As in many other European countries, a cultural renaissance known as the "Romanian National Renaissance" took place in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania in 1848. The revolutionaries' goals - full independence for the first two principalities and national emancipation for the third -remained unfulfilled, but they laid the groundwork for subsequent development. Furthermore, the educational work of the revolutionaries ("awakeners of the nation," as they were then called) helped the populations of the three principalities recognize their linguistic unity and defend their interests.
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| Organization of the Romanian lands in 1711 |
The delegates to the ad hoc assemblies convened in October 1857 requested, among other things, the unification of the principalities into a single state, to be called Romania. In January 1859, taking advantage of Napoleon III's support and the fragility of Ottoman power, as well as the ambiguity of the 1858 Paris Convention, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected Prince of Wallachia and Moldavia, subsequently unifying the two principalities politically. Cuza's reign, as agreed upon in 1858, lasted seven years, and in 1866, politicians gathered in the so-called "Monster Coalition" prevented him from remaining in power. That same year, the German Prince Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was proclaimed prince to secure German support for Romanian independence. In 1877, Carol led the Romanian armed forces in a successful war of independence, and was crowned King of Romania in 1881.
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| Romanian principalities in 1405 |
Romania's participation in the 1877-1878 war and the achievement of state independence signified legal equality with all sovereign states, with profound moral significance, as it raised the consciousness of the free Romanian nation and paved the way for the future realization, when history allowed, of the Great Union of 1918. Equally important was the liberation of other Balkan populations from Ottoman rule, decisively contributing to their development as modern states in an era of affirming national spirit.
Economy and Society
In the decade following the 1848 Revolution, the population of the Principalities increased, reaching over 4 million inhabitants by 1860. At the same time, the number of rural and urban settlements grew. Several towns along the Danube and in the surrounding area (Alexandria, Turnu Severin, Turnu Măgurele, etc.) became important urban centers. During this period, agriculture remained the main driver of the economy. The areas sown with wheat and rye increased considerably. Landowning families, who owned most of the farmland, were the main suppliers of agricultural products, but their productivity was low: the average yield per hectare, for example, was half that of France. The increase in production can be explained by the increased labor obligations of the peasants in Clăcași. Wage labor was still practiced to a small extent.
The new state, situated at the confluence of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian empires, with Slavic neighbors on three sides, aspired to the West, primarily France and Germany, for their cultural, educational, and administrative models. In 1916, Romania entered World War I on the side of the Entente. Despite Romania's resounding defeats in 1916, which led first to the occupation of the south of the country by the German army and then, in the spring of 1918, to the signing of a separate peace with the Central Powers, the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires ceased to exist at the end of the war. The representative bodies established in Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina chose to unite with Romania, forming Greater Romania.
Most Romanian governments before World War II retained the form, but not the essence, of a liberal constitutional monarchy. At the same time, the political class, perceived as deeply corrupt and (at least in the Old Kingdom) responsible for the fiasco of participation in World War I, faced a series of anti-establishment movements of diverse orientations, which opposed not only the government but also each other. While far-left activists linked to the Comintern could only operate clandestinely, a group that crystallized around King Carol II, especially in the 1930s, sought to cleanse political life through more active participation from the Royal Family. Meanwhile, the almost mystical nationalist Iron Guard movement also became a significant political force by exploiting fears of communism and resentment of perceived foreign, and particularly Jewish, domination of the economy, manifesting itself through acts of violence and political assassinations (such as the murder of Prime Minister Ion Gheorghe Duca in Sinaia in 1933).
Returning to the throne in 1930 after renouncing the succession in 1925, Carol II brought his new wife Elena Lupescu to the forefront of political life, marginalizing his first wife, Queen Elena, and his son Michael, the crown prince. Elena Lupescu's influence grew greatly from then on, being the main factor influencing the king's decisions. This influential group formed around Elena Lupescu and Carol II and pejoratively called the royal camarilla, was also discredited by corruption scandals, despite the presence of respected personalities such as the historian Nicolae Iorga and General Alexandru Averescu. In 1938, in order to prevent the formation of a government that would have included members of the Iron Guard, Carol II dismissed the government and established a short-lived royal dictatorship. He was forced to abdicate on 6 September 1940, however, as a result of Romania's territorial losses that same year. In his place, Carol left Marshal Ion Antonescu as head of state, and his son, Mihai, on the throne, who, barely out of his minority, had no real power.
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| Animation with the territorial evolution of the Romanian countries until 1859 and the changes in Romania's borders (1859–2010): Light blue: comparative territory of Greater Romania (1918–1940); Light blue-green: political formations with a certified Romanian ("Vlach") population; Dark green-blue: Political formations with a certified Romanian leadership. |
Romania in World War II
Finally, in 1940, Romania lost territories both in the east and in the west: in June 1940, as a result of the German–Soviet treaty (Ribbentrop–Molotov) after presenting Romania with an ultimatum, the Soviet Union annexed Bessarabia, northern Bukovina, and the Herța Land. Two-thirds of Bessarabia was combined with Transnistria (a small part of the USSR) to form the Moldavian SSR. Northern Bukovina, Herța Land, and southern Bessarabia were offered to the Ukrainian SSR.
Between 1941 and 1944, Marshal Ion Antonescu ruled the country as a military dictator (Head of State).
Through the Vienna Dictate, Romania was forced in August 1940 to cede the northern part of Transylvania to Hungary in exchange for German-Italian security guarantees. Also, through the Treaty of Craiova, of September 7, 1940, two counties in southern Dobrogea, Durostor and Caliacra (the Quadrilateral), were ceded to Bulgaria - at Hitler's insistence, fueled by Bulgarian diplomacy. Romania entered World War II alongside the Tripartite Pact[citation needed] in June 1941, with the aim of recovering the territories lost to the USSR, which was initially to be achieved between July 1941 and August 1944.
As a result of the situation on the front, in the autumn of 1943 Marshal Antonescu began secret negotiations with representatives of the Allies in Lisbon; these would later take place in Cairo and Stockholm, until 22 August 1944. Antonescu, however, had no intention of leaving the war, acting on the basis of his officer's word given to Hitler, and refused even at the last moment to give up the fight against the Allies.
On August 23, 1944, King Michael, with the support of opposition parties and some representatives of the army, put an end to Antonescu's dictatorship and transferred the Romanian army to the Allies' side, without signing a prior agreement with them. This aspect would be fully speculated by the Soviet army, which immediately began to take revenge and massacre Romanian soldiers who had previously participated in the battles on the Eastern Front.
Romania fought in battles with the Germans in Transylvania, Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia, ranking 4th in terms of the number of armed forces engaged in the battle, the concrete contribution made to the Allies and the results obtained for the victory over the Axis states. At the end of the war, King Michael I was decorated by US President Harry S. Truman with the "Legion of Merit in the highest degree" (Commander in Chief) and by Joseph V. Stalin with the Soviet Order of "Victory with Diamonds", thus recognizing the special merit of his personal contribution to the Allied victory. At the end of World War II, northern Transylvania returned to Romania, but Northern Bukovina, Bessarabia, the Herța Land and southern Dobruja (the Quadrilateral) remained ceded to the USSR and Bulgaria. Part of these territories, together with part of the territory of the former USSR, formed the Moldavian SSR, a state that became independent in 1991, under the name of the Republic of Moldova.
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| Interwar Romania or Greater Romania (historical counties and regions) |
Communist Romania
On December 30, 1947, the Romanian People's Republic was proclaimed, after, in the context of the occupation of Romania by the Soviet army, King Michael I was forced to abdicate, settling in Switzerland, at Versoix.
On May 23, 1948, the last territorial cession in favor of the Soviet Union took place: Ana Pauker signed a secret protocol, according to which Snake Island was ceded to the neighboring state from the East.
Republic of Moldova
The independence of the Republic of Moldova was proclaimed on August 27, 1991, by the vote of 278 deputies in Parliament, marking the official separation from the Soviet Union. This historical act was the basis for the formation of the new sovereign and democratic state.Key informationDate of adoption: August 27, 1991 (celebrated annually as National Day).First recognizing state: Romania was the first country to recognize the independence of the new state, on the same day.International recognition: On March 2, 1992, the Republic of Moldova joined the United Nations (UN).Historical context: The proclamation was preceded by the national emancipation movement and the adoption of the Romanian language and the Latin alphabet as the state language (August 31, 1989).Details about the Declaration of IndependenceThe original document was signed by 278 parliamentarians, but burned during the violent protests of April 2009. An identical act was later restored, in 2010.You can consult the full text of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova, published on the official website of the Constitutional Court, to explore the historical premises and principles political foundations of the state. Archival documents and thematic exhibitions are also available at the Government Archives.
Source of information and photos: wikipedia.org.
