(Re)Searching the Morlachs and the Uskoks: The Challenges of Writing about Marginal People from the Border Region of Dalmatia (Sixteenth Century)

Abstract

This paper aims to present various types of documents referring directly or indirectly to the Morlachs and the Uskoks, in order to answer to questions such as which main activities these people developed, and how they influenced daily life in Dalmatia. A significant characteristic and paradox of both the Morlachs and Uskoks is that their names are conventions and denominations found mostly in external sources. Frequently mentioned in sixteenth-century Venetian documents, despite the little additional information provided, the archival material investigated nevertheless offers the opportunity to understand these very active, mobile and adaptable populations, especially with regard to their role as cross-cultural and transimperial subjects.