Vol. XXVIII, 2015
The principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia are not usually associated with detailed population lists which historians can use in complex analysis. Late modernization of the governing system and the slow development of public administration meant that preoccupation towards general enumeration of the population did not begin until the first half of the 19th century. But before the local administration would be able to conduct such operations, these were first performed by occupying foreign forces, Austrian and Russian, in the 18th and early 19th century. It is well known that, often in history, the occupying power produced better administrative instruments than the local authorities, sometimes surpassing even those of its homeland. France, Great Britain and Russia had nominal general census first in their occupied territories. The Russian occupation of Wallachia knew the high point of census taking in 1810–1811, when several censuses were performed, out of which the nominal census of Bucharest is by far the most complex. As far as we know this census is the first full enumeration of all of the city`s inhabitants. The names of individuals are grouped by households and are accompanied by information of their relation to the household head, their nationality and social status. Ages were not recorded. The information contained is rich and unique and makes Bucharest one of the rare examples of a capital cities covered by two preserved general censuses, both in the 19th century: the census in question and that of 1838. The use of this source however has been minimal and access to the preserved material has so far been problematic in many ways. The census registers are preserved in the Russian State Archives but, ironically, access to them was granted but without an important outcome. The registers were first discovered by Ion Ionaşcu in 1958 and microfilms were made and sent to the country in 1964. They were not however intensively valued as the supposed complete transcription made in the following years was never published. The most important study based on this material, published in 1992 by Paul Cernovodeanu, Irina Gavrilă and Ion Panait, only uses aggregate or partial information extracted from this unpublished transcription. Moreover, this material known so far is incomplete, available for about two thirds of Bucharest. The situation changed in 2003, when a research campaign undertaken by staff of the Romanian National Archives resulted in the discovery of new registers and consequent microfilms made and brought into the country. The microfilms in question mark an important change in the possibility of valuing this important census. Not only that the new microfilms cover almost all of the city, but they are also publicly available at the Central Office of the Romanian National Archive. The aim of this article is to make the crucial first step of compiling an inventory of the material covered in the 2003 microfilms.
The article – based on the documents of the Grand Orient de France, at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and at its headquarters, 16 rue Cadet, in Paris – presents six mason lodges from four cities of Moldavia: “The Crown of Stephen the Great” and “Hiram” of Botoşani, “The Fraternity” of Bacău, “The Polar Star” of Fălticeni, “The Disciples of the Truth” of Roman and the “Rebirth” of Ismail. All these lodges have been founded during the reign of king Charles I, when the freemasonry has been flourishing and has developed in many district capitals of Romania. The lodge “Hiram” of Botoşani was composed only of Jewish members, the others had a more mixed composition, with many descendants of boyar families. Their charitable activities is attested by some documents, which also reflect some anti-Semitic attitudes. There is also an interesting correspondence about Ion C. Brătianu’s policy against masonry, a former freemason and prestigious liberal politician.
The aim of this contribution is to analyse the practice of a juridical theorist, namely Constantin Hamangiu (1869–1932). Well known for his efforts to collect, annotate and publish the Romanian codes of laws, Constantin Hamangiu also took a special interest in the issue of copyrights. His works included several writings on the issue of the interpretation and jurisprudence of the French inspired “Law on the Press” (1862, modified in 1866, 1874, 1884, 1885, and 1904). Since 1862, the rights of intellectual property were part of the Romanian legislation and Constantin Hamangiu constantly argued that they must be protected as any other type of property. In 1898, Constantin Hamangiu signed a publishing contract with Leon Alcalay, one of the most important Romanian booksellers and publishers at the turn of the century. The present contribution aims to compare the terms of the published contract with the juridical thought of Constantin Hamangiu.
L’article cherche d’introduire au circuit scientifique quelques relations laissées par trois aviateurs de la Mission militaire française en Roumanie, pendant la première guerre mondiale : Paul Bléry, René Chambe et Septime Gorceix. On présente surtout les aspects qui concernent les liens entre les roumains et les français, l’image de la société roumaine et les rapports entre alliés.
This article aims to analyze the evolution of the Italian community schools from Brăila. The investigation begins with the fourth decade of 19th century, when Italian has been established as the language of trade in the Danubian port-city. By the end of the same century and the early next century, it became a tool of economic, political, and cultural propaganda, used by the Italian state after the foundation of community schools. These schools were the expression of a nationalist and expansionist project designated to establish a powerful Italian state with a strong foreign policy.
The agronomic orphanage Ferdinand was founded in 1898 under the royal patronage. The orphanage was located in a village outside Zorleni, part of the royal Domain. The orphanage was established to settle abandoned and neglected boys from the rural areas, orphans without any care. The main aim was to help the orphans become good rural community citizens and prepare them for work in agriculture. The school promoted the growth of agriculture based on smallholder farms. In this way, the graduates received money and lots for a house and garden. They should have been a moral model which to inspire the illiterate and landless villagers at this time.
The King supports the orphanage with books and better qualified teachers. The correspondence between Mihai Lupescu, orphanage director, and Louis Basset, Royal Administrator, is a valuable source of understanding the problems faced by rural education. The peasant values were considered as being part of a Romanian national identity.
7. Marian Stroia, Stepan Stepanovici Ganeţki (1810–1887). Prezicerea unei ţigănci, p. 119-122.
The document presents a few moments from General Stepan Stepanovici Ganetki career in the Russian imperial army, during the war of 1877–1878 and after that. It relates also the prophecy of a Gipsy women about his death, which seems to be fulfilled.
8. [Ştefan Delureanu (1926–2015). Memorial de Raluca Tomi, p. 123-125]