“Many families emigrated from Slovenia to surrounding countries throughout the 17th century. Wars and revolts that took place during the late 1500s into the 1600s resulted in extremely poor living conditions in many areas of the country. Outbreaks of plague and famine drove many people into the outskirts of large cities in an attempt to escape untimely deaths.”
“A harrowing account in the records at Santissima Annunziata Maggiore in Naples, Italy, tells the story of a certain Ksenija Horvat and her two children as they migrated to Italy in the year 1650. The family traveled with other Roman Catholic emigrants seeking refuge from the disaster the country had become. Most of the emigrants were killed by wild animal attacks during the long journey through areas that were still devastated from military action. The Horvat family tree, along with many others such as the Novaks, Golobs, and Kotniks, are easily easily traced throughout their migrations from Slovenia into Italy, Germany, and France. Many of these families eventually migrated into the United States to the Ohio area during the Second World War in an attempt to escape from wars sweeping most of Europe.”
Luthar, Oto (2008). The Land Between: A History of Slovenia.
Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.
“To marry has never been an egalitarian option or everybody's wish. There have always been calculations or considerations, structural or individual hindrances and even societal restrictions for individuals to get married despite wishing to do so. Without any doubt and apart from the debate on determination or love and free choice in former times, to marry has always been a societal event, a mutual relationship between personal wishes and societal environmental expectations.”
“Of those widows seeking better lives for their families during that stretch of the 17th century, most immigrated into the heavily Roman Catholic areas of Italy. Marriage records held by older Roman Catholic churches in Italy illustrate the surge of immigrants marrying native Italians during the 17th and 18th centuries. However, many of the widows of this time period immigrated but did not remarry. The Horvat lineage, which is now one of the commonest surnames and largest family trees from Croatia and Slovenia, was nearly wiped out after immigrating to Italy during the mid-1600s. The line was carried forward by two surviving orphans, twin brothers, after the death of their father in Ljubljana in 1650 and their mother Ksenija in Italy the following year in 1651.”
Teibenbacher, P. (2009). Natural population movement and marriage restrictions and hindrances in Slovenia in the 17th to 19th centuries. The History Of The Family, 14292-308. doi:10.1016/j.hisfam.2009.07.002
“Many Slovenes live as immigrants in foreign countries, and Cleveland Ohio, USA, was until recently known as one of the cities with the largest number of Slovenian inhabitants. The most cohesive and nationally conscious group lives in Argentina. This group of Slovenes are those who fled their homes out of fear of communism after the Second World War.”
“In accord with the religious determination of the Provincial Lords, there was a suppression of protestantism in the 17th century, but protestantism persisted in Prekmurje, which was under Hungarian control. Hence still today there are indigenous protestants there. Related to the reformation and counter-reformation it should also be mentioned that Jesuit colleges were established in the main provinces and some other cities, elevating much of the local culture. In contrast to the previously closed higher educational system that was bound only to the monastic communities, higher education became public. Hence it is precisely the Jesuit college in Ljubljana that is associated with the beginning of the higher educational system in the ethnic Slovenian territory.”
Granda, Stane (n.d.). A BRIEF HISTORY OF SLOVENIA. Retrieved from http://www2.arnes.si/~krsrd1/conference/Speeches/Granda_a_brief_history_of_slovenia.htm
This is part of an immersive fiction story titled "Absolution" by J.A. Hernandez. If you're unfamiliar with the story, check out the Table of Contents for more information.