Colonel Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the first ruling prince of the
\nunited principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, was born on the 20th of March,
\n1820 in Barlad, the eastern part of today’s Romania. Cuza was the right man
\nat the right time, and just like the Romanian elite of that time, he was well
\naware of the fact that his 7-year rule was temporary, in keeping with the
\ndocuments signed by the Great Powers who had agreed to the union of the two
\nRomanian principalities.<\/p>\n
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On January 24, 1859, Moldavia and Wallachia united to form
\nRomania and, through the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as ruling prince of
\nMoldova and Wallachia, the union became centralised. Supported by most
\npolitical actors and by the elites who fought for national emancipation and
\nmodernisation, Cuza carried out reforms that were vital for the Romanian state,
\nsuch as the secularisation of monastic estates, the fiscal reform and the
\nagricultural reform. Historian Alin Ciupala, a professor with the University of
\nBucharest, believes that Cuza was the man whose courage Romania badly needed
\nduring the transition period that followed after the union of Moldavia and
\nWallachia:<\/p>\n
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Alexandru Ioan Cuza was, first of all, a very brave man. He had
\nthe courage to be a leader and carry out a mission at a very delicate time in
\nhistory, a time of uncertainty and of high hopes. He had the courage to coordinate
\na coherent project to modernise Romanian society, the Romanian Principalities.
\nIt was he who introduced a modern institution system that set Romanian society
\non a path towards Europe. <\/p>\n
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Over 1859-1863 Cuza
\nintroduced a wide range of reforms, helping build a new state, pattern on the
\nEuropean modern nation-state. 1863 marks a milestone in Cuza’s reign, as his
\nrule turned towards authoritarianism, fueled by a profit-making camarilla which
\nendangered everything he had achieved that far. Alin Ciupala:<\/p>\n
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At the same time,
\nCuza’s rule has a dark chapter. At a certain point Alexandru Ioan Cuza decided
\nto oversee the modernisation process himself. After the coup of May 2, 1864,
\nCuza becomes isolated, all alone. He distances himself of all his associates,
\nfirst and foremost 1848 revolutionaries, who had gone to great lengths to have
\nhim elected as ruling prince. His entire administration can be seen in balance
\n– we have to acknowledge Cuza’s achievements while at the same time recognise
\nhis failures. His removal from the throne was
\nsupported by the entire political class, for Cuza had gradually turned from a
\nmoderniser into an obstacle to modernisation. Cuza’s political mistake was that
\nhe did not understand that modernisation was not possible without liberalism.<\/p>\n
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The
\nRomanian elite was quick to react to Cuza’s new way of
\ndoing politics. On 11th February 1866, seven years since he was
\nelected, on 24th January 1859, Cuza was removed from power by the
\narmy and former supporters. He was followed on the throne by Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen,
\nthe future King Carol I, during whose reign Romania would lay down firm
\nfoundations. Alin Ciupal\u0103 believes the reigns of Cuza and Carol I should not be
\nviewed in competition with each other:<\/p>\n
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The continuity is
\nimportant because, after the ousting of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, prince Carol and
\nhis political supporters did absolutely nothing to repeal the measures adopted
\nduring Cuza’s reign. On the contrary, all initiatives and projects begun by
\nCuza would be continued throughout the course of the second half of the 19th
\ncentury. In fact, we need to say that after 1866, the ruling prince who was to
\nbecome King Carol I later did not make any efforts to obliterate the public
\nimage of his predecessor, on the contrary. To a certain extent, Carol built his
\nown image as an outgrowth of Cuza’s image. If we read the mainstream history
\ntextbooks, if we take a look at everything that meant Alexandru Iona Cuza’s
\nentering posterity, we will discover, until World War One, a great many facts
\nand events having Cuza at the centre. There were political interests attached
\nto that, that’s for sure. King Carol placing himself, chronologically, among
\nRomanians’ great voivodes, somehow including Cuza in his dynastic discourse, all
\nthat revealed obvious political interests, undoubtedly foreseeable, in the long
\nrun. During the reign of Carol I as well as during the inter-war period, the
\nimage of Alexandru Ioan Cuza was not banned, it
\nwas not taken out of the history of Romanians. So we can see how, gradually,
\nmainly the historians, but also other important actors, forgot about the flaws
\nof Cuza’s reign, taking into account only his accomplishments.<\/p>\n
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200 years ago,
\nAlexandru Ioan Cuza emerged as one of the most promising political leaders in
\nthe history of the Romanian people. He accomplished his mission, despite his
\nflaws and vices, which were all too human. Cuza succeeded in placing the new
\nRomania on a modern and European path. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alexandru Ioan Cuza was the first ruler of the united principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":130892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41141],"tags":[34423,34334,116464],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-130891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-history-show","tag-cuza","tag-history","tag-romania-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n