National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements

Nicolae Bălcescu: The course of revolution in the history of the Romanians

NICOLAE BĂLCESCU: THE COURSE OF REVOLUTION IN THE HISTORY OF THE ROMANIANS Title: Mersul revoluţiei în istoria Românilor (The course of revolution in the history of the Romanians) Originally published: In the journal România viitoare (Paris, 16 September 1850), vol. I. Language: Romanian The excerpts used are from Nicolae Bălcescu, Opere, vol I/2 (Scrieri istorice, politice şi economice), ed. by G. Zane (Bucharest: Fundaţia pentru literatur ă şi artă ‘Regele Carol II,’ 1940), pp. 99–101, 103–108. About the author Nicolae Bălcescu [1819, Bucharest – 1852, Palermo]: historian, publicist and politician. His family belonged to the petty nobility, and he studied at the prestigious St. Sava College. In 1840 he participated in a plot against the ruling prince of Wallachia , Alexandru II Ghica (r. 1834–1842), but was caught and sentenced to two years in prison. In 1843 Bălcescu, together with Ion Ghica (1817–1897) and Christian Tell (1808–1884), founded a revolutionary organization named Fraţia (Brotherhood). In 1844 he began publishing historical studies, and between 1845 and 1848, together with August Treboniu Laurian (1810–1881), he edited the journal Magazin istoric pentru Dacia (Historical Magazine for Dacia). In 1848, after having participated in the revolution in Paris, Bălcescu returned to Wallachia. He was one of the most active participants in the revolution that broke out in Bucharest in June 1848, and became minister and secretary of state of the provisional government. Bălcescu was part of a radical group of Romanian revolutionaries who advocated land reform, the introduction of universal suffrage and military resistance against the Ottoman troops. After the defeat of the revolution in Wallachia, Bălcescu went to Transylvania, hoping to facilitate a compromise between Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894) and Avram Iancu (1824–1872), the leaders of the Hungarian and Transylvanian Romanian revolutions . In 1849, being in a very precarious state of health, he fled to Italy. He died alone in Palermo. In addition to his contribution to the development of Romanian historiography, Bălcescu was used by liberal movements that claimed the legacy of the revolution of 1848, and by nationalists who depicted him as a forerunner of the ‘union’ of Transylvania with Moldavia and Wallachia. Main works: Puterea armată şi arta militară de la întemeierea principatului Valachiei pînă acum (Military power and military art from the foundation of the 464 NATIONAL HEROISM Principality of Wallachia up to now) (1844); Filosofie socială (Social philosophy) (1846); Drepturile românilor către Înalta Poartă (The rights of the Romanians presented to the Porte) (1848); Mersul revoluţiei în istoria Românilor (The course of revolution in the history of the Romanians) (1850); Istoria românilor subt MihaiVod ă Viteazul (The History of the Romanians under Michael the Brave) (published posthumously by Al. Odobescu in 1878). Context The revolution of 1848 in Wallachia was better planned than the one in Moldavia. In June 1848 a committee of intellectuals, liberal boyars and sympathetic army commanders placed deputies in various towns so that the uprising might begin in several places at once. They issued a revolutionary proclamation, ‘Proclamation of Izlaz,’ which outlined their main political and social demands. These demands dealt with four issues: civil liberties; internal political changes; social and economic reforms; and independence from foreign rule. The revolution soon escalated in Bucharest, and Prince Gheorghe Bibescu (r. 1842–1848) was forced to accept a new constitution before fleeing to Transylvania. In the new situation the revolutionaries created a provisional government (guvern provizoriu) and adopted a new constitution . Its provisions included freedom of the press; equal civil rights before the law; the abolition of the feudal privileges of the boyars; internal legislative and administrative autonomy; a government responsible to a representative assembly; the widening of the franchise; and a solution to the peasant problem. The revolutionary regime asked for the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia but did not demand formal independence from the Ottoman Empire. The social and economic reforms advocated by the revolutionary government antagonized the boyars who would not consent to the loss of their political power. Moreover, the international situation was not entirely favorable to the demands put forward by the revolutionaries, as the Great Powers were unwilling to approve complete independence for the Romanians. Eventually, after repeated debates in the ‘Divans,’ the boyars accepted the introduction of civil liberties. The franchise for elections to a national Constituent Assembly was expanded to include all free male Romanians aged 21 or over, who lived in towns (in other...