Complexity and Ethno-Confessional Diversity in Transylvania (Romania). Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Opportunities (18th-20th Centuries)

Ioan Bolovan, Romanian Academy and Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca
Ana Victoria Sima, Babes-Bolyai University, Romanian Academy
Ioan Marius Eppel, Babes-Bolyai University, Romanian Academy

Transylvania is one of the major provinces of contemporary Romania. Since the Middle Ages, Transylvania has had a population structure dominated by three main nations (Romanians, Hungarians, and Germans) and six major denominations, accompanied by other nations and denominations which, taken together, never accounted for more than 2 or 3% of the population. Over more than a thousand years of living together, this ethnic and denominational diversity most likely shaped certain types of demographic behavior typical for these peoples and denominations, and led to mutual contacts and influences. Despite the occasional conflicts, the local Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, and others also shared moments of cooperation and mutual struggle, of kinship and of unity of purpose. Officially taking over Transylvania after the 1699 Peace Treaty of Karlowitz, the Habsburgs politically and militarily challenged the privileged Estates in the province, namely, the Hungarian nobles and the Szekler and Saxon leaders, all belonging to the four accepted (official) religions: Roman-Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Unitarian. In their attempt to annihilate all opposition in Transylvania, the Habsburgs used both the carrot and the stick, their methods ranging from political and military to religious ones. Seeking to diminish the power of the privileged estates, the Habsburgs endeavored to foster an internal “opposition” to them, indirectly “encouraging” and supporting the Romanians. Until the 1918 union between Transylvania and Romania, the Habsburg emperors, and the various governments in Budapest tried to alter its dominantly Orthodox and Romanian character. The settlement of foreign groups was such a method used by the Habsburgs in order to alter the ethnic and religious structure in the annexed territories. The 19th century, the century of nationalities, brought with it the first violent ethnic clashes between the nations of Transylvania. Undoubtedly, the Revolution of 1848 was one of the major episodes in modern history.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 192. Ethnoracial Stratification as Privilege