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The Great Union of Romania

Valentin Stanciu

August 31, 2022

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The Great Union of Romania

Romanians lived for centuries in numerous state entities due to complex causes, and

Romanian regions were part of neighboring large empires - the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian)

and Russian empires. This was not an isolated incident in European history; other people, such as

Germans and Italians, had the same status. Throughout the centuries, Romanians have been

universally recognized as a single people whose unity, Latinity (Roman ancestry), and continuity

in the same geographical territory have superseded local particularities and even animosities that

sometimes escalated to military battles. All Romanians, whether from Wallachia, Moldova, or

Transylvania, were aware of their common ancestry. Romanians first wanted to consolidate their

country into a single, self-governing state during the medieval era. The road to the Great Union

of Romania passed through numerous stages, and the final point was the Great Union of 1918,

considered the most significant historical event in Romania.

Michael, Prince of Walachia, the Pioneer of National Unity

The road to the union of Romani began in the Middle Age when Michael the Brave

(Mihai Viteazul) joined the Holy League to resist the Ottoman Empire as the Prince of

Wallachia. After Wallachia joined the League (together with the Holy Roman Empire, Spain,

Mantua, and Toscana), Michael turned against the Ottoman Empire. His constant aim was to

acquire the military assistance and protection of Emperor Rudolf II so no danger could come

from Transylvania and count on his ally Aron Tiranul, ruler of Moldavia, to battle the Turks and

terminate Ottoman suzerainty over Wallach. Michael won critical successes in the Long Turkish

War (1593-1606) between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires (at Călugăreni, Giurgiu, Hârşova,

Putineiu, etc.). Andrew Báthory controlled Transylvania, and Ieremia Movilă governed

Moldavia. Both were friendly with Poland, which was not in the Holy League, and were not
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against the Turks. Michael marched into Transylvania and defeated Báthory in the battle of

Selimbăr with support from the Székelys. He reached Alba Iulia and became the imperial

governor, or de facto ruler of Transylvania, in 1599. Since Movilă had escaped to Poland,

Michael became Prince of Moldavia. Michael the Brave will always be the first legendary unifier

of the Romanians, of the three provinces until 1918. Historians think this first union was not

Michael's vision. They call it Michael the Brave's personal union since he was in command of

the three provinces in 1600 and secured it by military force, not political consent. Michael's

personal union became a symbol for fervent paşoptişti (forty-eighters) like Nicolae Bălcescu, a

legendary prototype for "greater Romania" only in the mid-19th century (Stroie 2018, para 6-8).

The Revolution of 1848 in the Romanian Principalities

As the nineteenth century had a name as the century of nationalities, the year 1848

received the title as the springtime of the people. Revolutionary forces rose u from France and

Italy to Poland and then the Romanian countries (Wallachia and Moldavia) to fight against the

old regimes, the conservative spirit, the feudal remnants, foreign oppression, absolutism, and

fought for democracy, and constitutionalism. Romanians practically lived in two countries with

distinct autonomies and many regions controlled by Austrians, Turks, and Russians; they could

not organize a single Romanian revolution in 1848. Nonetheless, the Romanians shared the same

ideals and goals: democratic rights and freedoms, the abolition of feudal customs, the

independence and autonomy of the country, the elimination of foreign dominances, the adoption

of constitutions, the liberation and appropriation of the peasants, national emancipation, and the

union of the Romanian countries (Pop, 2020, p.18). The reformists of the 1850s supported and

achieved the union on 24 January 1859.

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United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859

One of the most fundamental political aims of the Romanian nation has been the unity of

all regions where Romanians are a majority. The merging of the Romanian principalities

Moldova and Tara Romaneasca (Wallachia) under the same reigning prince advanced this goal.

After the Ottoman alliance won the Crimean War (1853–1856) against the Russian Empire, the

Second French Empire, the British Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the idea of unification

became a central focus of political debate in the two principalities and beyond. Provisions

regarding the principalities of Moldova and Wallachia were included in the war-ending Treaty of

Paris, signed in March 1856. Partially accepting the union of the two principalities. The Paris

Convention of 1858 – the initial version of the modern constitution – established a joint army, a

common Court of Justice, and a Central Commission in Focșani to formulate the laws (Pora,

2022, para. 1-4).

Despite the fact that it foresaw the organization of the Principalities, two different

entities governed in Wallachia and Moldova. On the contrary, it was at this precise moment that

the deputies from Wallachia made their astute and brave move. On January 5, 1859, the

assembly in Moldova elected Alexandru Ioan Cuza lord, and on January 24, 1859, the legislature

in Wallachia elected him lord. The Great Powers have established a so-called fait accompli,

according to diplomatic parlance. However, Cuza did more to bring the governments of the two

Romanian principalities together and get the Union recognized worldwide (Marica, 2019, para 5-

7). According to Dungaciu and Manolache (2019):

The modern Romanian State entered history in 1859 (the Old Kingdom, as it is called

today) with the union of the principalities of Moldova and Wallachia, an event without

which the Great Union of 1918 could not have been conceived (p. xxiii).
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The union of all Romanians would become possible in 1918 with the end of the First World War,

because of Romania's participation among the Allies.

The Events of 1918 Favored Unification.

The First World War put Romania in an unsolvable national project predicament. Romania

had national claims on both the Central Powers and the Entente. The debates were lengthy and

tense, but the Entente camp won, with Entente dominating the political class and public opinion.

Romania chose the road of weapons to achieve its national dream, unity with Romanians under

Austro-Hungarian rule. In the first stage, the Romanian army was defeated; Central Powers

forces occupied Oltenia, Muntenia, and Dobrogea. The next step was restoring Moldavia's army,

with General H.M. Berthelot's backing. Romania earned its well-deserved revenge in the summer

of 1917 at Marasti, Marasesti, and Oituz. They were unable to capitalize strategically; therefore,

Romania left the war and made peace with the enemy (Nine O’clock, 2017, para 15-16).

In the meantime, two significant circumstances profoundly affect the development of the

World War. First, Russia withdrew from the conflict as a direct result of the overthrow of the

Tsar in February 1917. Second, the Bolsheviks took control of Russia on 25 October, and the

entry of the United States into the Conflict on the side of the Entente at the beginning of April

1917 (Nine O’clock, 2017, para 17).

Despite this, Romania lost its allies because of the separate peace that Russia negotiated

and signed with Centrals Powers in March 1918. A few months later, the government was

obliged to accept a humiliating peace offer from the Central Powers because they were in a

situation where it was untenable for them to survive. Thankfully, King Ferdinand and Queen

Maria, who was both dynamic and charming, decided against ratifying the treaty. Romania

rejoined the Allies in November 1918 after this decision. The Romanian army occupied the lands
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guaranteed in the 1916 treaty, including Transylvania, oversaw the departure of German troops,

and helped repress Bolshevik manifestations throughout the dissolving Austro-Hungarian

Empire (Condrea, 2018, para 7-8). Bessarabia, Bukovina, and Transylvania were in a favorable

position to begin union negotiations with the Romanian Kingdom as the war ended.

The Great Union Starts

The Union of Bessarabia with Romania

In 1812, the Russian Empire annexed Bessarabia, the eastern half of Moldavia between

the Prut and Dniester rivers. After declaring independence from Bolshevik Russia and forming a

separate state under the Moldavian Democratic Republic, Bessarabia was the first province with

a majority Romanian population to join the Old Kingdom at the end of World War 1. At the

1920 Paris Peace Conference, the world community acknowledged the union established by an

act of the Country Council, the parliament of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, on 27 March

1918. Great Britain, Italy, and Japan also recognize the treaty in the same year. Bukovina

followed the same way into union with the Romanian Kingdom (Sambeteanu, 2019, para 1-5).

The Union of Bukovina with Romania

The Duchy of Bucovina, which was the northern part of medieval Moldavia, was part of

the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 until 28 November 1918, when Austria-Hungary fell.

At the end of the First World War, the dissolution of Austria-Hungary ignited national energy in

Bukovina. In contrast to Bessarabia, a predominantly Romanian province, impediments to the

union with Romania appeared in Bukovina due to the aggressiveness of Ukrainian nationalists

and the splits among Romanian elites. A meeting of the Romanian National Assembly took place

in Cernăuți on 27 October 1918. During this meeting, the Romanian National Assembly declared

itself the Constituent Assembly of Bukovina and decided to unify Bukovina with the other
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Romanian countries in an independent national state. The Allied Powers and Austria signed the

Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919, by which they recognized the union of

Bucovina with Romania (Sambeteanu, 2018, para 1-8). The most populated province,

Transylvania, was the last to union with Romania.

The Union of Transylvania with Romania

Transylvania was the last province to join with Romania, the biggest of them all. The fall

of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was an undeniable fact by the autumn of 1918 when the

Republic of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia proclaimed their existence and independence. The

Romanian inhabitants of the crumbling empire, represented by the Romanian National Council,

were following the same goal of independence. Over a hundred thousand Transylvanian

Romanians were there to demonstrate their support for the union, along with 1,228

representatives chosen from all of Transylvania's municipalities. In accordance with Catanus:

”Vasile Goldiș read the draft resolution, which began: National Assembly of all

Romanians from Transylvania, Banat, and Hungary, convened via their authorized

delegates in Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918, proclaims the merger of these Romanians

and all of their lands with Romania”. (2016, p 3)

Unanimously, delegates opted for unification with Romania. Transylvania's unification with

Romania concluded the process of establishing a unified Romanian national state (Cătănuș,

2016, p 3). According to Pop:

The Act of 1 December 1918 marked end of proses, namely the creation of the unitary

Romanian State. This date is now a national holiday, not because several historical

provinces became united with Romania at that time but because it symbolizes the end of
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a process, the accomplishment of the Union, the fulfilment of the dream for which ‘our

ancestors and our parents gave their lives, as the poet might say. (2020, p 90)

Conclusion

The road to the Great Union of Romania passed through numerous stages, and the final

point was the Great Union of 1918, considered the most significant historical event in Romania.

It is the historic deed of the entire Romanian nation; accomplished out of a powerful longing

coming from the vivid awareness of the unity of the people. The political leaders have directed

with amazing insight the people's aspirations towards the attainment of the stated objective. Its

greatness lies in the fact that the fulfillment of national unity is not the work of any politician,

government, or party. Rather, it is the accomplishment of the entire Romanian nation. The Great

Union was a time of national unity that made a national project real. The idea for the project

came together around the middle of the 19th century, and a generation's work and sacrifices

made it happen. The generation of 1918 taught us the most important lesson by sticking together

around this ideal and caring about the public good and the country's fate. It is worth noting that

all Romanians went from Michael the Brave to Great Romania (Nine O’clock, 2017, para 21-

22).
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References

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Chastain, J. (2004) The International Status of the Romanian Lands in 1848

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Condrea, D. (2018).Romania’s unification day: The cornerstone of a nation, Uncover Romania

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