America was able to benefit from rivalry between European colonial powers in the 19th century. America doubled its size in 1803 after purchasing Louisiana from the French for $15.million dollars, and Alaska from the Russians in 1867 for $7.2 million dollars. In contrast, Croatia loses territory whenever European rivalry causes war. For example, in 1409, one occupying power Hungary, sold Zadar to another occupying power Venice, for 100,000 ducats. The situation is the same today as we witness the high cost of the defence of Zadar at the Hague Tribunal.

No study of European diplomacy is complete without knowledge of the European rivalry over the possession of Zadar and its hinterland. Since the 9th century the rivalry over Zadar has existed between the Franks, Rome, Hungary, and Venice, and more recently the Italians and the Serbs. Croatian people have been caught in this European-made vice for a millennia.

In the 9th century the patriotic Croatian Duke Domagoj was dubbed by Venice as the "worst Duke" because he took the side of the Franks against Venice, in the defence of Zadar. The 10th-century Croatian Bishop Grgur Ninski strongly opposed the use of Latin in the Roman Catholic church in Croatia, and introduced the Croatian language in its place. (Note, in Zadar today the Catholic church is still administered directly from the Vatican.) In 1102 Zadar, along with the rest of Croatia, was forced to recognise the suzerainty of the Hungarian kings. In 1202, Venetian ships full of crusaders attacked and destroyed Zadar and slaughtered Croatian inhabitants, a precursor to the siege of Constantinople. In 1409 the Hungarian monarchy sold Zadar, and its rights to Dalmatia, to Venice for 100,000 ducats. After the sale of Zadar the town became oppressed from within by Venice, and attacked up to its outside walls in 1571 by the Ottoman Turks. The local Croatian population had organized several uprisings over the centuries, occasionally successful for brief periods, but throughout the Venetian occupation Zadar remained underdeveloped and at times cut off from the hinterland.

In 1944 the American Allies bombed the city of Zadar in order to force out the Italian fascists. However one oppressor was traded for another. In place of the fascist Italian occupation of Zadar, came the occupation by Serbian communists. Even today in history books Croatian defenders are referred to as 'pirates' or 'slavs' instead of Croats, and the reason for this is that European rivalry over Zadar continues.

For example, the defence of Zadar and Zadar county from Serbian bombardment during the early 1990s has been classified as a 'criminal enterprise' by the Hague Tribunal. There has been a miscarriage of justice. For example, the following quotation from a UN report was not included in any 'statement of the facts' in indictments. The Yugoslav Army-backed Serbs "have engaged in the deliberate and systematic shelling of civilian objects in Croatian towns and villages. Between April 1992 and July 1993, Serbian shelling resulted in a total of 187 civilian deaths and 628 civilian injuries. During the period between 1991 and April 1993, an estimated total of 210,000 buildings outside of the UNPAs were either seriously damaged or destroyed, primarily as a result of (Serbian) shelling."

Fortunately, a couple of authors have unknowingly contradicted European foreign policy and the Hague indictments.

"Zadar had been seriously shelled-there were signs of damage everywhere, and it was obvious that it had been hit from up close and vindictively:.The serbs had set up machine-guns and Howitzers in a nearby park, where they were dug in... Zadar was a town which had been besieged and then abandoned. But the enemy was only a few miles away. Refugees had fled here, and no one really knew where they were or what was coming next..The Serbs had made their presence felt almost to the edge of the shore, and even many coastal towns had been shelled or invaded .There are just a few hotels and they are full with refugees.The Serbs were in ships, right there, shelling us." (Paul Theroux, in 'The Pillars of Hercules A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean'.)

"Zadar wasn't a town you would want to stay in for a bit of peace and quiet. Splintered glass and bullet casings littered the road, as staccato bursts from automatic weapons, crackling like a Chinese dragon dance, echoed endlessly in the narrow alleys. We could see shadowy figures, armed to the teeth, crouching behind burned-out cars as our lorry lumbered through the side streets on the way into the centre of town.. A sudden whoosh and the air was sucked away as a rocket screamed over our heads. Seconds later, an explosion came from behind us and debris filled the air from a gaping hole in the town's library." (Keith Cory-Jones, 'War Dogs'.)