Vol II, 2023
PhD Researcher, Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca Branch, „George Barițiu” History Institute; e-mail: victor.vizauer@acad-cj.ro
ON ECONOMIC STRUCTURES IN THE ROMANIAN INTRA-CARPATHIAN AREA. DOCUMENTARY SOURCES OF THE 11TH-12TH CENTURIES
Abstract: This article examines a corpus of empirical data on the occupations of the inhabitants of the Romanian Carpathian region, with a further focus on Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș. I base my investigation on a thorough analysis of a number of official Hungarian documents from the 11th and 12th centuries. The article consists of two parts. In the first part, I review the literature on the subject based on data identified in some documents of the period, while in the second part I provide a classification and general presentation of the occupations, which included the following categories: agriculture (grain cultivation and animal husbandry), beekeeping, goods transportation, mowing, salt mining, fishing, woodworking, clay processing, metalworking/working of metal objects, processing of bull horns, leather and fur processing, food production, beer production, trade, hunting, viticulture and other occupations.
Keywords: Transylvania, Occupations, Work, Profession, 11th-12th Centuries, Middle Ages.
Profesor de istorie la Liceul Teoretic „Ioan Buteanu”, Șomcuta Mare și Membru al Centrului de Diplomatică și Paleografie Documentară Medievală TRANS.SCRIPT a Universității Babeș-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca; e-mail: alexandra.chira@gmail.com
SURSE DOCUMENTARE PRIVITOARE LA FOLOSIREA MORILOR DE APĂ ÎN TRANSILVANIA MEDIEVALĂ – STUDIU DE CAZ: RÂUL SOMEȘ
Abstract:Milling was one of the most wide-spread occupations in the middle Ages, with different types of mills scattered across the continent. As windmills can be built only in special climate conditions, most of them are water mills. The situation is no different in Transylvania. Documents from the Middle Ages often mention mills, millers or mill sites. Despite this fact, milling has not been extensively researched in Romanian historiography.
The present study is focused on the mills built on the Someș River and its main tributaries (especially Someșul Mic and Someșul Mare). Due to the importance of the geographical area for the development of Transylvania and the environmental conditions suited for milling, it is no surprising that the proportion of documents mentioning mills is greater than for other areas. They show how the grinding mechanism was used, what value mills had for the people of the time and how people interacted with the environment and changed it.
Keywords: Milling, Transylvania, Water mills, Millers, Middle Ages, Charters
CS III, dr., Institutul de Istorie „George Barițiu” al Academiei Române, Cluj-Napoca; email: victor.vizauer@acad-cj.ro
MĂSURI ECONOMICO-FINANCIARE ADOPTATE ÎN DIETA TRANSILVANIEI ÎN PERIOADA 1541/1542-1571
Abstract:After the death of King John Szapolya (1540) and the occupation of the capital city, Buda, by de Turks (1541) the new state created in Transylvania and the parts of Hungary east of Tisa river (Partium) experienced an early period with many disturbances, political and military events that have affected the country’s economy. This instability demanded the adoption of measures in the country’s general assembly, which had to ensure the financial resources for the survival of the new state, between the two neighboring and rival empires – Ottoman and Habsburg – as well as for the actual functioning of the country and administration. In the present article I made an overview of the types of measures that were taken – the setting of taxes, the gifts for the high dignitaries in Istanbul, the voting of money for the specific needs of the country (like the maintenance of army’s and fortifications, sending of embassies), capping the prices of the basic and/or important goods, deciding which commodities can or cannot be taken out of the country etc. – in the period between the years 1541-1542 and 1571. Also, I wanted to see whom or what those measures targeted, as well as their effects, of course where those effects can be observed.
Keywords: Economy, Finance, Comerce, Transylvania, XVIth Century, Country Assembly.
CS II, dr. habil., Institutul de Istorie „George Barițiu” al Academiei Române, Cluj-Napoca;
e-mail: marin.balog@acad-cluj.ro
„CRIZELE SUPRAPUSE” DIN ANII 1813-1817 ȘI IMPLICAȚIILE LOR. STUDIU DE CAZ: TRANSILVANIA
Abstract: Based on the concept of overlapping crises, this article analyses the
particularities of the crises of 1813-1817 and their local impact in Transylvania. To
this end, I draw on a range of statistical indicators to compare and contrast the
regional developments with various shifts within the Habsburg Empire and beyond.
The analysis of the extreme meteorological phenomena that marked the year 1816, for
instance, unveils that their effects were extremely significant on a pan-European
scale, leading to crop failures and famine, with Transylvania being no exception. My
paper, therefore, shows the dramatic nature of the meteorological situation in
Transylvania and its role in triggering the Great Famine of 1813-1817. In this
context, I show that state intervention in Transylvania, as elsewhere, had only a
limited effect; communities and individuals often had to find strategies and resources
to nurture for themselves. On the long run, I argue, the impact of this crisis was
dramatic and left its mark on the province’s ability to embark on a more sustainable
path of modernization and catch up with the Western provinces of the Habsburg
Monarchy.
Keywords: Economic crises, 1813-1817 Famine, Mortality, Subsistence crisis,
Transylvania
Dr., cercetător științific, Muzeul Maramureșan, Sighetul Marmației; e-mail: ionboroica@yahoo.com
PARTICULARITĂȚI ALE CADASTRULUI MINIER ÎN SECOLUL AL XIX-LEA ȘI PRIMA PARTE A SECOLULUI XX. STUDIU DE CAZ: ZONA MINIERĂ BAIA BORȘA
Abstract:The mining cadastro is a type of highly technical mapping of mining areas that was practiced in the former Habsburg Empire from the 16th century onwards. The normative framework for this mapping technique was regulated from the outset in a branch of the mining law. This new branch of law comprised various regulations: privileges, statutes, ordinances, constitutions, state treaties, mining laws, general and special laws, decrees, technical standards, etc. The mining cadastro, which contained both written and graphic components, was administered by specialized institutions. Based on various archival sources, my paper examines the development of the mining cadastre in the mining area of Baia Borșa, in the South- Eastern part of historical Maramures. I premise that mining activity in this area resumed at the end of the 18th century and that local institutions were created to coordinate and monitor mining activities. I further rely on documents from mining cadastres from the mid-19th century and the interwar period in order to assess the legal and economic function of this mapping technique.
Keywords: Mining Cadastre, Baia Borșa, Mining Right, Concession, Mining Perimeter.
Ármin Mikes, conte (1868–1944), aristocrat maghiar transilvănean, mare industriaș. Despre el a se vedea Csongor Jánosi, „Hontalanul”: védekezési technikák a két világháború között Nagy-Romániában. Gr. Mikes Ármin (1868-1944), „Pro Minoritate”, 2018 Primăvara, p. 3– 32.
EXPLOATĂRI FORESTIERE ȘI CĂI FERATE INDUSTRIALE ÎN ROMÂNIA REGALĂ. „TIȘIȚA” ȘI SOCIETĂȚILE PE ACȚIUNI LEGATE DE INTERESELE ACESTEIA (1907-1940)
Abstract:This study examines the relations between the forestry companies in Romania (in the former Putna County, now Vrancea County), founded by the Hungarian Count Ármin Mikes, the Jewish Italian-Austrian Camillo Castiglioni and other industrial magnates of the time, and the political decision-makers and local communities in the first half of the 20th century. From 1907 onwards, foreign companies began to exploit many of these forests because of numerous concessions granted by the Bucharest authorities. Shortly after, these firms moved on to the construction of timber factories and narrow-gage railroads on public and private land, which they leased for 20 to 25 years. My article shows how Bucharest politics supported the expansion of these companies until the First World War. However, with the outbreak of hostilities and the subsequent creation of the unified Romanian state, these companies became the target of numerous sabotage actions initiated by the central authorities. For example, after the adoption of the Enemy Property Law on 12 June 1923, the “Tișița” company was nationalized. The ongoing dispute culminated in a “transaction” and in 1927 the assets were returned to the Oituz Forestry Company in Brașov, owned by Mikes. A couple of years later, however, the Oituz Forestry Company was forced to transfer its assets to the State Forestry House. In February 1937, another “agreement” took place between the Romanian state and the management of Tișița. Oituz immediately renounced the further use of the concession for the private goods of “Tișița” and proceeded to dismantle the railroad line and sell the industrial park. Although the industrial railroad had a direct economic impact on 20 settlements in Putna County and contributed to the growth of general welfare and rural tourism, the local political elite could not intervene favorably at the ministerial level to pay the owner Mikes and thus prevent the liquidation of the railroad.
Keywords: Interwar Romania, Transylvania, Transylvanian Hungarian Aristocracy, Joint Stock Companies, Logging and Industrial Railways
Doctor în istorie, șef serviciu, Banca Națională a României, Sucursala Cluj; e-mail: mogaseptimiu@gmail.com
BANCA AGRARĂ DIN CLUJ ÎN CĂUTAREA MODERNITĂȚII
Abstract: One of Romania’s challenges after the First World War was the political, social and, above all, economic modernization of the country. Economic modernization required adequate financing. It was a difficult moment for Romania. In 1920, numerous coins circulated in Transylvania, trade and transportation were partially blocked and industry no longer had any sales markets. The country’s finances had been exhausted by the war and agriculture was producing harvests that were below its potential. The members of the Ruling Council found an ingenious solution to raise and manage funds by founding the Agrarian Bank. My paper shows that its main goal was to implement the agrarian reform in Transylvania. The bank was financed by private investors, but also by the state through land expropriation and financial participation. Through an in-depth analysis of the bank’s activities in the interwar period, I show that the agrarian reform itself was seen at the time as a form of modernization, first of the ownership structure and then of agricultural technologies. The establishment of model farms, the financing of the purchase of modern agricultural machinery, the development of consumer networks and the industrialization of agricultural products were valued. At the same time, the bank pursued the goal of developing the cooperative movement in Transylvania, establishing ad hoc cooperatives and providing the cooperatives with loans in order to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of Romanian farmers. The bank gathered around it the most important personalities of the Transylvanian economy, it invested in office buildings necessary for complex operations, but at the same time, in order to attract young Romanians from other areas, it bought apartment buildings for rent. It invested in automobile and even railroad infrastructure. Various enterprises, including the leading sectors such as serum production, model farms, cooperatives and other related businesses were established. Unfortunately, the modernization ideas clashed with liberal policies, but also with the reality and inexperience of some workers. For this reason, the modernization projects were not successful.
Keywords: Agrarian Bank, Agricultural reform, Transylvania, Modernization
Conf. univ. dr., Facultatea de Studii Europene, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca; e- mail: astangaciu@yahoo.com
DIN CULISELE VIEȚII BANCARE POSTBELICE: RELAȚIA BĂNCII NAȚIONALE A ROMÂNIEI CU BĂNCILE ITALIENE
Abstract: Companies with Italian capital in Romania carried out limited investment activities in the period immediately following the Second World War. In fact, due to the small number of actions developed and the losses recorded, it can be appreciated that the activity of Italian companies, from the end of the war until the end of 1947, was one of survival. The property situation of companies with Italian capital in Eastern European states, such as Romania, was regulated by the international treaties to which Italy was a party after the end of the war. Through the Paris Peace Treaty of February 1947, the USSR required Italy to hand over, on account of war reparations, the existing Italian assets in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The Romanian legislation regarding the phenomenon of nationalization reinforced these provisions. Later, the agreements between Italy and the Soviet state concluded in December 1948 (the La Malfa agreements) definitively confirmed the transfer of Italian properties from Eastern Europe to the USSR. As a consequence of this fact, the sale of companies with Italian capital in Romania, in favor of the Soviet state, was effectively carried out starting with January 1949. The companies of the Foresta Română group, the Forestiera Feltrinelli Company, the Agricola Fonciera, Adriatica and Generala insurance companies, the Francesco Cinzano & Co. and Gattorno, the Italo-Romanian Technical Enterprises or the Italo-Romanian Road Company were thus liquidated and then passed into the ownership of the Soviet state. An exception to this situation was made by Romcomit, the company with Italian capital that will be liquidated soon in 1952.
Keywords: Italian capital, Nationalization, Banks, Agreements, Soviet state
Lect. univ. dr., Universitatea „Ovidius” din Constanța; e-mail: enachetusa@gmail.com
DOUĂ DECENII DE LA ADOPTAREA MONEDEI EURO
Abstract: With the end of the Second World War, Europe was marked by a series of events that would shape the entire development of the second half of the 20th century. They will shape the second half of the 20th century. Thus, the world was divided into two antagonistic politico-military blocs that would face each other during the Cold War, but we must not forget the efforts made by the main players on the world political stage with the launch of the Marshall Plan in 1947. The road to the introduction of the euro was a reaction to the instability of the American currency in the European economy. This is how the Economic and Monetary Union took shape, which is one of the most important events in the economic history of the European Union.
Keywords: the single currency, banking system, economic and monetary union, European Monetary Institute Euro Zone.