The Tomaj Landowner and Politician Anton Černe (1813-1891) between Vienna and His Native Community: A Close-Up View of the Life of a Village Magnate

Abstract

This article provides an insight into the life of Anton Černe, a landowner from Tomaj and a member of the Provincial Diet in Gorizia and the Parliament in Vienna. Given that Černe witnessed a good deal of the nineteenth century, a study of his life provides an overview of the economic and political developments in Slovenia, and particularlythe processes associated with the expansion of capitalist economy on the countryside, along with the rise of the national movement. By situating the case study into a temporal context, it seeks to understand the relations between the community, village elites and the public authorities.