ABSTRACT
Habsburg power was imposed upon Bosnia and Hercegovina in 1878, a land in which the people had revolted against Ottoman authority, against Islamic power, and against an unequal system which had left them as poor subjects in their ancestral homes. At the same time, Bosnia and Hercegovina had only recently become a haven for Muslims escaping persecution in Serbia. Divisions between Muslim and Orthodox people, already existent at the rural and urban level, were exacerbated by a quick and decisive military action in 1878 which people of both religions resisted. The Catholic population had joined the anti-Ottoman rebellion in 1875, but generally welcomed the 1878 occupation. Although Trebinje surrendered peacefully to Habsburg soldiers, there were pockets of fierce resistance elsewhere.
