Tudor Vladimirescu’s Revolution in the Principate of Romanian Country (1821)

The begining of 19th century was marked through an exceptional movement for social freedonm, internal reorganisation and national assertment. The generous ideas of Franch Revolution which seconded the social justice and equality, as well the right at self - determination of oppresed people comprised the whole Europe: the absolutiost empiires, striked by the Aforce of napoleonian genium seemed to be near the fall, but Napoleon Bonaparte’s removement imposed the maintaining of the old structures, but in Balkanik Peninsula, the liberty, unity and national assertment will was more and more difficult to impede.

At the fulfil of a century of fanariote reigns, the romanian society was impeded by institutions and a political class governed by corruption and by the wish of fast enrichment through the robbing of the resources of Danubian Principates, thesae ones being in a permanent instability. The maintaining by the Porte of fanariote reigns kept a system of exploitation without equal in our whole history: the buying of the reigns costed great sums, the money was obtained through the marketing of the jobs, each job haveing its prise, the indirect taxes (for example the custom and salt works) came in the treasury of the ruler.

The state treasury (budget) was formed from a personal imposit payed by all the men of country aged over 16 years, but the allocation was entirely inequitably, because more of half of population (the boyars, the relatives and the clergy) was absolved of contribution.

Through an administrative staff without scruples, the money were raised from the taxe payers through the most rude methods.

Under these terms, the efforts of landing boyars to remove the fanariote princes and to consolidate the institution of reign represented the will of entire people for national assertment, against the dominant tendencies of a class imposed from outside and alien to the intereste of romanians.

The decisive element of this action was the secret greek society "eteria" (the Brotherhood or the Friends’society) formed at Odessa in 1814 and haveing on its head Alexandru Ipsilanti, the son of the ex fanariote prince Constantin Ipsilanti.

The ruler of romanians in 1821 was Tudor Vlasimirescu. He was borned in a family of free peasants, around 1780, in a gorjean village Vladimiri, which name will become his patronime.

Tudor Vlasimirescu understood the times in changeing, he succeded to gather fortune, gaining a prestige position in social hierarchy. He was solder and oficier in russian army, commanding pandurs in the russian-turkian war from 1806-1812, he was advanced on the degree of first lieutenant of russian army, receiving also the cavalery order, Vladimir the 3rd class. In the period June - December 1814, Tudor Vladimirescu was at Wien. In the capital of Habsburgic Empire, Tudor was interessed by the new european combination of events after the first fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The events from 1821 set face to face "the national party", formed by the boyars who asked the removement of fanariote reigns, Eteria interessed in a general movement against the otomans and Tudor, commandor of pandurs, an important army force of the country.

The contents of romanian political action from 1821 is illustrated in the programme of revolution made up by Tudor’s room texts.

"The Proclamation from Pades" (Tismana, 23rd January 1821), adressed to the people of Romanian Country justifies the raising at battle by the right of "resistence to oppresion" which comes from the principle of national sovereignity. The proclamation exprims the political thought of national movement, it wanted to attract the attention upon the situation from the Principates.

The mostim important programmatical document of Revolution knawn from February 1821 is "The demands of romanian people" which contents the basic principles of a new social order.

It demanded the abolition of privileges of boyars and the obligation of the ruler named by the Porte to respect the will of all those he rules upon. The access at state functions had to be done only on base of merits, it demanded a large reform in the fields of: justice, administration, school, army (by formeing a permanent army), it solicited the dissolveing of internal customs. It had not been asked the appropriation of peasants with land and their entire abolition of their obligations to the boyars, to maintain the unity against the forigner oppressor.

Alexandru Ipsilanti, after he passed the Prut river, he presented at Iasi a Proclamation (28th February 1821) in which he affirmed the objectives of Eteria, he guaranteed the peace and the security of Moldavia and made known that in the contingency of a turkian intervention Russia "will punish this insolence".

In this way it was compromised even from the begining Alexandru Ipsilanti’s movement, the russian ambasador Stroganof from Constantinopol and the tzar Alexandru the 1st who was at the Congress of Saint Aliance from Laybach (Liubliana, Slovenia) repudiated both Eteria and Tudor Vladimirescu’s action.

Alexandru Ipsilanti’s travel from Iasi to Bucharest endangered also the romanian action. In this situation, Tudor Vladimirescu leaves in a hurry Oltenia and goes to the Capital of Romanian Country.

(Hanul lui Manuc)

Through the Proclamation from 20th March 1821 from Cotroceni, where was his camp, the ruler of revolution insists upon the causes which determined the raising at battle: the loosing of romanian the rights by romanians and unsuportable robberies. Through the accord with "patriote boyars" (23 March) - on the virtue he had the right to exercit "the temporary domination " is justified Tudor’s activity.

Being conscient that Eteria’s objectives made imminent an ottoman atack, transformeing the country, as several times, into a space of robber and wildernes, Tudor precises in his discussions with Alexandru Ipsilanti the relations between the two movements.

In spite of some grave divergences, the two came to an accord, as a result of which the districts from North of the country pass under Alexandru Ipsilanti’s authority, who settled his general quarters at Targoviste, the plain districts and Oltenia came to Tudor, and the general quarter is settled at Cotroceni. The effective of romanian body of soldiers raised, it had been done works for strenghten Bucharest, and through the peace negotiations with the pashalik from Danube, it avoides their intervence, it want to make connections wiith the boyars from Iasi, that in unity to obtain the desired rights. Also over the mountains, in Transylvania, it was expected "the king (ruler) Tudorut".

The concrete situation of Principates, where the authority of suzeran power was infringed, it determined the intervention of Turkey at the brgining of May 1821, being encouraged by the expectative state of Russia.

At the approach of ottoman army by Bucharest, Tudor Vladimirescu left the capital, estimateing that the resistence will make great damages to the town.

Although on 18th May, at Golesti it came to an agrteement between Tudor and eterists, the latters decided to remove him from the leading of pandurs with the help of some pandurs - capitans discontented with the severity of which Tudor punished the indisciplined ones.

On the morning of 21st May 1821, many eterists came to Tudor, who alone, was throw out from the camp, surrounded by them and leaded to Targoviste where he was meanly killed in the night of 26/27th May 1821 his body was cut and throwed into a well. In this way died he who "wanted that in his country to be happy and power the poors of romanian people".

Without leaders, Tudor’s army was broken, but with all this, it prooved a high capacity of fight at Dragasani, in the battle with otomans.

Although it was suppressed in blod, one of the objectives of the Revolution from 1821, the return of landing (aboriginal) princes was obtained, the Porte nameing Ionita Sandu Sturdza (in Moldavia) and Grigore Dimitrie Ghica (in Romanian Country).