The Party of Rights was founded by
Ante Starčević and
Eugen Kvaternik inspired by the
French Revolution of 1848. Starčević became disappointed with the suppression of the
Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire and broke existing ties with the
Illyrian movement championing the
Croatian national revival. He went on to establish the Party of Rights in the aftermath of the 1861 sitting of the
Croatian Sabor. On 26 June 1861, in his speech at the assembly, Starčević endorsed earlier Kvaternik's speech at the same venue, supporting his ideas that Croatia deserved a position equal to that of the
Kingdom of Hungary within the
Austrian Empire by reference to the
Croatian state right. Starčević and Kvaternik opposed forging of closer ties between Croatia and Hungary than those existing between Vienna and Budapest. Six years later, the empire was reformed through the
Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 splitting Croatian lands, referred to as the
Triune Kingdom by the proponents of the Croatian national revival, between
Cisleithania and
Transleithania, the Austrian and Hungarian parts of
Austria-Hungary. The Compromise and its consequences, including the 1868
Croatian–Hungarian Settlement regulating relations between
Hungary and the
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, were opposed by the Party of Rights. In early October 1871, Kvaternik and several other party members disavowed the official party position, which advocated a political solution, and instead launched the
Rakovica revolt. The rebels declared the following aims: • freedom of the Croatian people from Austrian and Magyar (Hungarian) oppression • proclamation of an independent Croatia • equality under law • municipal self-government • abolition of the
Military Frontier and introduction of free counties • respect for both religions in love and unity The rebels also sought to encourage participation of Orthodox Serbs in the revolt, and some of them did, but the uprising was soon crushed by the authorities. Most of the rebels were killed, including Kvaternik. The party ran in the
1883 Croatian parliamentary by-election and the
1884 Croatian parliamentary election. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the party underwent various changes in membership and policy, as different factions splintered and reconciled over time. These factions often clashed over who best represented the
Croatian state right. During the
1895 visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Zagreb, a flag-burning incident happened, that was disavowed by the party leader
Fran Folnegović. However,
Ante Starčević disagreed, and he and his followers, notably
Eugen Kumičić and
Josip Frank (a Jewish convert to
Catholicism), formed the first Pure Party of Rights (). Starčević died in 1896, and was succeeded by
Josip Frank under whose leadership the party became fixated on
anti-Serb sentiment. In the
1897 Croatian parliamentary election, both parties ran. In 1902, the two Parties reconciled; however, in 1905 the leadership of the party, led by
Frano Supilo, merged into the
Croat-Serb Coalition, and the Pure Party of Rights was formed once again. Starčević's Party of Rights participated in the
1908 Croatian parliamentary election. The next year, in 1909, the Pure Party of Rights itself splintered, as
Mile Starčević,
Ante Pavelić and others accused Frank of consorting with
Pavao Rauch. The dissidents formed Starčević's Party of Rights. Both the Starčević and the Frank Party of Rights participated in the
1910 Croatian parliamentary election, and the Frank faction merged with a smaller party called the Christian Social Party of Rights (). In 1911, Frank died, and the two factions merged into the latter. In 1913, the Pure Party of Rights was formed by old supporters of Frank, this time led by . Both Parties participated in the
1913 Croatian parliamentary election. The supporters of the Pure Party of Rights were known as the
Frankists. The Pure Party of Rights changed its name into the Party of Rights (as well as Croatian Party of Rights) in 1910 with unification of smaller Rightist parties at that time. ==Kingdom of Dalmatia==