ABSTRACT
In the 19th century, a common image of Czech self-representation was of being oppressed by the German-ruled Habsburg empire. Self-descriptions such as the ‘Indians of the Habsburg Monarchy’ can be found as reference to the Czech nation in various writings of the 19th century. 1 Even though this slogan refers to native Americans, not to the people of India, it emphasises nevertheless the urge to identify with oppressed or colonised peoples and can be read as a metaphor for the alleged parallel fate of the Czech nation.
