Countries Bordering the Mediterranean - Map Quiz

The coastal territories of what is now Croatia used to belong to two separate mercantile republics, the Most Serene Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa. When the Ottomans invaded the Balkans, Ragusa accepted Ottoman suzerainty, which worked out quite well for both parties: The pope had banned Catholic countries from trading with the Ottomans, but if they used Ragusa as a middle man, they could still trade with the Ottomans without upsetting the pope. Ragusa gets more trade through its city, and the Ottomans get to trade with Catholic countries in Europe; everybody wins.

However, Ragusa had long had a rivalry with Venice, and since Venice was frequently at war with the Ottomans, Ragusa feared that as an Ottoman vassal, it might get invaded by Venice. That's why it decided to give away a strip of land (the bit that is now Bosnian) to the Ottomans, to make sure there was no Venice-Ragusa land border through which Venice could invade.

@Corrode That's irrelevant. The point is that there is currently no sovereign country called Palestine (even though many people wish there was one). UN recognition doesn't change that fact. On the other hand, Taiwan, although recognized only by a small number of countries, is actually independent and sovereign, which is why it's considered a country on JetPunk. Sovereignty is the criterion, not recognition from other states. Similarly, Crimea is considered part of Russia because it is currently controlled by them, though most countries still consider it part of Ukraine. Although going by that logic, Somaliland, Transnistria and the like should also be considered countries since they're independent despite not being recognized as such by the rest of the world, so there's a bit of inconsistency.