It is through history and different circumstances, it is believed, that those tribes acquired the characteristics that made them Czechs and Slovaks.
The earliest instance of formal Czechoslovak unity was under the empire of Samo, whose capital was centered in what is today Bratislava.
The Slavonic tribes of Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia would continue to be united within the succeeding great Moravian Empire.
In 1025, the territory of present-day Slovakia indeed became a part of the Kingdom of Hungary, thus reducing, but not ending relations between the Czechs and Slovaks.
In 1526, Bohemia became part of the Habsburg crown, but it was not until the battle of the White Mountain in 1620 that Bohemian independence was liquidated and the native, Czech aristocracy dispossessed.
It played an important part in the Czech national revival and eventually extended to other Slavic countries (such as the Sokół movement in Poland).
They wanted to have similar privileges as the Magyars, or Hungarians, and Germans, but were unable to form a united force.
[citation needed] Having no political nor economic power, they were dominated by the Hungarians who tried to assimilate them through Magyarisation process as Slovak schools were closed.
[3] The three founders of the Czechoslovak National Council, Masaryk, Beneš, and Štefánik, met in France, seeking for complete independence rather than only more autonomy in the Habsburg Empire.
On 6 January 1918 Czech deputies in the Reichsrat issued the ‘Twelfth Night Declaration’ demanding self-determination for the Czechoslovaks.
Besides the mutual feelings of unity among Czechs and Slovaks, there were also clear demographic incentives for creating Czechoslovakia.
The concept of Czechoslovakism was necessary in order to justify the establishment of Czechoslovakia towards the world, because otherwise the statistical majority of the Czechs as compared to Germans would be rather weak.
After World War I, the First Czechoslovak Republic was finally formed by combining the Czech lands, Upper Hungary, and Carpathian Ruthenia, which was annexed in 1919 due to the Allies’ pressure.
Moreover, the formation of a Czechoslovak Hussite Church which conducted its services in Czech created large discontent.
New national holidays, such as July 6, which commemorated the death of Czech reformer Jan Hus, created opposition within the Catholics.
The resentment felt by the Slovak population was expressed by the growing support it gave to the Nazi regime and policies.
The Slovak National Uprising in 1944 was suppressed by Nazi Germany, but guerrilla warfare continued until the Soviet Army liberated Slovakia in 1945.
The new General Secretary had a very different perspective about nationalities and decided to rehabilitate Slovak nationalists.
With the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the end of the Soviet Union, the historic differences between the Czechs and the Slovaks came back.
While Slovaks were more attached and committed to state welfare and ownership, Czechs were wishing for a quick change to the western model of capitalism.
In addition, the system of checks and balances set up by the constitution made it possible for Slovak autonomists to block political institutions from functioning.
However, spoken Czech is today very different from Slavonic, due to the many reforms, notably those of Jan Hus.