yugoslavia. President Tito ruled from 1953 to his death in 1980 when the festering ethnic hostility he had held at bay for thirty years erupted and nearly destroyed the federation.

Croatia declared independence in 1991 but the Yugoslav army and Serbian government swooped in with brutal force. Although the UN arbitrated a cease-fire in 1992, fighting continued until 1995.

Finally, in 1998 Croatia regained all of the territory in its recognized borders, however resettlement of ethnic Serbs from those areas remains an issue. Croatia continues to build stronger ties with the West and hopes to join the European Union by 2010. In the meantime, the country must deal with ethnic prejudice and foster a stronger economy.

Source: Croatia CultrueGram 2009