The 1848 Revolutionary Movement

There were several definitory stages in the forming of the present-day Romania . The first important step was only made in the mid-XIX th century, under the influence of the French and American revolutions and following the democratic principles, whose echoes were beginning to be heard all over Europe.

As a part of the European Revolution in 1848, the Romanian revolutionary movement that year expressed the Romanian thinkers' adherence to the concept of political and economical liberalism spreading across the continent at that time. However, the general revolutionary atmosphere of that time was not the cause, but the opportunity of older Romanian ambitions and ideas to come to the fore.

The rulers of the three Principalities were authoritarian, ruthless and corupt, the taxes imposed on peasants and the middle class were unjustifiedly high, slavery was flourishing in the countryside. It was nothing new for the people: the situation had been going on for centuries.

In Moldavia and Walachia , the movement's ideals were to escape Russian influence and regain their autonomy from under the Otoman Empire's ruling. At the same time, the romanians in Transylvania had their own battle with the Austrian Empire to fight. As a whole, the idea of unification had planted its seeds on the fertile ground of national conscience, and was rapidly blooming. This concept was clearly shown in the revolutionary programs, along with the equality of rights and liberties and the demand for democratical laws and government.

The main claims, common to all three Principalities, of the Petitons written were the independence of the Romanian nation, the granting of political rights as well as other economical and social liberties, the freedom of education in the national language, the abolishment of slavery and, in Transylvania , the recognition of the Ortodox Church .

Remarkably, the Revolution was a widely spread phenomenon in the territories inhabited by large Romanian comunities and it raised the self-awareness of the nation, leading to the events that formed the modern-day country. Although the Revolution was violently silenced, the ideals it promoted persisted among the intelectuals of the time and it would soon reemerge, better prepaired and with renewed strength, until at last it reached its goals.   [UP]