The first period of personal union between Croatia and Hungary had ended in 1526 with the Battle of Mohács and the defeat of Hungarian forces by the Ottomans.

After the death of King Louis II, Croatian nobles at the Cetingrad assembly had chosen the Habsburgs as new rulers of the Kingdom of Croatia, under the condition that they provide the troops and finances required to protect Croatia against the Ottoman Empire.

Religious ferment in Europe is to affect Croatian culture throughout the sixteenth century; many Croatian and Dalmatian nobles have embraced the Protestant Reformation.

Stipan Konzul and Anton Dalmatin in 1562 publish the first Croatian Bible.