The Unification of the Romanian Principalities on January 24, 1859 was a historical moment that laid the basis of the modern Romanian state. The unionist event also awakened the national conscience of the Bessarabian Romanians, creating preconditions for the Great Union of 1918, said historians invited to the program “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
Historian Igor Sharov, the rector of the State University of Moldova, said the Union of 1859 was the event that had a major impact on the national conscience of the Bessarabians who were under tsarist occupation after the annexation of 1812.
“We had very courageous elites that made sacrifices and knew to maximally exploit the favorable international moment. I would here draw a parallel with the situation in Bessarabia and the situation after the Crimean war of 1853-1856. Russia, after annexing Bessarabia, in 1814-1815 had been the Gendarme of Europe and surprised any national movement, primarily on the territory of Bessarabia that it annexed in 1812. Here, we gradually witnessed denationalization, elimination of the Romanian language from churches and schools. Therefore, in the first half of the 19th century, it wasn’t a broad national movement in Bessarabia, but particular manifestations for keeping the language, culture. The events that happened in the Romanian Principalities in 1853-1858 led to the appearance of such tendencies in Bessarabia too,” Igor Sharov stated in the program.
Romanian politicians of the time profited from the transformations in Europe generated by the revolutions of 1848 and changed the fate of all the Romanians. The Union of 1853 laid the basis of the current Romanian state.
“Romanian intellectuals, politicians who led the national liberation movement - Kogălniceanu, Brătianu, Cuza – are the founding fathers of the modern Romanian state. They realized the importance of the moment and that Europe was changing and the time for the Romanians came. It is probably now the case for the politicians to also realize that it is the moment for the Romanians. We then had political leaders in both of the Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia, who realized that the moment was opportune for implementing that political plan of the unification into one state,” said Romanian historian Marius Diaconescu.
According to him, the great powers were often against, but those politicians were sufficiently intelligent to formally accept the steps proposed by the great powers, but to actually wait for the favorable moment to change the path to the one wanted by the Romanians.
On January 5, 1859, an elective assembly consisting of 48 lawmakers unanimously elected Alexandru Ioan Cuza as the prince of Moldavia. In Wallachia, a similar election was held on January 24. This way, Alexandru Ioan Cuza became the prince of the two principalities and their unification was recognized by the great powers during his rule.
The anniversary of the Union of Principalities of 1859 this year coincides with the 160th anniversary of the formation of the first Government and Legislative Assembly of the united Romania (January 24, 1862).
