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Den | Romania | History | Empire | 18th Century AD

Empire Period
17th Century AD

Topics covered in this section:

Century Overview

The Ottoman Empire's Jannissary Corps, which had originally been formed by subscripting the young sons of foreign nobles, became increasingly difficult for the sultan to control.

Tsar Peter the Great helped Russia to supplant Poland as the leading power in Eastern Europe. When the sultan declared war on Russia, Wallachian and Moldavian troops rushed to aid the tsar. Unfortunately, preoccupied with a war against Swiden, the tsar was defeated, leaving the two Romanian principalities on the losing side of the political fence. To punish Wallachia and Moldavia, the sultan forced them to accept his Phanariot governors.

Contrary to Ottoman desires, however, several of these enlightened Phanariots fought for the rights of Romanian peasants. Perhaps the first of these Phanariot reformers was Constantine Mavrocordat, who had been appointed by the sultan as governor of both Wallachia and Moldavia. In the beginning, the sultan wasn't worried about his Orthodox subjects in Romania. As long as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church were at each other's throats, the sultan figured they were no threat to his Islamic population.

Transylvania and parts of Wallachia found themselves caught in the vice grips of the Habsburgs of the Austrian Empire. Bishop Klein of the Uniate Church gathered a group of Romanian intellectuals and founded the Transylvanian School. Scholars at the school attempted to prove the Romanian people's right to Transylvania because they claimed that the Romanians were descendants of the Roman Dacians, who they said had uninterruptedly inhabited the region.

The Uniate Church in Transylvania, which was supposed to unite the Catholic and Orthodox churches, wasn't working. The Orthodox community was still very much subservient to the Catholic Church.

A repeating series of Russo-Turkish wars consumed several decades, during which Austria often supported the tsar. Austrian Empress Maria Theresa managed to unite Austria's many realms under a single crown.

And in Russia, Catherine the Great began looking elsewhere for territories to colonize or conquer. She invaded Poland. Later, Russia occupied Wallachia and Moldavia while the sultan was powerless to stop them. However, when Russia tried to stir up an Orthodox revolt against Islam, the sultan quickly halted any and all revolutionary movements in the Balkans. During one of the Russo-Turkish wars, Russia momentarily occupied Moldavia. However, Catherine eventually had to postpone her expansionist dreams to put down a Cossack revolt.

Toward the middle of the century, Castle Dracula suffered from periodic earthquakes. The resulting destruction gave local villagers grist for their vampire superstitions.

After 800 years of being among the most powerful countries, Poland was hacked to pieces and divided between Austria, Prussia, and Russia. In Romania, Wallachia and Moldavia were returned to Turkish control. Austria, feeling slighted, annexed Bucovina (in northern Moldavia). Before long, Russia resented losing Romanian territory and by the end of the century had gained a definite foothold in Romania, particularly in Moldavia.

Austrian Emperor Joseph launched a series of reforms in Transylvania, which resulted in Transylvania's serfs faring better than their counterparts in Wallachia and Moldavia. Nonetheless, a peasant revolt rocked Transylvania, with serfs destroying several mansions. The leader of the revolt was quickly found and executed.

In spite of efforts to avert further peasant revolts, peasants throughout the Balkans were responding to the ideas set forth by the French Revolution. As a result, the peasants learned that they enjoyed much more political clout than they had ever guessed. However, the Habsburgs in Vienna clamped down hard on any attempt by the peasants to rise above their class.

Pronunciation Help

To help American readers, the following pronunciation guide to Romanian words used above is provided. The sounds shown are only approximations, however.

• Bucovina. Boo-koh-vee-nah.
• Moldavia. Mohl-dah-vyah.
• Transylvania. Trahn-seel-vahn-yah.
• Wallachia. Vah-lahk-yah.