Ion Roată (; also known as Ioan Roată or Moș Ion Roată; 1806 in

Câmpuri Câmpuri is a commune located in Vrancea County, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Câmpuri, Fetești, Gura Văii, Rotileștii Mari, and Rotileștii Mici. The commune is located in the northern part of the county, on the border with Bacă ...

Vrancea County Vrancea () is a county (județ) in Romania, with its seat at Focșani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov (Siret), Milcov River, is in Muntenia. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2 ...

– 20 February 1882 in Gura Văii) was a

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

n, later

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n peasant and political figure. Roată was representative in the Moldavian ad hoc Divan for the peasant

electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

Putna County Putna County was a county ( Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in southern Moldavia. The county seat was Focșani. The county was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south of Moldavia. Today, most of the t ...

. With ''

Partida Naţională The Partida Națională () was a Romanian political party which existed in both Danubian Principalities from ca. 1700 to 1859, comprising those boyars who opposed foreign interference. It was a loose group which helped to popularize Romanian nation ...

'', he supported the election of

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also Anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (prince) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as List of monarchs of Moldavia ...

Prince of Moldavia This is a list of monarchs of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of ...

, as well as endorsing his elections in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

(leading to the union of the two

Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities (, ) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) ...

, which eventually occurred on 24 January 1859). At the same time, he campaigned in favor of

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

in Moldavia and Romania at large. Roată was known for his personal friendship with ''

Domnitor ''Prince Domnitor'', in full ''Principe Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Principi Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince regnant" in English and most other languages, ...

'' Cuza and his main supporter,

Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian Liberalism, liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on Octo ...

; events involving the three of them are present in a series of

anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Anecdotes may be real ...

s by Ion Creangă.

External links

"Un vrâncean luptător pentru unire - Moş Ion Roată"
''Ialomiţa'', 23 January 2007 Members of the Ad hoc Divans Politicians from the Principality of Moldavia People from Vrancea County 19th-century Romanian farmers 1806 births 1882 deaths {{Romania-bio-stub