| 1859–1881 | |||||||||||||||
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Motto:
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Anthem:
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 The United Principalities (Romania) 1862–1878, shown in light yellow | |||||||||||||||
| Status | Vassal state of theOttoman Empire (1859–1877)[a] | ||||||||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||||||||
| Official languages | Romanian | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox,Catholicism,Judaism,Reformed Church | ||||||||||||||
| Demonym | Romanian | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional 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) | ||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament | ||||||||||||||
| Senate | |||||||||||||||
| Assembly of Deputies | |||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
| 24 January 1859 | |||||||||||||||
• First common government | 22 January 1862 | ||||||||||||||
• FirstConstitution | 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 | |||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||||||||
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TheUnited Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (Romanian:Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești),[2] commonly calledUnited Principalities orWallachia and Moldavia, was thepersonal union of thePrincipality of Moldavia and thePrincipality of Wallachia. The union was formed on 5 February [O.S. 24 January] 1859 whenAlexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as theDomnitor (Ruling Prince) of both principalities. Their separate autonomousvassalage in theOttoman Empire continued withthe unification of both principalities. On 3 February [O.S. 22 January] 1862, Moldavia and Wallachia formally united to create theRomanian United Principalities, the core of the Romaniannation 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 princeKarl 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, anew constitution came into effect, giving the country the name ofRomania; 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 theSublime Porte had become alegal fiction. Romania hadits own flag and anthem; after 1867, it had its own currency as well.
On 21 May [O.S. 9 May] 1877, Romaniaproclaimed itself fully independent; the proclamation was sanctioned by the Domnitor the following day. Four years later, on 22 May [O.S. 10 May] 1881, the1866 constitution was modified and Romania became akingdom, and Domnitor Carol I was crowned as the firstking of Romania. After theFirst World War,Transylvaniaand 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 therepublic.
As a historical term designating the pre-Union Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, sometimes including the Principality of Transylvania, the term "Romanian Principalities" dates back to the beginnings of modernRomanian history in the mid-19th century.[citation needed][5] It was subsequently used by Romanian historians as an alternative to the much older term "Romanian Lands". English use of "Romanian Principalities" is documented from the second half of the 19th century.
In the period between the late 18th century and the 1860s,Danubian Principalities was used, a term that sometimes includedSerbia, but not Transylvania. In contrast, use of "Romanian Principalities" sometimes included Transylvania but never Serbia.
The aftermath of theRussian Empire's defeat in theCrimean War brought the 1856Treaty of Paris, which started a period of common tutelage for the Ottomans and a Congress ofGreat Powers—theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, theSecond French Empire, theKingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, theAustrian Empire,Prussia and, though never again fully, Russia. While the Moldavia-Wallachiaunionist campaign, which had come to dominate political demands, was accepted with sympathy by the French, Russians, Prussians and Sardinians, it was rejected by the Austrian Empire, and looked upon with suspicion by Great Britain and the Ottomans.[6] Negotiations amounted to an agreement on a minimal formal union; however, elections for thead-hoc divans in 1859 profited from an ambiguity in the text of the final agreement, which, while specifying two thrones, did not prevent the same person from occupying both thrones simultaneously and ultimately ushered in the ruling of Alexandru Ioan Cuza asDomnitor (Ruling Prince) over the United Romanian Principalities from 1862 onwards,uniting both principalities.
Though internationally formally recognized only after the period of Cuza's reign,[6] the Union was cemented by Ioan Cuza's unsanctioned interventions in the text of previous "Organic Law". In addition, the circumstances of his deposition in 1866, together with the rapid election of Prussian princeCarol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (who was backed by the increasingly important Prussia) and theAustro-Prussian War in the same time, made applying measures against the Union actually impossible.[citation needed]
Following theRomanian War of Independence in 1877–78, Romania shook off formal Ottoman rule, but eventually clashed with its Russian ally over its demand for theSouthern Bessarabia region. Ultimately, Romania was awardedNorthern Dobruja, in exchange for Southern Bessarabia, on 13 June 1878.[7] TheKingdom of Romania subsequently emerged in 1881 with prince Carol being crowned asking Carol I of Romania.[7][8]
Alexandru Ioan Cuza took steps to unify the administrations of the two Romanian Principalities and gain international recognition for the Union. He also adopted several reforms, including thesecularization of church lands, introduction of free primary education, aFrench-inspired civil code andcriminal code, as well as a limited agrarian reform and one in the army.[citation needed]
Opposition from the large-land-owners dominated parliament to Cuza resulted in a coup against him in 1864. He subsequently instituted authoritarian rule but his popular support, strong at the time of the coup, gradually waned as the land reform failed to bring prosperity to the peasant majority.[citation needed]
Cuza was forced to abdicate in 1866 by the two main political groups, the Conservatives and the Liberals, who represented the interests of former large-land-owners. Although the event sparked some anti-unionist turmoil in Cuza's native province of Moldavia, it was quickly suppressed by the central authorities.[citation needed]
The new governing coalition appointedCarol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as the new Ruling Prince of Romania, in a move initially rejected by the European powers, but later on accepted. In the first year of Carol's reign, Romania adopted itsfirst constitution. This instrument provided for a hereditaryconstitutional monarchy, with a Parliament being elected throughcensitary suffrage although the country remained under Ottoman suzerainty. Carol was not unanimously accepted, and a rise in republican sentiment culminated with anuprising in Ploiești in 1870 and a revolt in Bucharest in 1871, both of which were quelled by the army.[citation needed]
In April 1877, in the wake of a newRusso-Turkish war, Romania signed a convention by which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, in their advance towards the Ottoman Empire. On May 9, the Romanian parliament declared the independence of the principality, andjoined the war on the Russian side. After several Romanian victories south of theDanube and the ultimate victory of the Russian-led side in the war, the European powers recognized Romania's independence, under the 1878Treaty of Berlin. Nevertheless, Romania was made to exchange Southern Bessarabia for NorthernDobruja, and allow non-Christians living in Romania access to Romanian citizenship.[citation needed]
In 1881, the country's parliament proclaimed Romania a kingdom.
| Prince | Reign | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Alexandru Ioan I (Alexandru Ioan Cuza) | 5 February 1862 – 22 February 1866 (4 years, 17 days) | Born inBârlad,Moldavia |
 | Carol I (Karl Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen) | 20 April 1866 – 15 March 1881 (14 years, 329 days) | FirstGermanking of Romania from theHouse of Hohenzollern, the founder of theRomanian branch of this German royal dynasty |
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As of 1872, the Romanian Principality was organized into 33 counties of which 17 were in Wallachia (12 inMuntenia and 5 inOltenia), and 16 were in Moldavia (13 inwestern Moldavia and 3 insouthern Bessarabia).[10]
According to the 1859–1860 census, the United Principalities had a population of 3,864,848.[11]
| Religion and ethnic group | number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Orthodox | 3,638,749 | 94.2 |
| Jewish | 134,168 | 3.5 |
| Roman Catholic | 45,152 | 1.2 |
| Protestant | 28,903 | 0.7 |
| Lipovans | 8,375 | 0.2 |
| Armenians | 8,178 | 0.2 |
| Muslim | 1,323 | 0.03 |
| Total | 3,864,848 | 100.0 |
Cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, in 1859:[11]
| Rank | Name | Population | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bucharest | 121,734 | Muntenia |
| 2 | Iași | 65,745 | Moldavia |
| 3 | Izmail1 | 31,779 | Southern Bessarabia |
| 4 | Botoșani | 27,147 | Moldavia |
| 5 | Ploiești | 26,468 | Muntenia |
| 6 | Galați | 26,050 | Moldavia |
| 7 | Craiova | 21,521 | Oltenia |
| 8 | Brăila | 15,767 | Muntenia |
| 9 | Bârlad | 13,165 | Moldavia |
| 10 | Focșani | 13,164 | |
| 11 | Huși | 12,764 | |
| 12 | Piatra Neamț | 11,805 | |
| 13 | Roman | 10,818 | |
| 14 | Giurgiu | 10,557 | Muntenia |
Notes:1 - data for 1856.[12]
| Independent |
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| Autonomous | |
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