Вароши и варошице Великоморавске долине у светлу пописа Краљевине Србије

Abstract

За познавање историје насеља нужно је проучавање квантитативних показатеља. У том смислу државна статистика представља прворазредан историјски извор. Анализом података из 1890, 1895. и 1900. године, обухваћени су најзначајнији градски центри у долини Велике Мораве: Смедерево, Пожаревац, Крагујевац, Јагодина, Ћуприја, Параћин, Аранђеловац и Смедеревска Паланка. У сфери саобраћајних комуникација, привредног потенцијала и културних активности, највећи део тих градова је својим развитком предњачио у односу на оне у другим пределима Србије. Поређењем квантитативних података извршена је анализа и на основу ње показани однос и степен напредовања или стагнације међу наведеним местима. Потом је, компаративном методом, њихов развитак поређен са осталим градским центрима Србије. Географско позиционирање градова у сливу главног речног тока – Велике Мораве, која у другој половини 19. века није била пловна, битан је предуслов за развитак основних привредних грана и консолидовање унутрашњег тржишта Србије.

The flow of the river Velika Morava is 126 km long. The valley had two unequal parts - the upper, shorter and narrower, and the lower, longer and wider. Although the river was not fit for boating, the concentration of towns and villages was the highest in this valley. Located in the heart of Serbia, Morava has attracted the major portion of domestic traffic, and its confluence into the great waterway, the Danube has made its valley desirable for settlement. The population growth of the cities in the Velika Morava valley in the last decade of the 19th century reflected the general tendency of urban population growth in Serbia it has been associated with the relatively favorable position of cities in the valley. During this period small families of up to five members were most common; their increase in the period from 1890 to 1900 is quite noticeable. The process of urbanization of the cities in the Velika Morava valley was not uniform. On the contrary, the state statistics indicate different developmental dynamics. The urbanization process was most intensive in Kragujevac and Jagodina, followed by Smederevo, Arandjelovac, and Paraćin. On the other hand, in towns such as the district center Ćuprija, the number of residents who earned their income in agriculture was more than twice the city average in the whole country (21.34%). In Požarevac, the district town and important market place, by the end of the 19th century the share of people in the city who earned their livelihood in agriculture barely dropped below 25%. The fertile land in the valley of Morava, inter alia, had an impact on its inhabitants, who were unwilling to change their occupation. In 1890 among the cities in the Velika Morava valley, the share of nonOrthodox population was the highest in Jagodina (6.42%), while this percentage was lower in all other urban centers in the valley. Ten years later, the situation changed drastically in terms of reducing the number of non-Orthodox inhabitants in almost all cities in the Velika Morava valley.