ARCHIVALIA OF THE MONTH (MAY 2013)

 The Great Tolmin Peasant Revolt A Letter by the Inner Austrian Government and Court Chamber (Hofkammer ) to the CarniolanProvincial Governor Prince Johann Anton Joseph von Eggenberg Graz, May 23, 1713Original, 31.5 x 21 cm, 8 pages, conservation treatment in 2013 Reference code: SI AS 2, Dež elni stanovi za Kranjsko, sub-fonds I, box 799 (fascicle 536),bundle 1. 

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the last large-scale peasant revolt in the Slovenian territorywhich later came to be known as the Great Tolmin Peasant Revolt. A number of minor rioting had

been taking place already since the start of the 16th century when theregion of Tolmin fell under the Habsburg rule. Breaking out in March 1713,the revolt spread across most of the territory of today’s Western Slovenia inMay 1713. The position of peasants in Tolmin deteriorated at the start of the 18thcentury mostly due to bad harvests, livestock diseases and continuingquarrels with Count Jakob Anton Coronini, the governor of Tolmin. Their social position was also indirectly affected by thelong War of the Spanish Succession in which theHabsburg Monarchy was involved under the rule of Karl VI. The new “state” taxes on meat and winewere the last straw and the uncompromisingactions of the pledge tax collector, a citizen of 

Gorizia Jakob Bandel who ordered a couple of peasant debtors to beimprisoned, finally led to the founding of the rebellious peasants’ association(Bauernbund ).

Initially, the revolt was not directed against the nobility of the Gorizia countybut primarily against members of a smaller circle of Gorizia’s “upper class”who put into practice a new and more centralized method of filing the courtchamber’s treasury. It therefore comes as no surprise that several thousand

people of the Tolmin region, when coming to Gorizia, first demanded therelease of their imprisoned colleagues and then headed towards their firstdestination, Bandel’s residence (prior to their arrival Bandel fled to Grazthrough Ljubljana). In Gorizia, the peasants directed their wrath mostlytowards the mansion of Count Hieronymus von Thurn (della Torre) atTravnik. He was the one who suggested introducing the tax on wine andalso collected it for some time. In Števerjan (San Floriano del Collio) therebels attacked the mansion of Baron Karl Taccò, a member of the noblefamily supporting the Bandels. Peasants attacked the hated tollhouses andthe homes of tax collectors on the outskirts of Gorizia, in (Goriška) Brda andthe Soča Valley. Rural livestock trade, transport of goods and probably alsosmuggling obviously represented important source of income to the peopleof Tolmin. 

In Gorizia rebellious peasants were met by Count Leopold Adam Strassoldo, the deputy provincialgovernor, and by the town judge Jakob Brunetti who both tried to pacify them. Once the imprisonedrebels had been released the peasants left Gorizia. Still, the expectations of the authorities in Gorizia that the peasants could be persuaded into endingtheir revolt turned out to be false. The revolt spread to other parts of theGorizia region, the Vipava Valley and to the Kras; it also spread to certainareas in Carniola (Devin/Duino, Novi grad, Socerb) and becameincreasingly anti-feudal in character (attacking castles, taking possession of urbaria). Gorizia and Trieste called for military intervention but were nothappy with the decision taken in Graz that, in addition to German troops,soldier from the Military Frontier would also be sent to Gorizia. 

 

The document that we are presenting this month gives a short description of the course of events of the revolt, emphasising the fact that its core was theseigniory of Tolmin. The letter expresses concerns of the government andthe chamber in Graz about the recent violence, increasingly bold demandsof the rebels and the danger of the revolt becoming even more intense andspreading over even larger territory, endangering not only Carniola butpotentially also Carinthia. The letter also warns about potential threat that

the revolt might present to Trieste and the Idrijamine, both of which were of considerablesignificance for the court chamber. In danger wereseigniories of Counts Rabatta in Kanal (ob Soči),Lantieri in Rihemberk (today’s Branik), Kobenzl inŠtanjel, Thurn in Devin/Duino, Petazzi in Švarcenek(near Vreme) and Socerb, as well as that of Marquis Priè in Novi grad (Podgrad along the road Trieste – Rijeka). 750mayors or “richters” with their communities participated in the revolt.Provincial governor was instructed by the authorities in Graz to offer militaryassistance and the needed support to suppress the rebellion to the arrivingregular “German army”. Also, a special commission was to be set up toinvestigate what provoked the revolt and its course. 

Carniolan provincial governor at the time was Prince Johann Anton Joseph von Eggenberg whomight have been informed about the irritation of the cernide (armed peasants’ militias) in the countyof Gradisca who were called by the authorities in Gorizia to come and helpsuppress the revolt. Had the tax on meat and wine also been introduced inthe county of Gradisca, the local peasants would have been prepared to joinforces with the peasantry in Tolmin, and by doing so rebel against theEggenbergs who were Prince-Counts of the county of Gradisca which wastemporarily separated from the Gorizia county. The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia keeps only a few records relatingto the peasant revolt of Tolmin. Many of related records can be found at theLandesarchiv in Graz and at the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna. Anumber of them refer to the work of the aforementioned imperialinvestigation commission which managed to thoroughly complete its taskwithin a year after the revolt had been suppressed and most of the peasantleaders had been captured by the soldiers from the Military Frontier. Thoughnot many people died during the revolt – a few of the peasants were killed at Thurn’s castles inDevin/Duino and in Vipolže in (Goriška) Brda, and also when fighting among each other – elevenrebels were sentenced to death in Gorizia in April 1714, among them also two of the revolt’s mostactive participants: Ivan Miklavčič (Gradnik) from Ročinj and Jakob Velikonja fromČiginj. Many of therebels were imprisoned (most of them till 1716) and some of their property was confiscated.Individual rebellious areas had to pay a fine and the peasants of the Tolmin seigniory lost their rightto elect their mayors.

Literature:- Dolenc, Janez: Obseg arhivskega gradiva o velikem tolminskem puntu v dunajskem dr žavnem in vgraškem deželnem arhivu. Kronika. Č asopis za slovensko krajevno zgodovino. Prispevki zazgodovino Tolminskega, 42 (1994), no. 1, pp. 99-100.- Kmeč ki punti na Slovenskem. Razprave in katalog dokumentov . Situla. Razprave Narodnegamuzeja v Ljubljani, 13 (ed. Bogo Grafenauer and Branko Reisp). Ljubljana: Narodni muzej, 1973(document published on pp. 183–184).- Marušič, Branko: Veliki tolminski punt leta 1713. Trst: Založništvo tr žaškega tiska, 1973.- Panjek, Aleksander: Kmetijstvo in trgovina na Goriškem v novem veku: kmečki upor leta 1713 izgospodarskozgodovinske perspektive. Annales. Anali za istrske in mediteranske študije, 10 (1997),pp. 153-162.- Verbič, Marija: Puntarsko gibanje na Tolminskem 1513-1515. Tolminski zbornik 1975 , 2. knj. (ed.Janez Dolenc). Tolmin: Kulturna skupnost Tolmin, 1975, pp. 133-137. 

Vojko Pavlin