The Blaj Pronouncement (, ) is an 1868 document that expresses the reaction of its

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 ...

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 ...

backers to the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

, which established a dual monarchy 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 ...

. Drafted with input from a number of Romanian intellectuals, at the initiative of

Ioan Rațiu Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Aromanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved f ...

and

George Barițiu George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, the Pronouncement was presented at

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 17,816 inhabitants as of 2021. The city administers eight villages: Deleni-Obârșie ('' ...

() on 3/15 May during a popular assembly, attended by some 60,000 peasants from throughout Transylvania,The Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy and Romanian Political Autonomy
in Ștefan Pașcu, ''A History of Transylvania''. Dorset Press, New York, 1990. commemorating the 20th anniversary of its 1848 predecessor. It was a political declaration against the Hungarian system of government that did away with Transylvania's long-standing autonomy. It reaffirmed the principles and objectives outlined in the ''National petition'' of 1848 and called for the autonomy of Transylvania, the reopening of the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

on the basis of proportional representation and the recognition of laws approved by the Diet of Hermannstadt (

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

) (1863–64), which recognised the rights of the Romanian nation, including that of proportional representation. It specified that Romanians did not recognise the

Parliament of Hungary The National Assembly ( ) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member m ...

or its right to make laws for Transylvania. The Pronouncement was published in the Romanian-language press of Transylvania, in Romania and in Western nations. In response,

Boldizsár Horvát Boldizsár Horvát (1 January 1822 – 28 October 1898) was a Hungarian politician, poet and novelist, who served as Minister of Justice between 1867 and 1871 in the government of Gyula Andrássy. He was a member of the Hungarian Academy of Scien ...

, the Hungarian Minister of Justice initiated public proceedings against the signatories (the

capitulary A capitulary (medieval Latin ) was a series of legislative or Public administration, administrative acts emanating from the Franks, Frankish court of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, especially that of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Em ...

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Basiliu Rațiu, the

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 ...

Metropolitan

Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu, also called Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu de Cărpiniș (February 15, 1794 – September 7, 1867), was an Romanians, ethnic Romanian Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic cleric in Austrian Empire, Imperial Austr ...

(who died in the interim), the canons Elie Vlassa and Grigore Mihali, professor

Ioan Micu Moldovan Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Aromanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for ...

, etc.). At the same time, the document expressed the principles of the passivist doctrine of refusing to recognise Hungarian institutions and boycotting the country's political life.

Notes

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References

* Stoica, Stan (coordinator). ''Dicţionar de Istorie a României'', p. 50-51. Bucharest: Editura Merona, 2007. 19th century in Transylvania Blaj 1868 in Hungary 1868 documents