Engine of Hungary's development - Migration and Education politics in the 18th century... and consequences for the modern age
Hungary is in the Carpathian Basin, and for centuries the chain of mountains surrounding the basin marked its northern and eastern boundaries. St Stephen, the founder of the state, accepted the western Christian idea of state and considered multilingualism and cohabitation of different ethnic backgrounds as an advantage.That geographic situation helped the long-lasting idea of the state symbolized by the Crown of Saint. This state for nine hundred years could be existed in Europe's absolute and relative centre. This geographical centre was at the same time the border of the different European developing zones as well, East Europe - the Balkans - West Europa. In the Balkans this border of course coincides the historic border line between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Hungary was one of the most or maybe the most «visited» part of Europe in the middle ages. Before and after the Hungarian conguest, several nations/ethnic groups crossed and entered the Carpathian basin and were expelled from here or settled down here. Some of them became parts of the Hungarians, taking their culture or mixing the two cultures like the Cumans, and there were some whose languages assimilated, but they preserved their specific entity (Germans, Jews). There was a very intensively immigration process in the Hungarian Kingdom during the 18th century. This epoch opened the modern age for the country. More and more settlements appeared in the map of the country by Germans, Serbians, Slovakians, etc. habitants. This organized movement could create a new state which could be multi-ethnic, however, never multicultural country. This period was not only a simple immigration process because this period was a significant reconstruction epoch too for Hungary by the schools and churches revolution. This century brought a modern and pluralistic society which was based on the St. Stephen and Torda' Parliament tradition i.e. the whole religion and ethnic toleration.