Croatian diaspora
The largest community outside Croatia are the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the constituent nations of that country, amounting to about 545,000.
The settlement especially started developing after World War I and Chicago became the center of all Croatian cultural and political activities.
A neighborhood centered on East Ohio Street along the Allegheny River between Millvale and the North Shore was named Mala Jaska after an area in Croatia (northwest of Zagreb).
Some of the more popular Croatian Canadian events are the Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament and the Canadian-Croatian Folklore Festival.
Many successful entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and prominent politicians holding the highest offices in the country have been of Croatian descent.
The Croatian community first established itself in two provinces situated in the extreme ends of Chile: Antofagasta, in the Atacama desert of the north and Punta Arenas in the Patagonian region in the south.
The massive arrival of Croats in Chile began in 1864 and the migration grew steadily until 1956 – reaching a number of more than 60,000.
Mostly peasants, these immigrants fanned out to work the land in Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Chaco and Patagonia.
Some 20,000 Croatian political refugees came to Argentina, and most became construction workers on Peron's public works projects until they started to pick up some Spanish.
In those years, Croats emigrated mainly from the Dalmatian coast, predominantly from southern Dalmatia (islands and Boka Kotorska).
The largest number of Croats live in the cities of Asunción, Concepción, Encarnación, San Lorenzo, Luque, Presidente Franco and the surrounding areas of each of them.
The oldest in this regard is the will of Šimun Matulić, from 1790, which states that he was born on the island of Brač, during the Republic of Venice and that after his death he left several individuals with Croatian surnames to look after his properties in colonial Montevideo.
Croatian immigration to Venezuela dates back to the late nineteenth century, and was characterized by the individual arrival of merchant seamen.
[35] The majority of the members of the Croatian community settled in Caracas and Valencia and, to a lesser extent, in other cities of the interior: Maracay, Maracaibo, Mérida and in localities of the Yaracuy state, where some joined the work in the sugar industry.
[36] Also, several forest technicians arrived that later contributed to the establishment of the School of Forestry Engineering at the University of the Andes.
A large percentage of the Croatians were artisans, who later became small entrepreneurs, and many were professionals, especially engineers and technicians, who had outstanding performance in Venezuela.
[42] St Nikola Tavelic Church in Clifton Hill is an important religious and cultural centre for Melbourne's Croatian community.
It is likely that the first Croat in Sydney was Stefano Posich, who was born in Sicily to Croatian parents and migrated to Australia in 1813.
Croatian people are visible in all parts of Australian society, but they have made a big impact in the sporting arena with many football clubs being formed by immigrants, two of the more famous and most successful being Melbourne Knights FC and Sydney United.
Some famous Croatian-Australian football players to represent Australia are Mark Viduka, Jason Čulina, Mark Bresciano, Zeljko Kalac, Josip Skoko, Tony Popovic all who ironically lined up against Croatia in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, playing against Australian-born Croatian international Josip Šimunić.
Other notable Croatian Australians include actor Eric Bana, former Archbishop of Adelaide Matthew Beovich, politician John Tripovich, rugby league coach and former player Ivan Cleary, tennis player Jelena Dokic and television presenter Sarah Harris amongst others.
Since Croatian independence in the 1990s, an official embassy has been opened in Canberra while consulates have been established in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
The first Croat to settle in New Zealand is believed to be Pauvo Lupis (Paul) who deserted his Austrian ship in the late 1800s.
Many British settlers who worked the same fields resented the Dalmatian gum-diggers, whom they nicknamed "Dallies", a term which is still occasionally used.
In modern times, Croatian immigrants have continued to arrive, with many starting their own business with the abundance of good soil and land.
In fishing, there are two big companies, the first being Talley's Seafood founded in 1936, by Ivan Peter Talijancich (spelled Talijančić in Croatian) established Talley's in Motueka, New Zealand, and the second being Simunovich (spelled Šimunović in Croatian) Fisheries Limited which has thrived and become a large company from deep sea scampi.
Some notable former players are: Other notable New Zealanders of Croatian descent include singer Lorde (real name Ella Yelich-O'Connor), historian James Belich, golfer Frank Nobilo, rugby player Frano Botica, motor racing drivers Robbie Francevic and Paul Radisich, tennis player Marina Erakovic, architect Ivan Mercep, artist Milan Mrkusich, and musicians Peter and Margaret Urlich.
