Ionică Tăutu
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Ionică Tăutu (usual rendition of Ion Tăutu; 1798–1828) 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 low-ranking
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...
, Enlightenment-inspired
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
eer, and craftsman ("an engineer by trade", according to Alecu Russo).Russo, VI


Constitutional project

The last in a succession of boyars who advanced reforms during the Phanariote rule, Tăutu stood for the interests of a coalition of low-ranking nobility which aimed to protect itself against competition from modern developments, while adopting various liberal and Romanian
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
principles in order to counter the growing political power of Moldavian princes.Djuvara, p.318 The entire group was referred to as ''cărvunari'', an antiquated Romanian rendition of the Italian ''
carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of Secret society, secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Urugua ...
'' (although, unlike the latter, they were not organized as a
secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
); the reference was to remain a denominator for radical groups in both Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and
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 ...
) until the 1848 Wallachian revolution. In 1822, under the rule of Ioan Sturdza (the first non-Phanariote prince in Moldavia), Ionică Tăutu advanced a thorough constitutional project, which soon became highly controversial. The new law proposed ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
'',
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
, as well as a radical definition of
private ownership Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
which denied
confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of search and seizure, seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of Tampering w ...
under any circumstances; at the same time, it called for a reform of the traditional government by the prince and the
estates of the realm The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed a ...
(the Boyar Divan), which placed virtually all powers with the latter - thus attempting to preserve privileges obtained by boyars in the previous decades. Nevertheless, Tăutu was a cautious adversary of the French Revolution, which he likened to "the
anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...
of crowds". Given that high-ranking boyars had come to dominate the political landscape (and an inner-circle of families had effectively blocked several Phanariote reforms), Tăutu met stiff opposition from the political class: his reforms also attempted to increase representation for low-ranking boyars - a group otherwise threatened with extinction. The most noted adversary of his project was Mihail Sturdza (future prince), who rejected all decrease in influence for the high-ranking boyars. Ultimately, the Russian
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, which had progressively gained influence in internal politics between the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
, called for the initiative to be stopped, citing previous treaties between the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(Moldavia's
suzerain A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...
) and Russia, as well as the will of Emperor
Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...
. Tăutu retreated from public life and died in self-exile in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
.


Legacy

His image was held in esteem by radical of later generations, and often offered as an example of nationalist revival. Alecu Russo, who wrote his memoirs in the 1850s, described Tăutu as "the revived Romanianness, carried along by all
patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
sentiments, and having the same role as the one Vladimirescu Wallachian uprising">Wallachian uprising (1821)">Wallachian uprisinghad with a peasant rifle". Giving evidence of an ultimately
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
tradition emerging from low-ranking boyars (in his criticism of the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
guidelines advocated by '' Junimea''), the Poporanist
Garabet Ibrăileanu Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenian literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, University of Iași professor (1908–1934), and, together with Paul Bujor and Constantin Stere, fo ...
postulated that Ionică Tăutu's was a "
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
ary class" and "the representative of all disinherited classes".Ibrăileanu, ''Deosebirile dintre vechea şcoală critică moldovenească şi "Junimea"''


Notes


References

* Neagu Djuvara, ''Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995 * Keith Hitchins, ''Românii, 1774-1866'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1998 (translation of the English-language edition ''The Romanians, 1774-1866'', Oxford University Press, USA, 1996) *
Garabet Ibrăileanu Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenian literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, University of Iași professor (1908–1934), and, together with Paul Bujor and Constantin Stere, fo ...

''Spiritul critic în cultura românească'' ''Evoluţia spiritului critic - Deosebirile dintre vechea şcoală critică moldovenească şi "Junimea"''
* Alecu Russo
''Amintiri''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tautu, Ionica 1798 births 1828 deaths Writers from the Principality of Moldavia 19th-century Moldavian people Romanian nobility