Andrijica Šimić
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2013) ) |
Andrijica Šimić | |
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Birth name | Andrija Šimić |
Born | 1833 Grude, Bosnia Eyalet, Ottoman Empire |
Died | 5 February 1905 Runovići, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary | (aged 71–72)
Andrija "Andrijica" Šimić (1833 – 5 February 1905) was a Herzegovinian hajduk.
Biography
Andrija Šimić (Andrijica is a diminutive form) was born in
The Ottoman Turkish taxmen harassed the local population, and at one point robbed his father at gunpoint. Andrijica was enraged and decided to become a hajduk, an outlaw, to fight the Turkish government. He was hunted down and imprisoned on several occasions, as he also pillaged and stole from Muslim and Christian wealthy men in the region. His robberies affected not only Ottoman but also Austro-Hungarian territory in inner Dalmatia, so even the Austrian authorities put a warrant for the arrest of him and his group.
He was joined by other young men and evaded the authorities for six years. They aimed to be outlaws in a manner similar to Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor peasants.
The group was pursued by the Austro-Hungarian authorities, and at one point in the village of Zagvozd he shot and killed a member of the police while trying to escape. He fled to the village of Runovići where he found shelter at the Garac family. However, Ante Garac and his wife Kata together with six other villagers tied him up in his sleep and handed him over to the authorities.
When he was finally tried in 1871, they sentenced him to
When Andrijica returned to Dalmatia, the citizens of
One day he wandered back into the once fatal village of Runovići, and died there. When he died all the money they found in his pocket was one crown and two para.
Ivan Mimica Zunkalo (1862–1945) served his sentence in prison together with Šimić, and during this time composed 3616 ten-syllable verses of epic poetry which he published in 1892. Šimić was later topic to several other epic songs, lyrical verses, dramas and novels, as well as a 1995 documentary by Croatian Radiotelevision.
The local government in Imotski decided to erect a monument at his grave in Runovići in 1991. The sculpture was cast by the Split artist Ante Strinić.
Further reading
- Mijo Milas: Hajduk Andrijica Šimić, Zagreb, 1972.
- Mijo Milas: Hrvatski narodni junak hajduk Andrijica Šimić, Split, 1996