Mihail Kogălniceanu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a
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 liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became
Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...
on October 11, 1863, after the 1859 union of the
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) ...
under ''
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, ...
''
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 ...
, and later served as
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
under
Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...
. He was several times
Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
under Cuza and Carol. A
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
, Kogălniceanu was one of the most influential Romanian
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
s of his generation. Siding with the moderate liberal current for most of his lifetime, he began his political career as a collaborator of
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
Mihail Sturdza, while serving as head of the Iași Theater and issuing several publications together with the poet
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
and the activist
Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full list of members of the Romanian Academy, member of the Romanian Academy an ...
. After editing the highly influential magazine '' Dacia Literară'' and serving as a professor at '' Academia Mihăileană'', Kogălniceanu came into conflict with the authorities over his Romantic nationalist inaugural speech of 1843. He was the ideologue of the abortive 1848 Moldavian revolution, authoring its main document, ''Dorințele partidei naționale din Moldova''. Following the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
(1853–1856), with Prince
Grigore Alexandru Ghica Grigore Alexandru Ghica or Ghika (1803 or 1807 – 24 August 1857) was a Prince of Moldavia between 14 October 1849, and June 1853, and again between 30 October 1854, and 3 June 1856. His wife was Helena, a member of the Sturdza family and da ...
, Kogălniceanu was responsible for drafting legislation to abolish Roma
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. Together with Alecsandri, he edited the unionist magazine '' Steaua Dunării'', played a prominent part during the elections for the ad hoc Divan, and successfully promoted Cuza, his lifelong friend, to the throne. Kogălniceanu advanced legislation to revoke traditional ranks and titles, and to secularize the property of monasteries. His efforts at
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 ...
resulted in a censure vote, leading Cuza to enforce them through a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
'' in May 1864. However, Kogălniceanu resigned in 1865, following his own conflicts with the monarch. A decade later, he helped create the National Liberal Party, before playing an important part in Romania's decision to enter the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878—a choice which consecrated her independence. He was also instrumental in the acquisition, and later
colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
, of the
Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...
region. During his final years, he was a prominent member and one-time President of the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...
, and briefly served as Romanian representative to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.


Biography


Early life

Born 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 ...
, he belonged to the Kogălniceanu family of Moldavian
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 ...
s, being the son of '' Vornic'' Ilie Kogălniceanu, and the great-grandson of Constantin Kogălniceanu (noted for having signed his name to a 1749 document issued by Prince
Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek language, Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian language, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greeks, Greek noble who served as List of rul ...
, through which
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...
was disestablished in Moldavia). Mihail's mother, Catinca née Stavilla (or Stavillă), was, according to Kogălniceanu's own words, "
rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
a
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
family in
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
".Gorovei, p. 6 The author took pride in noting that "my family has never searched its origins in foreign countries or peoples". Nevertheless, in a speech he gave shortly before his death, Kogălniceanu commented that Catinca Stavilla had been the descendant of "a Genoese family, settled for centuries in the Genoese colony of Cetatea Albă (Akerman), whence it then scattered throughout Bessarabia". Mihail Kogălniceanu
''Dezrobirea țiganilor, ștergerea privilegiilor boierești, emanciparea țăranilor''
(wikisource)
During Milhail Kogălniceanu's lifetime, there was confusion regarding his exact birth year, with several sources erroneously indicating it as 1806; in his speech to the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...
, he acknowledged this, and gave his exact birth date as present in a register kept by his father. It was also then that he mentioned his godmother was Marghioala Calimach, a Callimachi boyaress who married into the Sturdza family, and was the mother of Mihail Sturdza (Kogălniceanu's would-be protector and foe). Kogălniceanu was educated at Trei Ierarhi monastery in Iași, before being tutored by Gherman Vida, a monk who belonged to the
Transylvanian School The Transylvanian School () was a cultural and political movement which started after part of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Habsburg-ruled Transylvania accepted the leadership of the pope and became the Greek-Catholic Church (). The links with ...
, and who was an associate of
Gheorghe Șincai Gheorghe Șincai (; – November 2, 1816) was a Romanian historian, philologist, translator, poet, and representative of the Enlightenment-influenced Transylvanian School. As the director of Greek Catholic education in Transylvania he broug ...
. He completed his primary education in Miroslava, where he attended the Cuénim
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
.Anineanu, p. 62; Gorovei, p. 9; Maciu, p. 66 It was during this early period that he first met the poet
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
(they studied under both Vida and Cuénim), Costache Negri and Cuza."Mihail Kogălniceanu"
, in th

, at the
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
; retrieved November 29, 2011
At the time, Kogălniceanu became a passionate student of history, beginning his investigations into old Moldavian
chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
s.Gorovei, p. 9 With support from Prince Sturdza, Kogălniceanu continued his studies abroad, originally in the French city of Lunéville (where he was cared for by Sturdza's former tutor, the ''
abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...
'' Lhommé), and later at the
University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
.
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

''Histoire des relations entre la France et les Roumains''
(wikisource)
''La Monarchie de juillet et les Roumains''
/ref> Among his colleagues was the future philosopher Grigore Sturdza, son of the Moldavian monarch. His stay in Lunéville was cut short by the intervention of
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
officials, who were supervising Moldavia under the provisions of the ''
Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, ; ; )The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual nature of the document; however, the singular version is usually preferred. The text was originally written in French, submitt ...
'' regime, and who believed that, through the influence of Lhommé (a participant in the French Revolution), students were being infused with rebellious ideas; all Moldavian students, including Sturdza's sons and other noblemen, were withdrawn from the school in late 1835, and reassigned to
Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
education institutions. File:Ilie Kogalniceanu.jpg, Ilie Kogălniceanu File:Catinca Stavilla.jpg, Catinca Stavilla File:Kogalniceanu youth.jpg, Mihail Kogălniceanu in cadet uniform at age 18


In Berlin

During his period in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, he came in contact with and was greatly influenced by
Friedrich Carl von Savigny Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian. Early life and education Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
,
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...
, Eduard Gans, and especially Professor
Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...
,Vianu, Vol. II, pp. 273–277 whose ideas on the necessity for politicians to be acquainted with historical science he readily adopted. In pages he dedicated to the influence exercised by
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy and t ...
on Romanian thought,
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translation, translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Liter ...
noted that certain
Hegelian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy and the ...
-related principles were a common attribute of the Berlin faculty during Kogălniceanu's stay. He commented that, in later years, the politician adopted views which resonated with those of Hegel, most notably the principle that legislation needed to adapt to the individual spirit of nations. Kogălniceanu later noted with pride that he had been the first of Ranke's Romanian students, and claimed that, in conversations with Humboldt, he was the first person to use the modern equivalents
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
of the words "Romanian" and "Romania" (''roumain'' and ''Roumanie'')—replacing the references to "Moldavia(n)" and " Wallachia(n)", as well as the antiquated versions used before him by the intellectual Gheorghe Asachi; historian
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
also noted the part Kogălniceanu played in popularizing these references as the standard ones. Kogălniceanu was also introduced to Frederica, Duchess of Cumberland, and became relatively close to her son George of Cumberland and Teviotdale, the future ruler of
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. Initially hosted by a community of the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
, he later became the guest of a
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
named Jonas, in whose residence he witnessed gatherings of activists in favor of German unification (''see Burschenschaft''). According to his own recollections, his group of Moldavians was kept under close watch by Alexandru Sturdza, who, in addition, enlisted Kogălniceanu's help in writing his work ''Études historiques, chrétiennes et morales'' ("Historical,
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and Moral Studies"). During summer trips to the
Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
n town of
Heringsdorf Heringsdorf is a semi-urban municipality and a popular seaside resort on Usedom Island in Western Pomerania, Germany. It is also known by the name Kaiserbad ('). The municipality was formed in January 2005 out of the former municipalities of H ...
, he met the novelist Willibald Alexis, whom he befriended, and who, as Kogălniceanu recalled, lectured him on the land reform carried out by
Prussian King The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
Frederick William III Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved. ...
. Later, Kogălniceanu studied the effects of reform when on visit to Alt Schwerin, and saw the possibility for replicating its results in his native country. Greatly expanding his familiarity with historical and social subjects, Kogălniceanu also began work on his first volumes: a pioneering study on the
Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
and the French-language ''Histoire de la Valachie, de la Moldavie et des Valaques transdanubiens'' ("A History of Wallachia, Moldavia, and of Transdanubian Vlachs", the first volume in a synthesis of Romanian history), both of which were first published in 1837 inside the
German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...
. He was becoming repulsed by the existence of Roma
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
in his country, and in his study, cited the example of active
abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
in Western countries. In addition, he authored a series of studies on
Romanian literature Romanian literature () is the entirety of literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language or by any authors native to Romania. Early Romanian literature inc ...
. He signed these first works with a Francized version of his name, ''Michel de Kogalnitchan'' ("Michael of Kogalnitchan"), which was slightly erroneous (it used the
partitive case In linguistics, a partitive is a word, phrase, or case that indicates partialness. Nominal partitives are syntactic constructions, such as "some of the children", and may be classified semantically as either set partitives or entity partitives ba ...
twice: once in the French particle "de", and a second time in the Romanian-based
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
"-an"). Raising the suspicions of Prince Sturdza after it became apparent that he sided with the reform-minded youth of his day in opposition to the ''Regulamentul Organic'' regime, Kogălniceanu was prevented from completing his
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
, and instead returned to Iași, where he became a princely
adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
in 1838.


In opposition to Prince Sturdza

Over the following decade, he published a large number of works, including essays and articles, his first editions of the Moldavian chroniclers, as well as other books and articles, while founding a succession of short-lived periodicals: ''Alăuta Românească'' (1838), ''Foaea Sătească a Prințipatului Moldovei'' (1839), '' Dacia Literară'' (1840), ''Arhiva Românească'' (1840), ''Calendar pentru Poporul Românesc'' (1842), ''Propășirea'' (renamed ''Foaie Științifică și Literară'', 1843), and several
almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...
s. In 1844, as a Moldavian law freed some slaves in Orthodox Church property, his articles announced a great triumph for "humanity" and "new ideas". Both ''Dacia Literară'' and ''Foaie Științifică'', which he edited together with Alecsandri,
Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full list of members of the Romanian Academy, member of the Romanian Academy an ...
, and Petre Balș, were suppressed by Moldavian authorities, who considered them suspect. Together with Costache Negruzzi, he printed all of
Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). Durin ...
's works available at the time, and, in time, acquired his own
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
, which planned to issue the complete editions of Moldavian chronicles, including those of
Miron Costin Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691) was a Moldavian (Romanians, Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, ''Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei e la Aron Vodă încoace' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia rom the rule ...
and Grigore Ureche (after many disruptions associated with his political choices, the project was fulfilled in 1852). In this context, Kogălniceanu and Negruzzi sought to Westernize the Moldavian public, with interest ranging as far as Cuisine of Romania">Romanian culinary tastes: the almanacs published by them featured gourmet-themed aphorisms and recipes meant to educate local folk about the refinement and richness of European cuisine.Grigorescu, pp. 20–21 Kogălniceanu would later claim that he and his friend were "originators of the
culinary art Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...
in Moldavia".Grigorescu, p. 21 With ''Dacia Literară'', Kogălniceanu began expanding his Romantic ideal of "national specificity", which was to be a major influence on Alexandru Odobescu and other literary figures. One of the main goals his publications had was expanding the coverage of modern Romanian culture beyond its early stages, during which it had mainly relied on publishing translations of
Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...
—according to
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 ...
, this was accompanied by a veiled attack on Gheorghe Asachi and his '' Albina Românească''.
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''
(wikisource)
''Amestec de curente contradictorii: G. Asachi''
/ref> Mihail Kogălniceanu later issued clear criticism of Asachi's proposed version of literary Romanian, which relied on
archaism In language, an archaism is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a historical epoch beyond living memory, but that has survived in a few practical settings or affairs. lexicon, Lexical archaisms are single a ...
s and Francized
phoneme A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...
s, notably pointing out that it was inconsistent. Additionally, he evidenced the influence foreign poetry had on Asachi's own work, viewing it as excessive. Paul Zarifopol
''Poezia românească în epoca lui Asachi și Eliade''
(wikisource)
Tensions also occurred between Kogălniceanu and Alecsandri, after the former began suspecting his collaborator of having reduced and toned down his contributions to ''Foaie Științifică''.Anineanu, p. 64 During this period, Kogălniceanu maintained close contacts with his former colleague Costache Negri and his sister Elena, becoming one of the main figures of the intellectual circle hosted by the Negris in Mânjina. He also became close to the French teacher and essayist Jean Alexandre Vaillant, who was himself involved in liberal causes while being interested in the work of Moldavian chroniclers.Ioana Ursu, "J. A. Vaillant, un prieten al poporului român", in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
'', July 1977, p. 15
Intellectuals of the day speculated that Kogălniceanu later contributed several sections to Vaillant's lengthy essay about Moldavia and Wallachia (''La Roumanie''). In May 1840, while serving as Prince Sturdza's private secretary, he became co-director (with Alecsandri and Negruzzi) of the National Theater Iași. This followed the monarch's decision to unite the two existing theaters in the city, one of which hosted plays in French, into a single institution. In later years, this venue, which staged popular comedies based on the French repertory of its age and had become the most popular of its kind in the country, also hosted Alecsandri's debut as a playwright. Progressively, it also became subject to Sturdza's
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
. In 1843, Kogălniceanu gave a celebrated inaugural lecture on national history at the newly founded '' Academia Mihăileană'' in Iași, a speech which greatly influenced ethnic Romanian students at the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
and the 1848 generation (''see Cuvânt pentru deschiderea cursului de istorie națională''). Other professors at the ''Academia'', originating in several
historical regions History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
, were Ion Ghica,
Eftimie Murgu Eftimie Murgu (28 December 1805 – 12 May 1870) was a Romanian philosopher and politician who took part in the 1848 Revolutions. Biography He was born in Rudăria (today Eftimie Murgu, Caraș-Severin County) to Samu Murgu, an officer in the ...
, and Ion Ionescu de la Brad. Kogălniceanu's introductory speech was partly prompted by Sturdza's refusal to give him ''
imprimatur An imprimatur (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the Catho ...
'', and amounted to a revolutionary project.Călinescu, p. 77 Among other things, it made explicit references to the common cause of Romanians living in the two states of 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 ...
, as well as in Austrian- and
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
-ruled areas:
"I view as my country everywhere on earth where Romanian is spoken, and as national history the history of all of Moldavia, that of Wallachia, and that of our brothers in
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
."


Revolution

Around 1843, Kogălniceanu's enthusiasm for change was making him a suspect to the Moldavian authorities, and his lectures on History were suspended in 1844. His
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...
was revoked while he was traveling to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
as the secret representative of the Moldavian political opposition (attempting to approach
Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a Germans, German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian ...
and discuss Sturdza's ouster). Briefly imprisoned after returning to Iași, he soon after became involved in political agitation in Wallachia, assisting his friend Ion Ghica: in February, during a Romantic nationalist celebration, he traveled to
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, where he met members of the secretive ''Frăția'' organization and of its legal front, ''Soțietatea Literară'' (including Ghica,
Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother ...
, August Treboniu Laurian, Alexandru G. Golescu, and C. A. Rosetti). Having sold his personal library to ''Academia Mihăileană'', Eugen Denize, , in '' Tribuna'', Nr. 28, November 2003 Kogălniceanu was in Paris and other
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
an cities from 1845 to 1847, joining the Romanian student association (''Societatea Studenților Români'') that included Ghica, Bălcescu, and Rosetti and was presided over by the French poet
Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...
. He also frequented ''La Bibliothèque roumaine'' ("The Romanian Library"), while affiliating to the
Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
and joining the Lodge known as ''L'Athénée des étrangers'' ("Foreigners' Atheneum"), as did most other reform-minded Romanians in Paris. Vasile Surcel, , in ''
Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchares ...
'', October 11, 2004
In 1846, he visited
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, wishing to witness the wedding of
Isabella II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...
and the Duke of Cádiz, but he was also curious to assess developments in
Spanish culture The culture of Spain is influenced by its Western world, Western origin, its interaction with other cultures in Europe, its historically Catholic Church in Spain, Catholic religious tradition, and the varied national and regional identity in Sp ...
. Upon the end of his trip, he authored ''Notes sur l'Espagne'' ("Notes on Spain"), a French-language volume combining
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
,
travel writing The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...
and historiographic record. For a while, he concentrated his activities on reviewing historical sources, expanding his series of printed and edited Moldavian chronicles. At the time, he renewed his contacts with Vaillant, who helped him publish articles in the ''Revue de l'Orient''. He would later state: "We did not come to Paris just to learn how to speak French like the French do, but also to borrow the ideas and useful things of a nation that is so enlightened and so free". Following the onset of the European Revolutions, Kogălniceanu was present at the forefront of nationalist politics. Though, for a number of reasons, he failed to sign the March 1848 petition-proclamation which signaled the Moldavian revolution, he was seen as one of its instigators, and Prince Sturdza ordered his arrest during the police roundup that followed. While evading capture, Kogălniceanu authored some of the most vocal attacks on Sturdza, and, by July, a reward was offered for his apprehension "dead or alive". During late summer, he crossed the Austrian border into
Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
, where he took refuge on the Hurmuzachi brothers' property (in parallel, the ''Frăția''-led Wallachian revolution managed to gain power in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
). Kogălniceanu became a member and chief ideologue of the Moldavian Central Revolutionary Committee in exile. His manifesto, ''Dorințele partidei naționale din Moldova'' ("The Wishes of the National Party in Moldavia", August 1848), was, in effect, a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
al project listing the goals of Romanian revolutionaries. It contrasted with the earlier demands the revolutionaries had presented to Sturdza, which called for strict adherence to the ''
Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, ; ; )The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual nature of the document; however, the singular version is usually preferred. The text was originally written in French, submitt ...
'' and an end to abuse.
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

''Histoire des relations entre la France et les Roumains''
(wikisource)
''La Révolution de 1848 et les émigrés''
/ref> In its 10 sections and 120 articles, the manifesto called for, among other things, internal autonomy, civil and political liberties,
separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
, abolition of privilege, an end to ''
corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...
s'', and a Moldo-Wallachian union. Referring to the latter ideal, Kogălniceanu stressed that it formed:
"the keystone without which the national edifice would crumble".
At the same time, he published a more explicit "Project for a Moldavian Constitution", which expanded on how ''Dorințele'' could be translated into reality. Kogălniceanu also contributed articles to the Bukovinian journal ''Bucovina'', the voice of revolution in Romanian-inhabited Austrian lands. In January 1849, a
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic forced him to leave for the
French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where he carried on with his activities in support of the Romanian revolution.


Prince Ghica's reforms

In April 1849, part of the goals of the 1848 Revolution were fulfilled by the Convention of Balta Liman, through which the two
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 ...
powers of the ''
Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, ; ; )The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual nature of the document; however, the singular version is usually preferred. The text was originally written in French, submitt ...
'' regime—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 ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
—appointed
Grigore Alexandru Ghica Grigore Alexandru Ghica or Ghika (1803 or 1807 – 24 August 1857) was a Prince of Moldavia between 14 October 1849, and June 1853, and again between 30 October 1854, and 3 June 1856. His wife was Helena, a member of the Sturdza family and da ...
, a supporter of the liberal and unionist cause, as Prince of Moldova (while, on the other hand, confirming the defeat of revolutionary power in Wallachia). Ghica allowed the instigators of the 1848 events to return from exile, and appointed Kogălniceanu, as well as Costache Negri and
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 ...
to administrative offices. The measures enforced by the prince, together with the fallout from the defeat of Russia in the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, were to bring by 1860 the introduction of virtually all liberal tenets comprised in ''Dorințele partidei naționale din Moldova''. Kogălniceanu was consequently appointed to various high level government positions, while continuing his cultural contributions and becoming the main figure of the loose grouping ''
Partida Națională 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 natio ...
'', which sought the merger 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) ...
under a single administration. In 1867, reflecting back on his role, he stated:
"There is not a single reform, not a single national act, from which my name would be absent. All the major laws were made and countersigned by me."
He inaugurated his career as a legislator under Prince Ghica. On December 22, 1855, legislation he drafted with Petre Mavrogheni regarding the abolition of slavery was passed by the Boyar Divan.Achim, pp. 111–112 This involved the freeing of privately owned Roma slaves, as those owned by the state had been set free by Prince Sturdza in January 1844. Kogălniceanu claimed to have personally inspired the measure. Ghica was prompted to complete the process of liberation by the fate of Dincă, an educated Roma cook who had murdered his French wife and then killed himself after being made aware that he was not going to be set free by his Cantacuzino masters. Prince Ghica also attempted to improve the peasant situation by outlawing
quit-rent Quit rent, quit-rent, or quitrent is a tax or land tax imposed on occupants of freehold or leased land in lieu of services to a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns. Under English feudal law, the payment of quit ren ...
s and regulating that peasants could no longer be removed from the land they were working on. This measure produced little lasting effects; according to Kogălniceanu, "the cause
f this F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...
should be sought in the all-mightiness of landowners, in the weakness of the government, who, through its very nature, was provisional, and thus powerless".


Ad hoc Divan

Interrupted by Russian and Austrian interventions during the Crimean War, his activity as ''Partida Națională'' representative was successful after the 1856 Treaty of Paris, when Moldavia and Wallachia came under the direct supervision of the European Powers (comprising, alongside Russia and Austria, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, and
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
). As he later acknowledged, members of the Divan had begun to consider the Paris agreements, and especially the 1858 convention regarding the two countries, as a
Constitution of Romania The current Constitution of Romania is the seventh permanent constitution in modern Romania's history. It is the fundamental governing document of Romania that establishes the structure of its government, the rights and obligations of citizens, ...
, in place until 1864. In addition, Kogălniceanu began printing the magazine '' Steaua Dunării'' in Iași: a unionist mouthpiece, it enlisted support from Alecsandri and his ''
România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...
''. Kogălniceanu encouraged
Nicolae Ionescu Nicolae Ionescu (1820 in Bradu, Neamț County – January 24, 1905 in Bradu) was a Romanian politician, jurist and publicist, brother of the agronomist Ion Ionescu de la Brad. He was leader of the Free and Independent Faction, serving se ...
to issue the magazine ''L'Étoile de Danube'' in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, as a French-language version of ''Steaua Dunării'' which would also serve to popularize ''Partida Naționalăs views.
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

''Histoire des relations entre la France et les Roumains''
(wikisource)
''La guerre de Crimée et la fondation de l'Etat roumain''
/ref> By that time, he was in correspondence with Jean Henri Abdolonyme Ubicini, a French essayist and traveler who had played a minor part in the Wallachian uprising, and who supported the Romanian cause in his native country. Elected by the
College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
of landowners in Dorohoi County to the ad hoc Divan, a newly established assembly through which Moldavians had gained the right to decide their own future, he kept in line with the Wallachian representatives to their respective Divan, and resumed his campaign in favor of union and increased autonomy, as well as the principles of neutrality,
representative government Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a type of democracy where elected delegates represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies funct ...
, and, as he said later, rule by "a foreign prince". However, both Kogălniceanu and Alecsandri initially presented themselves as candidates for the
regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
title of '' Caimacam''—Alecsandri, who was more popular, renounced first in order to back Costache Negri. Negri's candidature was dismissed by the Ottomans, who preferred to appoint Teodor Balș (June 1856). Following the elections of September 1857, the entire ''Partida Națională'' chose to support Cuza for the Moldavian throne. This came after Nicolae Vogoride, the new ''Caimaicam'', carried out an anti-unionist
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...
—a suffrage annulled by the common verdict of
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
and
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
(August 9, 1857, first announced to the world on August 26). He played the decisive part in the Divan's decision to abolish boyar ranks and privileges, thus nullifying pieces of legislation first imposed under Prince
Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek language, Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian language, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greeks, Greek noble who served as List of rul ...
. The final proposal, effectively imposing one law for all, universal
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
and an end to rank-based
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
s, was made by a commission which included Kogălniceanu and Vasile Mălinescu, and was passed by the Divan on October 29, 1857, with 73 out of 77 votes (the remaining 4 were all abstentions). Kogălniceanu noted with pride that "The entire nation has accepted this great reform, and everyone, former Princes, great boyars, low-ranking boyars, privileged strata, have received this equalitarian reform, discarding, even without special laws, all that derived from the
old regime Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
, and even all that resembled the old regime". He recorded that only two members of the boyar class had subsequently refused to abide by the new principles—the '' Vornics'' Iordache Beldiman (in Moldavia) and Ioan Manu (in Wallachia). In November, ''Partida Națională'' passed legislation forcing the end of
religious discrimination Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular religion they align with or were born into. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treate ...
against all non-Orthodox Christians in Moldavia (specifically, against
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and Gregorian
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
).Maciu, p. 68 The law had been initiated by Negri. Many of Kogălniceanu's efforts were centered on bringing about an end to the peasant question, but, as he admitted, his boyar electorate threatened to recall him if he was to pursue this path any further. Consequently, he signed his name to the more moderate proposal of Dimitrie Rallet, which prevented boyars from instituting new ''
corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...
s'', while leaving other matters to be discussed by a future permanent Assembly. This project was instantly rejected by a solid majority of the Assembly, which in Kogălniceanu's view, led to the creation of two poles, "national liberal" and
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 ...
, replacing the unionist-
separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...
divide and causing political conflicts inside the former unionist majority (thus forming the National Liberal and
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 ...
parties). Outmaneuvering the opposition of Vogoride and his group of conservative followers during new elections for the Divan, Kogălniceanu was able to promote Cuza in Moldavia on January 17, 1859, leading to Cuza's election for a similar position in Wallachia (February 5)—the de facto union of the two countries as the
United Principalities The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Moldavia, Principality of Moldavia and the Wallachia, Principality of Wallachia. The union was ...
. In October 1858, he made a clear proposal regarding the unification, which, as he noted, carried the vote with only two opposing voices (Alecu Balș and Nectarie Hermeziu, the Orthodox
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of Roman Bishopric), being publicly acclaimed by Ion Roată, the peasant representative for
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 ...
. During 1859, Kogălniceanu again stood in the ad hoc Divan and rallied support for Cuza from all factions of the unionist camp, while promoting his candidature in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
—thus profiting from ambiguities in the Paris Treaty. On the day Cuza took the throne, to begin his rule as ''
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, ...
'', Mihail Kogălniceanu welcomed him with an emotional speech.


Secularization of monastery estates

From 1859 to 1865, Kogălniceanu was on several occasions the cabinet leader in the Moldavian half of the United Principalities, then
Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania (), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (), is the head of the Government of Romania, Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled ''President of the Council of Ministers'' (), when ...
, being responsible for most of the reforms associated with Cuza's reign. His first term in Moldavia ended during December 1860, when Kogălniceanu became involved in the scandal involving Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, who opposed Cuza's secularization of the monastery estates. In 1863, secularization was imposed by Cuza, with the land thus freed being divided among peasants—the land reform of 1864, which came together with the universal abolition of ''corvées''.Gorovei, p. 10 Although political opposition prevented him from pushing agrarian reform at the time that he proposed it, Mihail Kogălniceanu is seen as the person responsible for the manner in which it was eventually carried out by Cuza. The changes in legislation came at the end of a lengthy process, inaugurated in 1860, when the institution regulating legislative projects for the two principalities, the Conservative-dominated ''Common Commission'' of
Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...
, refused to create the basis for land reform. Instead, it provided for an end to ''corvées'', while allowing peasants on boyar estates control over their own houses and a parcel of
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...
.Stavrianos, p. 353 Known as ''Legea Rurală'' (the "Rural Law"), the project received instant support from the then-Premier Barbu Catargiu, leader of the Conservatives, and the target of vocal criticism on Kogălniceanu's part. On June 6, 1862, the project was first debated in
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, causing a standstill between Cuza and the Conservatives. As noted by historian L. S. Stavrianos, the latter considered the project advantageous because, while preserving estates, it created a sizable group of landless and dependent peasants, who could provide affordable labor. Late in the same month, Catargiu was mysteriously assassinated on Mitropoliei Hill, on his way back from Filaret, where he had attended a festivity commemorating the Wallachian revolution (he was succeeded by Nicolae Kretzulescu, after the interim premiership of Apostol Arsachi). On June 23, ''Legea Rurală'' was passed by Parliament, but Cuza would not
promulgate Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law i ...
it. According to Kogălniceanu, the Conservatives Arsachi and Kretzulescu were reluctant to propose the law for review by Cuza, knowing that it was destined to be rejected. Discussions then drifted toward the matter of confiscating land from the
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
monasteries in Romania (their sizable properties and traditional
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
s had been the subject of controversy ever since the Phanariote period).Clark, p. 53; Giurescu, p. 148; Stavrianos, p. 352 In late 1862, their revenues were taken over by the state, and, during the summer of the following year, a sum of 80 million piasters was offered as compensation to the Greek monks, in exchange for all of the monasteries' land.Giurescu, p. 148 As 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 ...
proposed international mediation, Cuza took the initiative, and, on October 23, 1863, deposed the Kretzulescu cabinet, nominating instead his own selection of men: Kogălniceanu as Premier and
Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
, Dimitrie Bolintineanu as Minister of Religious Affairs. In order to prevent further international tensions, they decided to generalize confiscation to all
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
estates, Greek as well as those of the incipient
Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...
monasteries. The resolution was passed with 97 out of 100 parliamentary votes. Later, the Greek Church was presented with an offer of 150 million piasters as compensation, which was viewed as two low by its intended recipients, including
Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...
Sophoronius III.Giurescu, p. 148; Stavrianos, p. 352 Consequently, the Romanian state considered the matter closed. As a direct consequence, one third of the arable land in Moldavia and a fourth of that in Wallachia were made available for a future land reform (one fifth to one fourth of the total arable land in the state as a whole).Clark, p. 53


Cuza's personal regime

In the spring of 1864, the cabinet introduced a bill providing for an extensive land reform, which proposed allocating land based on peasant status.Clark, p. 53; Giurescu, p. 148 The ''fruntași'' ("foremost people"), who owned 4 or more oxen, were to receive 5 ''fălci'' of land, or approx. 7.5
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s; ''mijlocași'' ("middle people"), with two oxen—approx. 6 hectares; ''pălmași'' ("manual laborers"), with no oxen—approx. 3 hectares. Peasants were to own their plots after making 14 yearly payments to their respective landowner. This caused uproar in Parliament, which represented around 4,000 mostly boyar electors, and voices from among the Conservatives deemed it "insane". The latter party prepared a censure vote, based on the fact that Kogălniceanu had publicized the project through ''
Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official government gazette, gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgation, promulgated bills, President of Romania, presidential decrees, Government of Romania, governmental ordinances and other m ...
'' in contradiction with the one endorsed by the Focșani Commission, thus going against the letter of the law—he later justified himself saying: "Publication was necessary in order to quell the rural population, agitated by the lternative project. The cabinet handed in its resignation, but Cuza refused to countersign it. Tensions mounted and, on May 14, 1864, Cuza carried out a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
'', coinciding with the moment when Conservatives imposed a censure vote. Kogălniceanu read in Parliament the monarch's decision to dissolve it, after which Cuza introduced a new
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
, titled ''Statutul dezvoltător al Convenției de la Paris'' ("Statute Expanding the Paris Convention"). Together with a law virtually establishing a system of
universal male suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the sl ...
, it was submitted to the 1864 plebiscite, gaining support from 682,621 voters out of 754,148. The new regime passed its own version of ''Legea Rurală'', thus effectively imposing land reform, as well as putting an end to ''corvées''. This was accomplished through discussions in August 1864 by the newly established Council of State, where the law was advanced by, among others, Kogălniceanu, Bolintineanu, George D. Vernescu, Gheorghe Apostoleanu and Alexandru Papadopol-Callimachi. Kogălniceanu's other measures as minister included: the establishment of Bucharest University, the introduction of
identity papers An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...
, the establishment of a
national police corps The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police, police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibil ...
(comprising '' Dorobanți'' units), the unification of
Border Police A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Guar ...
. More reserved members of the Council asked for the land reform law not to be applied for a duration of three years, instead of the presumed April 1865 deadline, and Cuza agreed. Arguing that Cuza's decision was "the very condemnation and crushing of the law", Kogălniceanu worried that peasants, informed of their future, could no longer be persuaded to carry out ''corvées''. He threatened Cuza with his resignation, and was ultimately able to persuade all parties involved, including the opposition leader Kretzulescu, to accept the law's application as of spring 1865; a proclamation by Cuza, ''Către locuitorii sătești'' ("To the Rural Inhabitants") accompanied the resolution, and was described by Kogălniceanu as "the political testament of Cuza". Despite this measure, factors such as a growing population, the division of plots among descendants, peasant debts and enduring reliance on revenues from working on estates, together with the widespread speculation of estate leaseholders and instances where
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
was detrimental to the allocation of land, made the reform almost completely ineffectual on the long term, and contributed to the countryside unrest which culminated in the Peasants' Revolt of 1907. With Kogălniceanu's participation, the
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
regime established by Cuza succeeded in promulgating a series of reforms, notably introducing the
Napoleonic code The Napoleonic Code (), officially the Civil Code of the French (; simply referred to as ), is the French civil code established during the French Consulate in 1804 and still in force in France, although heavily and frequently amended since i ...
,
public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
, and
state monopolies In economics, a government monopoly or public monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is a monopo ...
on alcohol and tobacco. At the same time, the regime became unstable and was contested by all sides, especially after his adulterous affair with Marija Obrenović became the topic of scandal. In early 1865, Cuza came into conflict with his main ally Kogălniceanu, whom he dismissed soon after.Stavrianos, p. 356 Over the following months, the administration went into financial collapse, no longer able to provide state salaries, while Cuza came to rely on his own ''
camarilla A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the Court (royal), royal court but power behind the throne, influence their ruler behind the sce ...
'' (courtiers). After 1863, relations between Mihail Kogălniceanu and his friend
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
soured dramatically, as the latter declared himself disgusted with politics. Alecsandri withdrew to his estate in Mircești, where he wrote pieces critical of the political developments.Anineanu, p. 65


Carol's ascent and Mazar Pașa Coalition

''Domnitor'' Cuza was ultimately ousted by a coalition of Conservatives and Liberals in February 1866; following a period of transition and maneuvers to avert international objections, a perpetually unified
Principality of Romania The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Moldavia, Principality of Moldavia and the Wallachia, Principality of Wallachia. The union was ...
was established under Carol of Hohenzollern, with the adoption of the 1866 Constitution. Two years later, in recognition of his scholarly contributions, Kogălniceanu became a member of the newly created
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...
Historical Section.Gheorghe & Șerbu, p. 37; Gorovei, p. 10 In November 1868 – January 1870, he was again
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
under Dimitrie Ghica. In this capacity, he regulated the design of police uniforms, and investigated the murder of Cuca-Măcăi peasants by rogue
Gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...
. He was at the time involved in a new diplomatic effort: the Ghica government was aiming to receive formal recognition of the name "Romania", as opposed to "United Principalities". The bid was successful, after the Ottomans gave their approval, but marked a slump in Romania's relationship with Prussia—its Minister President,
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
, abstained on the matter. Such tensions were only worsened when Prussian money was attracted by Ghica into the development of a Romanian Railways system: later Romanian governments confronted themselves with the "Strousberg Affair", a volatile combination of investment scheme failure and anti-Prussian sentiment (''see Republic of Ploiești''). Although generally depicted as Prussian-friendly, the Conservatives were also opposed to such dealings, and their daily ''Térra'' referred to Kogălniceanu as the guilty party. Overall, however, the
Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...
Ghica and his minister were not only hostile to Prussia, but also tried to help the national cause of Romanians living in
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
(Transylvania, Bukovina, etc.). Reportedly, these pitted them against ''Domnitor'' Carol, the Prussian-born
Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of Culture of Germany, German culture, Germans, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German ...
. Kogălniceanu's term was confirmed by the 1869 election, after which he was able to persuade Alecsandri to accept a position as deputy for
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
. The poet, who had been nominated without expressing his consent, cast aside hostility and became one of Kogălniceanu's main supporters in the chamber. Also then, Kogălniceanu blocked the republican gambit of his friend Ion Ghica, the acting Premier. When Carol threatened to leave the country and let he liberals deal with all subsequent problems, Kogălniceanu gathered together the party's moderates in a decisive show of support for the monarch. Even after Cuza left the country and settled in
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
, relations between him and Kogălniceanu remained respectful, but distant: in summer 1868, when both of them were visiting
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, they happened to meet, and, without exchanging words, raised their hats as a form of greeting. On May 27, 1873, Kogălniceanu, alongside Alecsandri, Costache Negri, Petre Poni and other public figures, attended Cuza's funeral in Ruginoasa. Speaking later, he noted: "Cuza has committed great errors, but he 1864 ''Către locuitorii sătești''shall never fade out of the hearts of peasants, nor from Romania's history". Kogălniceanu carried on as leader of pragmatic-reformist liberalism in Romania; in loose opposition to the Conservative Party cabinet of
Lascăr Catargiu Lascăr Catargiu ( or Lascăr Catargi; 1 November 1823 – ) was a Romanian conservative statesman born in Moldavia. He belonged to an ancient Wallachian family, one of whose members had been banished in the 17th century by Prince Matei Basarab, ...
(1875), he began talks with the
radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...
faction of the liberal trend (most notably,
Ion Brătianu An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
, Dimitrie Sturdza,
Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full list of members of the Romanian Academy, member of the Romanian Academy an ...
, C. A. Rosetti, Dimitrie Brătianu, and Alexandru G. Golescu), which were carried at the Bucharest residence of
Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
Stephen Bartlett Lakeman.Paul Cernovodeanu, "Punți între două lumi. Britanici printre români", in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
'', July 1995, pp. 40–41
On May 24, 1875, negotiations resulted in the creation of the National Liberal Party—the so-called ''Coalition of Mazar Pașa''. Kogălniceanu also signed his name to the proclamation ''Alegătorul Liber'' ("The Enfranchised Voter"), which stated the main National Liberal goals. He was however an outspoken adversary of his former collaborator
Nicolae Ionescu Nicolae Ionescu (1820 in Bradu, Neamț County – January 24, 1905 in Bradu) was a Romanian politician, jurist and publicist, brother of the agronomist Ion Ionescu de la Brad. He was leader of the Free and Independent Faction, serving se ...
, who, as leader of the liberal splinter group '' Fracțiunea liberă și independentă'', rejected National Liberal politics. In an 1876 speech in front of Parliament, Kogălniceanu attacked Ionescu and his supporters for their political and academic positions, approval from the conservative literary society ''
Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...
'' and its anti-liberal gazette '' Timpul''. Like his political career, Kogălniceanu's tracts focused on condemning Austrian ethnic and territorial policies. Also in 1875, he issued from Paris an anti-Austrian brochure about the Romanian cause in Bukovina. Called ''Rapt de la Bukovine d'après les documents authentiques'' ("The Rape of Bukovina, from Genuine Documents"), it reused old texts collected by the Hurmuzachis. The propaganda effort won support from across the floor: ''Junimea'' Conservatives (
Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Culture of Romania, Romanian culture in ...
,
Theodor Rosetti Prince Theodor Rosetti (; 5 May 1837 – 17 July 1923) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 23 March 1888 and 22 March 1889, with two cabinets formed. Over his life, he also served seve ...
, Ioan Slavici), National Liberals (D. Sturdza) and independents ( Alexandru Odobescu) all signed up to the enterprise. Kogălniceanu joined other National Liberals in expressing opposition to the trade convention Catargiu had signed with Austria-Hungary, which was advantageous to the latter's exports, and which, they claimed, was leading Romanian industry to ruin.Giurescu, p. 291 He accepted it while in office, but looked into adopting European-like patent laws, as a measure of encouraging local industries. A National Liberal government would repeal the agreement in 1886.


Romanian independence

Serving as Foreign Affairs Minister in the Ion Brătianu cabinet (spring-summer 1876, and again from April 1877 to November 1878), Mihail Kogălniceanu was responsible for Romania entering the War of 1877–1878 on the Russian side, which led the country to proclaim its independence (''see
Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence () is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the phase of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), in which Romania, fighting on the Russian side of the war, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On ...
''). He initially tried to obtain diplomatic recognition from various states, but the European states rejected the offer, and the
Ottoman Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildin ...
ignored them.D. Vitcu, p. 81 The Russian envoy Dimitri Stuart received instructions to "halt" Kogălniceanu's initiatives, so as not to aggravate the " Eastern Question". Upon his return to office, Kogălniceanu personally organized conspiratorial meetings with the Russian diplomat Aleksandr Nelidov, and approved Russian demands in exchange for co-belligerency. With C. A. Rosetti and Brătianu, he supported the transit of Russian troops and persuaded Carol to accept the Russian alliance, contrary to the initial advice of the Crown Council. He also sought advice on this matter from the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
, who was still one of the powers supervising Romania; Louis, duc Decazes, the French Foreign Minister, declined to give him a reassuring answer, and pointed that, were Romania to join up with Russia, the other powers would cease offering their protection. Making note of this, Kogălniceanu expressed his hope that France would still support his country at the decisive moment. In the end, the Russian declaration of war came as a surprise to both Carol and Kogălniceanu, who had not been informed of the exact date (April 23) when the
Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
would start moving into Moldavia—hence, Romanians tended to regard it as an invasion.D. Vitcu, p. 89 Also alarming for Kogălniceanu, the official Russian proclamation addressed Romanians as protegés of the Empire. Bilateral tensions were somewhat alleviated by Russian apologies and, later, by the Ottoman pledge to annex Romania; addressing a discontented Parliament, Kogălniceanu asserted that the Russian road was the country's only choice. On May 9, 1877, it was through Kogălniceanu's speech in Parliament that Romania acknowledged she was discarding Ottoman
suzerainty 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">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
. He was rewarded by Carol, becoming one of the first three statesmen received into the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...
. The Minister also negotiated the terms under which the
Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...
were to join the war effort in
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, specifically demanding Russian reparations and indemnities. Over the following year, he coordinated efforts to have the act recognized by all European states, and stated that his government's policies were centered on "as rapid as possible, the transformation of foreign diplomatic agencies and
consulates 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 h ...
in Bucharest into
legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...
s".Alexandre Davier, "Sinuozitățile relațiilor franco-române" (part I), in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
'', March 2000, p. 60
Late in 1877, he traveled to
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
and met Austrian Foreign Minister
Gyula Andrássy Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (, 8 March 1823 – 18 February 1890) was a Hungarian statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary (1867–1871) and subsequently as List of foreign ministers of Austria-Hungar ...
. He recorded a mood of opposition to the Romanian military effort, but received guarantees of border security. The main challenge was convincing Bismarck, who had since become
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, and who was very reserved on the issue of Romanian independence.


Congress of Berlin and Northern Dobruja

Upon the war's end, Mihail Kogălniceanu and Ion Brătianu headed the Romanian delegation to the
Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...
. George Ciorănescu
"Moldavian and Western Interpretations of Modern Romanian History"
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
Research, September 19, 1979, at the '' Blinken Open Society Archives''; retrieved September 8, 2021
In this capacity, they protested Russia's offer to exchange the previously Ottoman-ruled
Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...
for
Southern Bessarabia Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became par ...
, a portion of
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
that Romania had received under the 1856 Treaty of Paris. This came after months of tension between Romania and Russia, generated over the territorial issue and the Russian claim to be representing Romania at Berlin: Kogălniceanu's envoy (Eraclie Arion) had even threatened the Russians with a Romanian denunciation of their alliance, and 60,000 Romanian soldiers were prepared for the defense of Southern Bessarabia. The Conference's ultimate decision ( Berlin Treaty) was in favor of Russia's proposal, largely due to support from Andrássy and William Henry Waddington, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. Additional pressures came from Bismarck. The Russians themselves did register some setbacks by the end of the Conference. Their demands for Romania to allow indefinite military transit through Northern Dobruja were made ineffectual by the opposition of other European states, and Kogălniceanu was able to obtain the retrocession of Snake Island. As an effect of Waddington's intervention, Romania also agreed to resolve the issue of
Jewish Emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It included efforts withi ...
. The government pledged itself to naturalize all of its non-Christian residents (''see
History of the Jews in Romania The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
''). Kogălniceanu himself made efforts to overturn this decision, and was bitter when the Germans refused to compromise. The resolution was debated inside Romania over the following year, and such a measure in respect to Jews was not introduced until 1922–1923. This outcome was the subject of controversy in Romania, where the territorial exchange was generally considered unfair, with some voices even arguing that the country could again accept Ottoman suzerainty as a means to overturn the state of affairs. Unbeknown to them, the cession of Southern Bessarabia had been secretly agreed upon with Nelidov in early 1877. Even then, against his subordinates in the diplomatic corps, but in consonance with the ''Domnitor'', Kogălniceanu privately noted that he "fully agreed" with it, and that he regarded the new province as a "splendid acquisition". However, in April 1877, Kogălniceanu had explicitly assured Parliament that no real threat loomed over Southern Bessarabia. By that point in time, both the Germans and the Austrians had begun suspecting that Kogălniceanu was in fact a favorite and
agent of influence Agent of influence is a controversial term used to describe people who are said to use their position to influence public opinion in one country or decision making to produce results beneficial to another. The term is used both to describe consc ...
of the Russians, and, reportedly, he even encouraged the rumor to spread. Nicolae Ioniță
"Portrete ale oamenilor politici români de la sfârșitul secolului al XIX-lea în documente diplomatice germane"
, in the University of Galați ''Anale. Seria Istorie'', Vol. VII, 2008, pp. 152–153
Andrássy reportedly commented: "Prince Carol is really unfortunate to have people like Mr. Kogălniceanu in his service".D. Vitcu, p. 85 Opposition came from both Conservative and National Liberal legislators, who viewed Northern Dobruja as an inhospitable, nonstrategic and non-Romanian territory. Constantin Iordachi
"«La Californie des Roumains»: L’intégration de la Dobroudja du Nord à la Roumanie, 1878–1913"
i

Nr. 1-2/2002
Contrarily, with his proclamation to the peoples of Northern Dobruja, Kogălniceanu enshrined the standard
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 ...
narrative of the events: he asserted that the region had been "united" with Romania, as a "Romanian land", because of the people's wishes and sacrifices. During the heated parliamentary sessions of late September 1878, he helped swing the vote in favor of the annexation, with speeches which also helped transform the public's mood, and which promised a swift process of
Romanianization Romanianization is the series of policies aimed toward ethnic assimilation implemented by the Romanian authorities during the 20th and 21st century. The most noteworthy policies were those aimed at the Hungarian minority in Romania, Jews and as ...
. These addresses are credited with having first backdated the Romanian claim to ca. 1400, when Wallachia briefly held the Principality of Karvuna. In 1879, again head of Internal Affairs, Kogălniceanu began organizing the administration of Northern Dobruja, through decrees. He supported a distinct legal regime, as a transition from Ottoman administration, and a period of rebuilding—in effect, a colonial rule, aiming for the assimilation of locals into the Romanian mainstream, but respectful of Dobrujan Islam. Unlike other partisans of colonization (including scientist Ion Ionescu de la Brad), Kogălniceanu saw the new territory as open only to ethnic Romanian homesteaders. His intercession played a part in the ethnic policies: he is reported to have personally urged the Romanian
pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...
( Mocani) to abandon their traditional lifestyle and their Bessarabian homes, offering them the option of purchasing Northern Dobrujan land. This had become widely available after the partition of Ottoman estates, the
nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...
of land once owned by the '' Muhajir Balkan'', and the appropriation of uncultivated plots (''miriè''). Kogălniceanu also advised the local administration to overrepresent existing Romanian communities in the decision-making process.


Final years

Kogălniceanu subsequently represented his country in France (1880), being the first Romanian envoy to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and having Alexandru Lahovary on his staff. The French state awarded him its
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, with the rank of ''Grand Officier''. In January 1880–1881, Kogălniceanu oversaw the first diplomatic contacts between Romania and
Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...
, as an exchange of correspondence between the Romanian Embassy to France and Zeng Jize, the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Upon his return to the newly proclaimed
Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...
, Kogălniceanu played a prominent part in opposing further concessions for Austria, on the issue of international Danube navigation. By 1883, he was becoming known as the speaker of a
liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
faction of the National Liberal group. Kogălniceanu and his supporters criticized Rosetti and others who again pushed for universal (male) suffrage, and argued that Romania's fragile international standing did not permit electoral divisiveness. After withdrawing from political life, Kogălniceanu served as Romanian Academy President from 1887 to 1889 (or 1890). Having fallen severely ill in 1886, he spent his final years editing historical documents of the Eudoxiu Hurmuzaki fund, publicizing
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
and
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
archeological finds in Northern Dobruja, and collecting foreign documents related to Romanian history. One of his last speeches, held in front of the academy and witnessed by both Carol, who had since become
King of Romania The King of Romania () or King of the Romanians () was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic following Michael I's forced abdication. ...
, and his wife
Elisabeth of Wied Elisabeth of Wied (Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise; 29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage ...
, was a summary of his entire career as a politician, intellectual, and civil servant. In August 1890, while traveling through the Austrian region of
Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...
, he was troubled by news that Alecsandri had died at his home in Mircești. Writing to Alecsandri's wife Paulina, he asked: "I could not be present at his funeral, hereforeyou'll allow me, my lady, since I have unable to kiss him either alive or dead, to at least kiss his grave!" Mihail Kogălniceanu died while undergoing surgery in Paris, and was succeeded in his seat at the academy by Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol. He was buried in his native Iași, at the Eternitatea cemetery.


Views


Liberalism and conservatism

Mihail Kogălniceanu's contributions as a leader of opinion and statesman have won acclaim for their role in shaping the development of modern Romania before and after 1848.
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
, a major historian of the 20th century, celebrated Kogălniceanu as "the founder of modern Romanian culture, the thinker who has seen in clarity the free and complete Romania .. the redeemer of peasants thrown into serfdom [a reference to ''
corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...
s''], the person understanding all the many, secretive, and indissoluble connections linking the life of a people to the moral quality and the energy of its soul". Kogălniceanu was a democratic and
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 ...
politician who combined
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
with 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 ...
principles acquired during his education, taking inspiration from the policies of the Prussian statesmen Baron vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg.
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''
(wikisource)
''Recunoașterea necesității criticii. Cauzele pentru care spiritul critic apare în Moldova''
/ref> German statesmen were however disinclined to consider him one of their own:
Bernhard von Bülow Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow ( ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia from 1900 to ...
took for granted rumors that he was an agent of the Russians, and further alleged that the Romanian land reform was a sham. Supportive of
constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...
,
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...
, and other liberal positions, Kogălniceanu prioritized the nation over
individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...
, an approach with resonated with the tendencies of all his fellow Moldavian revolutionaries. In maturity, Kogălniceanu had become a skeptic with respect to the French Revolution and its
Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
legacy, arguing: "civilization stops when revolutions begin". At the same time, his connections within
Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, mirroring the conviction and affiliation of most 1848 revolutionaries, were an important factor in ensuring the success of Romanian causes abroad, and arguably played a part in the election of Cuza, who was himself a member of the secretive organization. Inside the Romanian liberal faction, and in contrast to his moderation on other topics, he was among the very few to tie together
modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...
, democracy, and the need to improve the situation of peasants (other notable politicians to do so were
Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother ...
, who died in late 1852, and Rosetti, who advocated a strict adherence to
majoritarianism Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or ideology with an agenda asserting that a majority, whether based on a religion, language, social class, or other category of the population, is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, ...
). Kogălniceanu praised Bălcescu's manifestos and activism in favor of the peasantry, indicating that they formed a precedent for his own accomplishments, while deploring the Wallachian uprising's failure to advance a definitive land reform. When faced with a negative response in the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
-elected
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
just prior to Cuza's coup, he defended his land reform project with the words:
"Two thousand
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 ...
s do not a nation make; that is an undeniable truth."
Late in his life, while crediting the
University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
and its notions of
patriotism 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 ...
with having provided him with "the love for the Romanian motherland and the ''liberal spirit'' mphasis in original, he stressed:
"In my lengthy combats and actions, in the grim persecutions that have more than once been exercised as a means to crush me, I always had before my eyes those beautiful words which ..Prince Hardenberg indicated as the strongest means to reawaken the character and manliness of the
German people Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
in order to liberate it from the foreign yoke, to raise and increase
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
: «Democratic principles as part of a monarchic government!»"


Antisemitism

Like many of his fellow Romanian liberals, Kogălniceanu advocated a series of
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
policies. He used his position as Internal Affairs Minister in the Dimitrie Ghica executive to resume the expulsions of
Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
members from the countryside (thus denying them various sources of income). When faced with the official protests of European states, he replied that the matter was nobody's business but Romania's. He usually referred to the Jewish community in general with the insulting term ''jidani'', and accepted their presence on Romanian soil as a concession to their alleged "too numerous and too powerful presence in Europe". During the 1930s, such attitudes, together with Kogălniceanu's involvement in peasant causes, were cited as a precedent by politicians of the
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
National Christian Party The National Christian Party () was a far-right authoritarian and strongly antisemitic political party in Romania active between 1935 and 1938. It was formed by a merger of Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Chr ...
and
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
, who, while promoting rural traditionalism, advocated restricting
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
for the Jewish community. Nevertheless, Kogălniceanu's antisemitic discourse was nuanced and less violent than that of some of his contemporaries. According to historian George Voicu, he stood for "a complicated balance in dealing with the '
Jewish question The Jewish question was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century Europe that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national questions", dealt with the civil, legal, national, ...
'", one between "antisemitic intransigence" and "concessions". George Voicu
"The 'Judaisation' of the Enemy in the Romanian Political Culture at the Beginning of the 20th Century"
, in the
Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...
's
Studia Judaica
'', 2007, pp. 139–140
The more radical antisemite and National Liberal
Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu (; 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...
expressed much criticism of this moderate stance (which he also believed was represented within the party by Rosetti and
Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full list of members of the Romanian Academy, member of the Romanian Academy an ...
), and he even claimed that Kogălniceanu was a secret "faithful" of the
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
. In 1885, Kogălniceanu strongly objected to a National Liberal cabinet decision to expel
Moses Gaster Moses Gaster (17 September 1856 – 5 March 1939) was a Romanian, later British scholar, the ''Hakham'' of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation, London, and a Hebrew and Romanian linguist. Moses Gaster was an active Zionist in Rom ...
, a renowned Jewish scholar, stating that the latter was " heonly man who works in this country" (he would later celebrate him as the man "to whom Romanian literature owes so much"). Five years later, as ''
rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...
'' on
naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
issues, he conferred citizenship upon
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
thinker
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 21 May 1855 – 7 May 1920) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and journalist. He was also an entrepreneur in the city of Ploiești. Constantin Dobroge ...
, who was a Russian-born Jewish immigrant. Shortly before his death, he reportedly endorsed a similar measure for Jewish scholar
Lazăr Șăineanu Lazăr Șăineanu (, also spelled Șeineanu, born Eliezer Schein;Leopold, p.383, 417 Francization , Francisized Lazare Sainéan, , Alexandru Mușina"Țara turcită", in ''România Literară'', Nr. 19/2003 or Sainéanu; April 23, 1859 – May 11, ...
, expressing condemnation for those antisemites within his own party who made efforts to block it.


Cultural tenets

In his polemical history tracing the development of literary criticism and its role in Romanian culture, the 20th century author
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 ...
made ample mention of Kogălniceanu's role in combating nationalist excesses, in particular the post-1840 attempts by
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
n 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 ...
n intellectuals to change the fabric of the
Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...
by introducing strong influences from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
or other modern
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
.
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''
(wikisource)
''Veacul al XIX-lea. Factorii culturii românești din acest veac''
/ref> To illustrate this view, he cited Kogălniceanu's ''Cuvânt pentru deschiderea cursului de istorie națională'', which notably states:
"In me you shall find a Romanian, but ever to the point where I would contribute in increasing Romanomania, that is to say the
mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a Psychiatry, psychiatric Abnormality (behavior), behavioral syndrome defined as a state of Abnormality (behavior), abnormally elevated arousal, affect (psychology), affect, and energy level. During a mani ...
of calling ourselves Romans, a passion currently reigning foremost in Transylvania and among some of the writers in Wallachia."
Ibrăileanu additionally credited the Moldavian faction, Kogălniceanu included, with having helped introduce spoken Romanian into the
literary language Literary language is the Register (sociolinguistics), register of a language used when writing in a formal, academic writing, academic, or particularly polite tone; when speaking or writing in such a tone, it can also be known as formal language. ...
, at a time when both
Ion Heliade Rădulescu Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade (also known as ''Eliade'' or ''Eliade Rădulescu''; ; 6 January 1802 – 27 April 1872) was a Wallachian, later Romanian academic, Romanticism, Romantic and Classicism, Classicist poet, essayist, memoi ...
and successors of the
Transylvanian School The Transylvanian School () was a cultural and political movement which started after part of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Habsburg-ruled Transylvania accepted the leadership of the pope and became the Greek-Catholic Church (). The links with ...
made use of the dialect prevalent in Orthodox and
Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...
religious culture. This was in connection with Kogălniceanu's advocacy of pragmatic
Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...
: "Civilization never does banish the national ideas and habits, but rather improves them for the benefit of the nation in particular and of humanity in general". He was averse to fast cultural reforms, stressing that acclimatization was always required. A generation younger than Ibrăileanu,
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...
also noted the contrast between Mihail Kogălniceanu and his predecessors, as two sets of " Messianist" intellectuals—in this contrast, Heliade Rădulescu was "hazy and
egotistic "Egotistic" ( Korean: 너나 해) is a song by South Korean girl group Mamamoo. It was released on July 16, 2018 as the second single from the group's seventh extended play '' Red Moon'' (2018). An upbeat pop song with Latin influences, "Egotisti ...
", whereas Kogălniceanu and others had "a mission which they knew how to translate into positive terms". As a historian, Kogălniceanu notably introduced several more or less influential Romantic nationalist theses: after 1840, he was noted for stressing the image of the 17th-century Wallachian Prince
Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...
as a unifier of Romania, although this view had not been at all present in his earlier essays; he proposed that the Romanian folk was among the first European peoples to record history in their national language, although the earliest Romanian-language chronicles date back to the 17th century; additionally, he argued that the
Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...
was a Romanian state. In some of his works, he claimed that Romanians traditionally practiced
endogamy Endogamy is the cultural practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting any from outside of the group or belief structure as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relatio ...
to preserve their purity. His 1837 study of the
Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
(''Esquisse sur l'histoire, les moeurs et la langue des Cigains'', or "Sketch of the History, Mores and Language of the ''Cigains''") is however still seen as a groundbreaking work in its field. According to historian Viorel Achim, while it "does not reach the standards of scientific research", the book is still "a genuine contribution" to "Romology", and "a work of reference". As early as 1840, Mihail Kogălniceanu was urging writers to seek inspiration for their work in
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romania ...
in creating a "cultured literature". In 1855, after the Wallachian revolution was defeated and most of its leaders went into exile, he noted that the lighter toll Russian intervention had in Moldavia contributed to the preservation of literature; alongside similar statements made by
Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...
, this allowed Ibrăileanu to conclude that, after 1848, Moldavia played a bigger part in shaping the cultural landscape of Romania. Writing more than half a century after the critic, historian Lucian Boia also noted that, while Kogălniceanu stressed national unity, his discourse tended to place emphasis on Moldavian particularities. Also according to Ibrăileanu, Kogălniceanu and Alecu Russo have set the foundation for the local school of
literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...
, and, together, had announced the cultural
professionalism Professionalism is a set of standards that an individual is expected to adhere to in a workplace, usually in order to appear serious, uniform, or respectful. What constitutes professionalism is hotly debated and varies from workplace to workplac ...
advocated by ''
Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...
'' after the 1860s.
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''
(wikisource)
''Evoluția spiritului critic – Deosebirile dintre vechea școală critică moldovenească și "Junimea"''
/ref> The latter conclusion was partly shared by Călinescu,
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translation, translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Liter ...
and literary researcher Z. Ornea. Nevertheless, in its reaction against the 1848 generation, ''Junimea'', and especially its main figure
Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Culture of Romania, Romanian culture in ...
, tended to ignore or outright dismiss Kogălniceanu's causes and the attitudes he expressed. While commenting on the differences between Moldavian and Wallachian literature, Paul Zarifopol gave a more reserved assessment of Kogălniceanu's position, arguing that the emphasis he had placed on "national taste" would occasionally result in acclaim for mediocre writers such as Alexandru Hrisoverghi. Călinescu observed that much of Kogălniceanu's own prose works imitated the style of his friend Costache Negruzzi, without carrying the same artistic weight, while noting that his few works of
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
featured "pages of gracious ndgood-natured melancholy", which he attributed to the author's traditional upbringing. Also among Kogălniceanu's anthumous writings was ''Fiziologia provincialului în Iași'' ("The Physiology of the Parochial Man in Iași"), closely based on a French model by Pierre Durand and, through it, echoing
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (; 2 April 1755 – 2 February 1826) was a French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of ''Physiologie du goût'' (''The Physiology of Taste''), became celebrated for his culinary reminiscences and reflect ...
's ''Physiologie du goût''. It was part of a series of such texts, popular in his generation and deemed "the first age of Romanian realism" by researcher Maria Protase. Among the other pieces were two comedy plays, both written in 1840, when he was co-director of the National Theater Iași: ''Două femei împotriva unui bărbat'' ("Two Women against One Man") and ''Orbul fericit'' ("The Happy Blind Man"). Kogălniceanu's ''Notes sur l'Espagne'' was published decades after his death, and received much critical acclaim. In 1841, Kogălniceanu, together with Costache Negruzzi, printed the first
cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...
in the Romanian language: '' 200 Proven Recipes for Dishes, Pastries, and Other Household Works''.


Legacy


Descendants

Mihail Kogălniceanu was married to Ecaterina Jora (1827–1907), the widow of Iorgu Scorțescu, a Moldavian Militia colonel; they had more than eight children together (three of whom were boys). The eldest son, Constantin, studied Law and had a career in diplomacy, being the author of an unfinished work on Romanian history. Ion, his brother, was born in 1859 and died in 1892, being the only one of Mihail Kogălniceanu's male children to have heirs. His line was still surviving in 2001.Guțanu, p. 8 Ion's son, also named Mihail, established the ''Mihail Kogălniceanu Cultural Foundation'' in 1935 (in 1939–1946, it published a magazine named ''Arhiva Românească'', which aimed to be a new series of the one published during the 1840s; its other projects were rendered ineffectual by the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
).Gorovei, p. 60 Vasile Kogălniceanu, the youngest son, was noted for his involvement in agrarian and
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 ...
politics during the early 20th century. A founder of ''Partida Țărănească'' (which served as an inspiration for the Peasants' Party after 1918), he was a collaborator of Vintilă Rosetti in campaigning for the
universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
and legislating Sunday rest. A manifesto to the peasants, issued by him just before the Peasants' Revolt of 1907, was interpreted by the authorities as a call to rebellion, and led to Kogălniceanu's imprisonment for a duration of five months. A member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
for
Ilfov County Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, whi ...
, he served as a ''
rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...
'' for the
Alexandru Averescu Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and Populism, populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister of thr ...
executive during the 1921 debates regarding an extensive land reform. Vasile's sister Lucia (or Lucie) studied at a
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
during the late 1860s-early 1870s. Her third husband, Leon Bogdan, was a local leader of the
Conservatives 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 civilizati ...
in
Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...
(according to the memoirist Constantin Argetoianu, Lucia was the one exercising real control over the organization's branch).Guțanu, p. 9 After the Conservative Party faded out of politics as a result of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, she came to support the People's Party. Argetoianu later speculated that she was the most intelligent of the Kogălniceanu children, and claimed that Mihail Kogălniceanu had himself acknowledged this (quoting him as saying, "too bad Lucie is not a boy"). She was the mother of eight; one of her daughters, Manuela, married into the Ghica family. Kogălniceanu's nephew, Grigore, himself a local leader of the Conservative Party and a major landowner, married to Adela Cantacuzino-Pașcanu, a member of the Cantacuzino family. Silvia Craus
"Bijuterii mortale"
, in '' Ieșeanul'', March 7, 2006
He died in 1904, leaving his wife a large fortune, which she spent on a large collection of jewels and
fortune-telling Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle ...
séances. Adela Kogălniceanu was robbed and murdered in October 1920; rumor had it that she had been killed by her own son, but this path was never pursued by authorities, who were quick to cancel the investigation (at the time, they were faced with the major strikes of 1920).


Landmarks and portrayals

Mihail Kogălniceanu's residence in Iași is kept as a memorial house and public museum. His vacation house in the city, located in Copou area and known locally as ''Casa cu turn'' ("The House with a Tower"), was the residence of composer
George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...
for part of the Romanian Campaign, and, in 1930, was purchased by the novelist
Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...
(in 1980, it became a museum dedicated to Sadoveanu's memory). Adrian Pârvu
"Casa cu turn din Copou"
, in ''
Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchares ...
'', October 28, 2005
The Kogălniceanu property in Râpile,
Bacău County Bacău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county there a ...
, was sold and divided during the early 20th century. Chronicles edited by Kogălniceanu and Costache Negruzzi were the source of inspiration for several
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
ists, beginning with Alexandru Odobescu. His relationship with the peasant representative to the ad hoc Divan, Ion Roată, is briefly mentioned in an
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 ...
authored by Ion Creangă (''Moș Ion Roată''). He is also the subject of a short writing by
Ion Luca Caragiale Ion Luca Caragiale (; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179–184 – 9 June 1912), commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale, was a Romanians, ...
(first published by '' Vatra'' in 1894).
Symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
poet Dimitrie Anghel, whose father, the National Liberal parliamentarian Dimitrie A. Anghel, had been well acquainted with Kogălniceanu, authored a memoir detailing the fluctuating relationship between the two political figures, as well as detailing one of the former Premier's last speeches. Kogălniceanu is the subject of many paintings, and features prominently in Costin Petrescu's
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
at the
Romanian Athenaeum The Romanian Athenaeum () is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall and home of the "Geor ...
(where he is shown alongside Cuza, who is handing a
deed A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...
to a peasant). In 1911, Iași became host to Kogălniceanu bronze statue by Raffaello Romanelli, purported to have been recast from one of the sculptor's older works. In 1936, the ''Mihail Kogălniceanu Cultural Foundation'' commissioned
Oscar Han Oscar Han (3 December 1891 – 14 February 1976) was a Romanian sculptor and writer. Biography Han was born in Bucharest on 3 December 1891 to a father of German origin and a mother from Vrancea. From 1909 to 1914, he studied sculpture and ...
to create a monument dedicated to Kogălniceanu, which was erected in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
during the same year. Actors have portrayed Kogălniceanu in several Romanian films—most notably, Ion Niculescu in the 1912 ''
Independența României ''Independenţa României'' ("The Independence of Romania"), subtitled ''The Romanian-Russo-Turkish War 1877'', is a Romanian 1912 silent film directed by Aristide Demetriade. Beginnings In December 1911, the theatrical magazine ''Rampa'' pub ...
'', and
George Constantin George Constantin (; 3 May 1933 – 26 April 1994) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1960 to 1994. Born in Bucharest, he graduated in 1956 from the I.L. Caragiale Institute of Theatre and Film Arts (IATC), after wh ...
in
Sergiu Nicolaescu Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu (; 13 April 1930 – 3 January 2013) was a Romanian people, Romanian film director, actor and politician. He was best known for his historical films, such as ''Michael the Brave (film), Mihai Viteazul'' (1970, released in ...
's 1977 ''Războiul Independenței''. During the latter stages of the Romanian Communist regime, under
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
, Mihail Kogălniceanu's image was present in official
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
, alongside those of other historical figures who were considered progressive. The historian's name was given to several places and landmarks; these include downtown Bucharest's Mihail Kogălniceanu Square (near the Izvor metro station, and housing Han's sculpture) and Mihail Kogălniceanu Boulevard, the
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 ...
commune in
Constanța County Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...
, the Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport (situated 26 km northwest of
Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
, and serving that city, the airport also houses a U.S. Military Forces base), and the Mihail Kogălniceanu University in Iași (the first
private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...
in Moldavia, founded in 1990). In Lunéville, a plaque was dedicated to him by the French state.Cândea, pp. 15–16


Notes


References

* ''Final Report'' of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, Polirom, Iași, 2004. * Viorel Achim, ''The Roma in Romanian History'',
Central European University Press Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, Budapest, 2004. * Marta Anineanu, "Prietenia Alecsandri–Kogălniceanu. Pășind alături spre visul înstelat", in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...
'', October 1971, pp. 62–67 * Daniel Barbu, Cristian Preda, "Building the State from the Roof Down: Varieties of Romanian Liberal Nationalism", in Iván Zoltán Dénes, ''Liberty and the Search for Identity: Liberal Nationalisms and the Legacy of Empires'', Central European University Press, Budapest & New York City, 2006, pp. 367–397. * Lucian Boia, ** ''History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness'', Central European University Press, Budapest, 2001. ** ''Romania: Borderland of Europe'',
Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In recen ...
, London, 2001. *
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...
, ''Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu'',
Editura Minerva Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature, children's books, and scientific books. The company was founded in Bucharest in ...
, Bucharest, 1983 * Virgil Cândea
''Mărturii românești peste hotare: creații românești și izvoare despre români în colecții din străinătate. II: Finlanda – Grecia''
Editura Biblioteca Bucureștilor, Bucharest, 2011. * Charles Upson Clark, ''United Roumania'', Ayer Publishing, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1971. * Neagu Djuvara, ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne'',
Humanitas (from the Latin , "human") is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below. Classical origins of term The Latin word corresponded to the Greek concepts of (loving ...
, Bucharest, 1995. * Constantin Gheorghe, Miliana Șerbu
''Miniștrii de interne (1862–2007). Mică enciclopedie''
, Romanian Ministry of the Interior, 2007 * Maura G. Giura, Lucian Giura
"Otto von Bismarck și românii"
in the December 1 University of Alba Iulia ''Annales Universitatis Apulensis, Series Historica (AUASH)'', Nr. 2–3, 1998–1999, pp. 161–175 * Constantin C. Giurescu, ''Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre'', Editura Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966. * Dan Grigorescu, preface to Brillat-Savarin, ''Fiziologia gustului'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 1988, pp. 5–22 * Ștefan Gorovei, "Kogălnicenii", in ''Magazin Istoric'', July 1977, pp. 6–10, 60 * Laura Guțanu
"Valori de patrimoniu. Lucia Kogălniceanu"
in the
University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...
Central Library ''Biblos'', Nr. 11-12 (2001), pp. 8–9 * Vasile Maciu, "Costache Negri, un ctitor al României moderne", in ''Magazin Istoric'', May 1975, pp. 66–69 * William Norton Medlicott, ''The Congress of Berlin and After'',
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, London, 1963. * Z. Ornea, ** ''Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească'', Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995. ** ''Junimea și junimismul'', Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998. * Laurence Senelick, ''National Theatre in Northern and Eastern Europe, 1746–1900'',
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
, Cambridge, 1991. * Leften Stavros Stavrianos, ''
The Balkans since 1453 ''The Balkans Since 1453'' is a book by the Greek-Canadian historian L.S. Stavrianos published in 1958. It is a large, synthetic work which encompasses the major political, economic and cultural events of the Balkans from the fall of the Byzant ...
'', C. Hurst & Co, London, 2000. *
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translation, translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Liter ...
, ''Scriitori români'', Vols. I-II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970. * Dumitru Vitcu
"Les dilemmes, les controverses et les conséquences d'une alliance politique conjecturale. Les relations roumaino-russes des années 1877–1878"
in the
Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava The Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (, USV), also known as University of Suceava (), is a public university in Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania, officially founded in 1990 and initially established in 1963 as the '' ...
br>''Codrul Cosminului''
Nr. 14 (2008), pp. 77–117 * D. Gh. Vitcu, "Cuza în exil. Puterea dragostei de țară", in ''Magazin Istoric'', May 1973, pp. 18–22


External links

*

* Ion Creangă
''Moș Ion Roată''
at wikisource
''Independența României''
an
''Războiul Independenței''
at the
Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Frescoes
at the
Romanian Athenaeum The Romanian Athenaeum () is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall and home of the "Geor ...
site {{DEFAULTSORT:Kogalniceanu, Mihail 1817 births 1891 deaths Politicians from the Principality of Moldavia Prime ministers of Romania Ministers of foreign affairs of Romania Ministers of interior of Romania Ministers of agriculture of Romania Ministers of public works of Romania Members of the Ad hoc Divans Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Moldavian abolitionists Romanian independence activists Romanian liberal politicians Conservatism in Romania National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Presidents of the Romanian Academy Romanian book publishers (people) Writers from Iași 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Romanian essayists Romanian male essayists 19th-century Romanian historians Romanian literary critics Romanian printers Romanian revolutionaries 19th-century Romanian lawyers 19th-century Romanian journalists Romanian male journalists Romanian magazine editors Romanian magazine founders Romanian food writers 19th-century Romanian memoirists Romanian memoirists Romanian theatre managers and producers Romanian travel writers Romanian writers in French Politicians from Iași Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Romanian Freemasons Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Romani history in Romania People of the Revolutions of 1848 Romanian people of the Crimean War Romanian people of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Burials at Eternitatea cemetery Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania 19th-century Moldavian people