Development of Sericulture in the Eastern Adriatic during the Austrian Administration

Abstract

The production of silk, the queen of natural fibres, began in ancient China and was a well-kept secret for millennia. As silk was used for a variety of purposes, not only in making luxury clothes, wallpapers, and other expensive textile items, but also in papermaking and the production of musical instruments and fishing gear, it became a much desired commodity, which the Chinese exported along the Silk Road routes all the way to the Mediterranean. When seedlings of mulberry trees, silkworm eggs, and the knowledge of silk craftsmanship arrived in Constantinople in the 6th century, the tradition of sericulture and silk craftsmanship spread to numerous Mediterranean areas, including Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Eastern Adriatic. Based on relevant literature and some previously unexplored archival sources, this paper presents the development of sericulture (cocoon or pupa production) and silk craftsmanship (making silk products) in the Eastern Adriatic region during the 18th and 19th centuries. Our research focuses on Croatia, at that time under the domination of the Habsburg Monarchy and divided into two parts – the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (with the capital in Zagreb) and the Kingdom of Dalmatia (with the capital in Zadar).