The Ottoman Empire’s conquest and occupation of most of the Balkans was in full swing by the 16th century, and would collapse by the late 1700s. While the inland portions of the peninsula were under almost complete control, the coastlines had more fluidity based on geographic factors (large mountain ranges that made access difficult) and the presence of other major powers such as the Italian Maritime Republics. Modern-day Croatia occupies most of the Balkans’ Adriatic coast, so it was the Venetians that mostly deterred Ottoman advance along it. That doesn’t…
