Transylvania - The Roots of Ethnic Conflict

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1660	Várad ([Nagyvárad], Oradea, Grosswardein) is captured by the Turks. They also defeat György Rákóczi II in the Battle of Szászfenes (Floresti) and again devastate extensive areas of Transylvania. Rákóczi dies from the wounds received in the battle.
1661	Mihály Apafi becomes prince of Transylvania with the support of the Turks. He reigns until his death in 1690 as the last ruler of an independent Transylvanian state.
1675	Transylvania's Orthodox Church Synod at Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Karlsburg) decides to suspend clergy who officiate in Slavonic rather than Rumanian.
1677	In Warsaw, Imre Thököly, rebel (kuruc) leader from northeastern Hungary, engineers an alliance with Apafi's Transylvania and Louis XIV of France against the Habsburgs.
1686--87	Habsburg imperial troops invade Transylvania.
1690	Upon the death of Apafi, the Transylvanian Diet elects his son Mihály Apafi II. However, the Habsburgs have by this time consolidated their position and they begin to incorporate Transylvania into the empire. The Diploma Leopoldinum of October 15, 1690, is the legal termination of Transylvanian independence. The Ottoman Turks sponsor Imre Thököly as prince, but he cannot wrest control of the land from the Habsburgs.
1697	The synod convened in Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Karlsburg) by Orthodox Metropolitan Teofil between March 27 and April 6 accepts "Union with Rome," and many Transylvanian Orthodox Rumanians thereby become Greek Catholics or Uniate Catholics. This decision is also reconfirmed in October by Metropolitan Atanasie Anghel and thirty-eight archpriests. The Union with Rome is seen as the way to obtain equality with the accepted religions.
1703--11	The kuruc rebellion led by Ferenc Rákóczi II attempts to re-establish an independent Hungarian state. In 1704, Rákóczi is elected prince of Transylvania. However, he loses a battle at Zsibó (Jibou) and this begins to undermine his influence and power in Transylvania.
1711	The Treaty of Szatmár (Satu Mare) ends hostilities and consolidates Transylvania and Hungary within the Habsburg empire.
1717	A Tatar incursion sweeps through Transylvania.
1718	The Treaty of Passarowitz brings to an end Ottoman Turkish control over territories in the Carpathian Basin, specifically their last stronghold in the Bánság (Banat) of Temes (Timis, Temesch). The areas depopulated by the Turkish occupation are now recolonized by Swabian settlers, Serbs, and Vlachs (Rumanians). Hungarians are specifically excluded from these former Hungarian territories by the Habsburg policy of colonization and reconstruction.
1722	The Transylvanian Diet confirms the Pragmatica Sanctio and thereby the legitimacy of succession by Maria Theresa (1740--80) to the Habsburg throne.
1729	Ion Inocentiu Micu-Klein is appointed Uniate bishop of Transylvania. Under his leadership (until 1751) the Vlach (Rumanian) population acquires its first effective spokesman for the recognition of their growth in numbers and of the changed political circumstances. He effectively utilizes the "Union" with Rome as a political weapon for enhancing the power of the Rumanians in Transylvania.
1754	The establishment of a Uniate Catholic primary school, high school, and theological seminary at Balázsfalva (Blaj, Blasendorf), transforms it into a center of Rumanian self-consciousness and organization.
1762--68	Habsburg efforts to formalize the organization of frontier defense in the Székely regions and in three Vlach-inhabited counties leads to widespread resistance in the region of Beszterce (Bistrita, Bistritz) and in the Székely counties. The Habsburgs crush the resistance with the brutal massacre at Mádéfalva (Siculeni) on January 7, 1764. Many Székelys cross the Carpathians to Moldavia and settle there at this time. They are the so-called Csángó Hungarians of present-day Rumania.
1765	Maria Theresa raises the status of Transylvania from principality to "Great Principality of Transylvania."
1769	On November 11, the "Bizonyos punctumok" ("Special Points") are issued by Maria Theresa to regulate the duties of bondsmen.
1769	Maria Theresa issues a decree of toleration by which the Orthodox church is legally recognized by the Habsburg monarchy.
1774--85	The Bánffy Palace is constructed at Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg); it is one of the most important examples of Baroque architecture in Transylvania.
1775	The Institute of Surgical Medicine is established at Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg).
1777	The publication of the Ratio educationis provides a general reorganization of the educational system for children between the ages of seven and thirteen at both Catholic and non-Catholic schools. Instruction is to be in German and in the mother tongue of the respective nationalities on the basis of Austrian textbooks.
1778	Maria Theresa orders the reannexation of the Bánság (Banat) of Temes (Timis, Temesch) to the kingdom of Hungary. It is organized into the counties of Torontál, Temes, and Krassó (Caras).
1778	Samuil Micu writes the first study on the history of the Rumanians that represents the Transylvanian School's effort to prove the Roman and Dacian origins of the Rumanian people. This is followed by Micu's publication of the "Prayer Book for the Piety of the Christian" in 1779. The latter is printed in Latin characters and is the first public assertion of the Transylvanian School's ideology. This is followed a year later (1780) by the publication of Samuil Micu's and Gheorghe sincai's Elementa linguae daco-romanae sive Valachicae (Vienna), which is the first printed grammar of the Rumanian language setting out to prove the Latin origin of the Rumanian language. It advocates the adoption of Latin letters and the enrichment of the vocabulary with Latin words.
1780	Maria Theresa's death brings to the throne Joseph II whose reign lasts until 1790. He is an "enlightened" despot. However, his zeal for efficiency, modernization, and centralization produces unrest in many parts of the empire.
1784	On May 1, Joseph II calls for the first official census of the empire, including Transylvania. According to the data published in 1787, this census shows the overall population of Transylvania to be 1,440,986.
1784	On May 11, German is declared the official language of the empire in Hungary and Transylvania as well as in the western provinces. German is to become the official language of instruction in all schools of the empire within three years.
1784	The centralizing tendencies and certain raised expectations contribute to the unrest of the population in Transylvania and spark the Rumanian peasant rising led by Horea, Closca, and Crisan. The uprising begins on October 31 and lasts until the end of December when the ringleaders are captured. Crisan commits suicide in prison, while Horea and Closca are executed in Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Karlsburg) on February 28, 1785. Present Rumanian historiography sees this as both a social and national uprising of great importance. While the conscious national sentiment of the Rumanian peasants is questionable, it is clear that their wrath was directed mainly against the Hungarians and others who did not adhere to the Rumanian Orthodox religion. The pillaging and bloodletting is particularly extensive in Fehér, Hunyad (Hunedoara), Torda, Kolozs, and Zaránd counties.
1784	The Saxon Siebenbürger Zeitung begins publication in Brassó (Kronstadt, Brasov).
1788	The first German-language theater is established at Nagyszeben (Hermannstadt, Sibiu).
1789	The Hungarian Erdélyi Magyar Hírvivõ begins publication in Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg).
1790	Emperor Joseph II revokes (January 28) most of his reform decrees with the significant exception of those that relate to religious toleration and the freedom of movement of the serfs. He dies soon thereafter and is succeeded by Leopold II on February 20.
1791	The Transylvanian Diet declares that it wants Transylvania's reunification with Hungary and the acceptance of Hungarian as the official language of the land. Emperor Leopold's response is to continue separate chanceries for Hungary and Transylvania.
1791	Rumanian Orthodox Bishop Gherasim Adamovici and Uniate Catholic Bishop Ion Bob submit to Leopold II the Supplex Libellus Valachorum, in which they request equal status for the Rumanian people with the three officially recognized "nations" (i.e., Magyars, Székelys, and Saxons) and in addition representation in the Diet in proportion to their share of the population. The petition is rejected by the emperor.
1792	Leopold II dies on March I and is succeeded by Francis I. The former's short and stormy reign contributes greatly to a deterioration of relations between Hungarians, Saxons, and Rumanians, since he openly plays them off against one another.
1792	The submission on March 30 of the II. Supplex Libellus Valachorum. It, too, is rejected by the new emperor, Francis I.
1792	The Hungarian Theater Society is organized at Kolozsvár.
1798	Ignác Batthyány establishes the Batthyanaeum Library at Gyulafehérvár.
1802	Chancellor Sámuel Teleki opens the Teleki Library at Marosvásárhely (Tirgu Mures, Neumarkt).
1806	Samuil Micu completes his study Istoria, lucrurile si întîmplarile românilor (History, Deeds and Events of the Rumanians) on the history of the Rumanians. It is followed closely by Gheorghe sincai's Rumanian history Hronicul românilor si a mai multor neamuri (Chronicle of the Rumanians and of Several Other Peoples) in 1808 and Petru Maior's historical analysis of 1813 entitled Istoria pentru începutul românilor în Dachiia (History of the Beginning of the Rumanians in Dacia), all published at Buda, Hungary. These works constitute the core of the historiographical work of the Rumanian Transylvanian School and the attempt to trace the origins and the development of the Rumanian people.
1813--17	An extensive drought in Transylvania produces widespread famine.
1814	The Hungarian Erdélyi Múzeum (Transylvanian Museum) begins publication under the direction of Gábor Döbrentei.
1815	The first Rumanian-language play is performed in Transylvania at Brassó (Brasov, Kronstadt).
1817	The Bruckenthal Library is founded at Nagyszeben (Sibiu, Hermannstadt).
1825	Samuil Micu and Petru Maior publish their Lexicon romanescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemtescu (The Romanian-Latin-Hungarian-German Dictionary), which is the first etymological and explanatory dictionary in Rumanian and marks the beginning of modern Rumanian lexicography.
1833	János Bolyai publishes an appendix to his father's (Farkas Bolyai) study Tentamen. This Appendix provides the foundation for non-Euclidean geometry.
1834	On January 11, the Transylvanian Diet is called into session after not having been consulted since 1811. It challenges the activities of local Habsburg officialdom and appeals to the Hungarian Diet at Pozsony (Pressburg) and to the emperor for redress. The complaints are not considered by the emperor, and he has the Transylvanian Diet dissolved on February 6, 1835. Parallel to the activities of the Hungarian, Saxon, and Székely representatives in the Diet, the Rumanians become active under the leadership of the Orthodox and Uniate Catholic bishops of Balázsfalva (Blaj, Blasendorf). They reiterate their demands of 1791.
1838	The Habsburgs sentence Miklós Wesselényi, the Transylvanian reformer, to three years in prison.
1838	Under the direction of George Baritiu the first overtly political Rumanian journal is published as Gazeta de Transylvania. However, instead of working toward some modus vivendi with the other nationalities, it strikes an alliance with Vienna.
1840	The monarch pardons Louis Kossuth and Miklós Wesselényi.
1841--43	The Transylvanian Diet meets at Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg) to consider proposals for making Hungarian the official language of Transylvania. The Saxons and Rumanians oppose this. In 1842, Stefan L. Roth summarizes the goals and the position of the Saxons in Der Sprachkampf in Siebenbürgen.
1843--47	Katalin Varga organizes peasant unrest in the Transylvanian Érc Mountains (Muntii Metaliferi, Erzgebirge).
1847	Lászlo Kõvári publishes his study Erdély statisztikája (Transylvanian Statistics).
1848	On March 15, the anti-Habsburg revolt erupts in Pest and starts the 1848--49 revolution in Hungary. By late March, mass meetings in Transylvanian cities express solidarity with the Hungarian Revolution. Cities like Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg) Nagybánya (Baia Mare), Marosvásárhely (Tirgu Mures), Udvarhely (Odorhei), Arad, and Nagyvárad (Oradea) are the scenes of enthusiastic support for the twelve points of the Hungarian Revolution, including the demand for reunification of Hungary with Transylvania. The Rumanian intelligentsia gives its qualified support, with reservations on the question of reunification. The Saxons are divided both on the question of support and the question of reunification.
1848	On April 18--30, a Rumanian mass meeting at Balázsfalva (Blaj, Blasendorf) demands freedom for serfs and national rights. On May 2--14, a second Rumanian mass meeting reiterates the demands of the first meeting and adds the demand that no decision should be made on the question of union without consulting the Rumanian people. The meeting selects delegations to convey this position to both the government in Vienna and the Transylvanian Diet at Kolozsvár.
1848	On May 29, the Transylvanian Diet declares union with Hungary and frees the serfs.
1848	On September 15, the third Rumanian mass meeting at Balázsfalva (Blaj, Blasendorf) declares that it does not recognize the union of Transylvania with Hungary and calls for the arming of the Rumanian people and the setting up of fifteen Rumanian legions to fight the Hungarian Revolution.
1848	During October 16--17, the Székely mass meeting at Agyagfalva (Lutita) declares its support of the revolution, and calls for interethnic solidarity and a united front against Habsburg reaction. Habsburg forces defeat the Székelys near Marosvásárhely (Tirgu Mures, Neumarkt) on November 4 and occupy most of the Székely counties. However, during the winter months, stiff Székely resistance confronts them under the leadership of Áron Gábor.
1848	On November 28, Kossuth appoints the Polish general József Bem to lead Hungary's Transylvanian Army. A series of brilliant campaigns clears most of Transylvania (with the exception of Gyulafehérvár and Déva) of imperial troops by March 20, 1849. However, Avram Iancu's anti-Hungarian Rumanian forces retain their position in the Érc Mountains (Muntii Metaliferi). Pro-Hungarian Rumanians attempt to negotiate a separate peace with Iancu between April 22 and May 6. The talks break down as fighting is renewed.
1849	On May 27, talks take place at Debrecen between Louis Kossuth and Nicolae Balcescu, which lead to an agreement called "Projet de pacification" on July 14 at Szeged. This agreement promises some administrative decentralization and extensive cultural and linguistic rights to the Rumanians.
1849	On June 19, the czarist Russian forces break through the Tömösi Pass (Pasul Predeal) and enter Transylvania on the side of the Habsburgs.
1849	On July 31, czarist forces defeat General Bem at Segesvár (Sighisoara, Schassburg). Sándor Petõfi dies in this battle.
1849	On August 13, the main Hungarian army under Arthur Görgey surrenders at Világos (siria) and the forces under Lajos Kazinczy surrender at Zsibó (Jibou) on August 26. This is followed by Transylvania's immediate subjugation to imperial absolutism, centralization, and punitive military occupation.
1849	On October 6, imperial authorities execute thirteen Hungarian generals at Arad.
1853	The first telegraph line is completed between Vienna and Temesvár (Timisoara).
1859	Moldavia and Wallachia unite and become the new state of Rumania. Henceforth the Transylvanian Rumanians have an independent state concerned with their fate.
1860	The "Diploma of October" diminishes the centralization of the empire and returns some autonomy to Transylvania (October 20).
1861	Transylvanian Rumanians found the Transylvanian Association for the Literature and Culture of the Rumanian People (ASTRA) with the objective of defending the cultural interests of the Rumanians of Transylvania and of having them recognized as a "politically independent nationality" with the right to use Rumanian in all aspects of public life.
1862	On May 18, Kossuth (in exile) publishes his plans for a multinational Danubian Federation.
1863--64	The Transylvanian Diet at Nagyszeben (Sibiu, Hermannstadt) proclaims three official languages: Hungarian, Rumanian, and German.
1867	On February 12, the Compromise of 1867 establishes the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It also leads to the reunification of Transylvania with Hungary on February 17.
1868	On December 6, Francis Joseph I approves the nationalities law no. 1868:XLIV, which guarantees the Rumanians as well as other minorities extensive rights within the Hungarian kingdom. Unfortunately, legislation to implement it is not forthcoming.
1872	The Francis Joseph University is founded at Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg).
1872	On July 3, the leaders of the Transylvanian Rumanians meet at Balázsfalva, (Blaj, Blasendorf) and issue a memorandum requesting that Rumanian be declared the second official language of Transylvania.
1879	On September 15, the Székely National Museum is founded at Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfîntul Gheorghe).
1881	During May 12--14, the Rumanian National party of Hungary and the Banat unites with the Transylvanian Rumanian National party and adopts the latter's name. In its program it calls for Transylvanian autonomy and the right to use the Rumanian language in administration and in legal proceedings.
1883	In May, the law on instruction in high schools (1883:XXX) requires for the first time that in national minority schools Hungarian history and Hungarian literature be taught in Hungarian. The adoption of this law leads to demonstrations in Nagyszeben, (Sibiu, Hermannstadt), Déva (Deva, Schlossberg), and Balázsfalva (Blaj, Blasendorf).
1884	Temesvár (Timisoara, Temeschwar) becomes the first European city to have its streets lit by electricity.
1884	The Transylvanian Party of moderate Rumanians is organized. It accepts the dualistic order of Austria-Hungary.
1888	The Hungarian Transylvanian Literary Association is founded and its periodical Erdélyi Lapok (Transylvanian Pages) begins publication.
1890	On December 7, the Social Democratic party of Hungary is organized with the participation of all nationalities in Transylvania.
1891--96	The Iron Gates are made navigable for large sea-going vessels.
1892	The Rumanian National party (of Transylvania) sends a memorandum to Emperor Francis Joseph with the political demands of the activists. Francis Joseph forwards the memorandum to Budapest. The authors are then put on trial (May, 1894).
1892--95	Sándor Márki writes the history of Arad county and city (Arad vármegye és Arad város története).
1895	On January 14, under the new Prime Minister Dezsõ Bánffy, a special office is established to handle minority nationality problems.
1895	On August 10, the minority nationalities hold a convention in Budapest to protest various aspects of the government's policies. In part, this contributes to Francis Joseph's amnesty for those who have been convicted in the "Memorandum trial."
1896	Hungary celebrates the 1,000th anniversary of its existence. In Transylvania, a significant event during this year is the establishment of an artist's colony in Nagybánya (Baia Mare) by Béla Iványi-Grünwald, Károly Ferenczy, and others.
1898--99	The first railway links between Hungary and Rumania are constructed, via the Vöröstorony (Turnu-Rosu) and Gyimes (Ghimes,) passes through the Transylvanian Alps.
1898--1904	ASTRA sponsors the publication of three volumes of the Rumanian Encyclopedia (Enciclopedia româna) at Nagyszeben.
1901	Extensive strike activity spreads from the mining center of Resica (Resita) to other cities in Transylvania, including Kolozsvár.
1902	János Fadrusz completes his Matthias Rex memorial in Kolozsvár and his Wesselényi memorial at Zilah (Zalau).
1903	Erdélyi Munkás (Transylvanian Worker), the Hungarian Social Democratic periodical, begins publication at Kolozsvár and the Adevarul, the Rumanian language periodical of the Social Democrats, is founded at Budapest.
1905	On January 10, the Rumanian National party meeting at Nagyszeben decides to turn to activism rather than continue passive resistance.
1905	On November 5, Rumanians hold a mass meeting at Lugos (Lugoj, Lugosch) to protest nationality policies and demand increased opportunities for the use and development of the Rumanian language.
1906--07	The construction of the University Library is completed at Kolozsvár (Cluj, Klausenburg).
1907	A new educational law is adopted to regulate the language of instruction in state-supported schools. The "Lex Apponyi," as it is called, is viewed by the national minorities as a threat to their existing educational opportunities in parochial schools.
1909	István Apáthy founds the Zoological Institute at Kolozsvár.
1910	The last Hungarian census is administered on the total territory of Transylvania.
1912	During May 29--June 11, a Rumanian mass meeting at Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Karlsburg) protests church-state relations in Hungary, particularly as they affect Uniate Catholics.
1913	Jenõ Janovics begins Transylvania's film industry at Kolozsvár.
1914	On October I, Russia and Rumania sign a secret pact according to which Russia recognizes Rumania's territorial integrity and agrees to protect the same. It also includes Russia's support for Rumanian territorial claims against the Austro-Hungarian Empire in return for Rumanian neutrality.

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Transylvania - The Roots of Ethnic Conflict