From “Spravljenice” to “Zadrugarke”: Education of Orthodox Serbian Women in Dubrovnik 1831–1914.

Abstract

Over the centuries, young girls from the hinterland of Dubrovnik often went to Dubrovnik to serve in wealthy homes in order to provide for their basic living needs or sometimes even for their dowry. The position of this female population, which people of Dubrovnik called - spravljenice, čupe or godišnjice, was very unfavorable, although within literature they were presented as activists who fought for their rights. After the legalization of the Serbian Orthodox Church community in 1790, affluent Serbian families moved to Dubrovnik. These families significantly participated in the economic recovery of Dubrovnik during the next century. As a successful economic community, the Orthodox Serbs tried to provide a school for their children, which they finally succeeded in 1831 with a permanent teacher, George Nikolajevic. Girls also attended the school founded by Nikolajevic. This was the case until 1879, when in Dubrovnik was founded Božo Bošković Women’s school. Young women from Dubrovnik were also educated within the Association of Serbian Women from Dubrovnik, led by Teodora Bošković. Hence, this article will present the process of education of Dubrovnik Orthodox Serbian women in the period from 1831 to the second decade of the twentieth century.