United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia

United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (1859–1862)
Romanian United Principalities (1862–1866)
Romania (1866–1881)
Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești (Romanian)
1859–1881
Motto: 
Anthem: 

The United Principalities (Romania) 1862–1878, shown in light yellow
The United Principalities (Romania) 1862–1878, shown in light yellow
StatusVassal state of the Ottoman Empire (1859–1877)[a]
Capital
Official languagesRomanian
Common languages
Religion
Eastern Orthodox, Catholicism, Judaism, Reformed Church
Demonym(s)Romanian
GovernmentConstitutional monarchy[b]
Domnitor (Prince) 
• 1859–1866
Alexandru Ioan Cuza
• 1866–1881
Carol I
Regency 
• 1866
Lascăr Catargiu
• 1866
Nicolae Golescu
• 1866
Nicolae Haralambie
President of the Council of Ministers 
• 1862
Barbu Catargiu (first)
• 1879–1881
Ion Brătianu (last)
LegislatureParliament
Senate
Assembly of Deputies
History 
• Union between Moldavia and Wallachia
24 January 1859
• First common government
22 January 1862
• First Constitution
13 July 1866
9 May 1877
• Kingdom established
14 March 1881
Area
1860[1]123,335 km2 (47,620 sq mi)
1881[1]130,177 km2 (50,262 sq mi)
Population
• 1860[1]
3,917,541
• 1881[1]
4,545,821
Currency
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Moldavia
Wallachia
Northern Dobruja
Kingdom of Romania
Bessarabia Governorate
Today part of

The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (Romanian: Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești),[2] commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia. The union was formed 5 February [O.S. 24 January] 1859 when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as the Domnitor (Ruling Prince) of both principalities. Their separate autonomous vassalage in the Ottoman Empire continued with the unification of both principalities. On 3 February [O.S. 22 January] 1862, Moldavia and Wallachia formally united to create the Romanian United Principalities, the core of the Romanian nation state.[3][4]

In February 1866, Prince Cuza was forced to abdicate and go into exile by a political coalition led by the Liberals; the German Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was offered the Throne and, on 22 May [O.S. 10 May] 1866 he entered Bucharest for the first time. In July the same year, a new constitution came into effect, giving the country the name of Romania; internationally, this name was used only after 1877, since at the time it shared a common foreign policy with the Ottoman Empire. Nominally, the new state remained a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. However, by this time the suzerainty of the Sublime Porte had become a legal fiction. Romania had its own flag and anthem; after 1867, it had its own currency as well.

On 21 May [O.S. 9 May] 1877, Romania proclaimed itself fully independent; the proclamation was sanctioned by the Domnitor the following day. Four years later, the 1866 constitution was modified and Romania became a kingdom, on 22 May [O.S. 10 May] 1881, Domnitor Carol I was crowned as the first King of Romania. After the First World War, Transylvania and other territories were also included.

For its triple symbolic meaning, the date of May 10 was celebrated as Romania's National Day until 1948, when the Communist regime installed the republic on 30 December 1947.

  1. ^ a b c d Anuarul Statistic al României 1937 si 1938 [Romanian Statistical Yearbook]. Bucharest: INSSE. 1939. p. 41.
  2. ^ Metzeltin, Michael (2006). "Nume ale României: o istorie complexă" [Names of Romania: a complex history] (PDF). In Institutul de Filologie Română „A. Philippide” (ed.). Identitatea culturală romanească în contextul integrării europene [Romanian cultural identity in the context of European integration] (in Romanian). Editura Alfa Iași. pp. 207–223. ISBN 9789738953215. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ (in French) Histoire du congrès de Paris, Edouard Gourdon (1857)
  4. ^ Boia, Lucian (2001). Romania: Borderland of Europe. Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781861891037.

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