Avram Iancu

Avram Iancu ( Jankó Ávrám in Hungarian; born in 1824, with Vidra Known, today Avram Iancu in the judeţ of Alba, in Romania; died the September 10th 1872, in the same area) was a lawyer " Wallachian " (Rumanian) of Transylvania which played a big role at the time of the Révolutions of 1848. It was particularly active in the area of Ţara Moţilor and in the Monts Apuseni. It rejoined the peasants around him, and its ascending on them was worth to him the nickname of Crăişorul Munţilor (" Kinglet of the montagnes"), and even Împăratul Munţilor (" Emperor of Montagnes"). But the refusal of the Hungarian revolutionists to satisfy the claims of the serfs of Transylvania the constrained one to make allegiance with the Habsbourg, at the time Masters of the Empire of Austria including/understanding the kingdom of Hungary and the Grand Duchy of Transylvania.

Its life

It is born in a family from peasants " Wallachian " (as one still called the roumanophones at the time) émancipés, and can follow studies of right to Cluj. He becomes clerk with Târgu Mureş, from where he learns the events from Vienna and Pest in March 1848. Its attitude at that time reveals the nature of the conflict which ignited Transylvania: while approving the revolutionary ideas and the transition, Iancu is made indignant to see the Hungarian revolutionists (of which much was landowners) refusing to consider the abolition of serfdom, condition of the major part of the population " Wallachian " in Transylvania, and of swears , condition of all the Wallachian middle-class.

Returned in the Apuseni mounts, it rejoins the peasants of Câmpeni, organizes peaceful demonstrations but dérangeantes for the authorities. Iancu and its associate Ioan Buteanu quickly become the principal figures of the Rumanian actions in the area, in particular after their participation in the Assemblées of Blaj which begin in April. With Blaj, both choose the radical wing of the movement. Around Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, the group is opposed to the proposal of the Hungarian revolutionists to link the Transylvania with the Hungary, which claims its independence with the Habsbourg. It enters in conflict with the archbishop Greek-catholic Uniate Ioan Lemeni, one of those which choose not to boycott the elections at the new Hungarian Parliament.

When the union of Transylvania in Hungary is proclaimed by Hungarian on May 30th, 1848, the majority of the Rumanian activists protest and call upon Vienna and the Ferdinand emperor, just like the Saxons of Transylvania. The things become more difficult after July 11th, when Hungary declares its indépendence. Austria then starts to open with the Rumanian requests, whereas bloody conflicts begin between noble Hungarian and the serfs roumanophones. The last assembly of Blaj sees the governor habsbourgeois, Anton Freiherr von Puchner, to approve the preparation of national Valaques and Saxon guards. September 27th, the lynching of the plenipotentiary Austrian, the General Lemberg, by a Hungarian crowd in Budapest, cuts any form of dialog between Hungary and Habsbourg. To make part with Hungarian, the new emperor, François Joseph, and the Austrian government guarantee to Rumanian wide freedoms and rights; the Hungarian revolutionary government of Lajos Kossuth abolishes finally serfdom, but too late.

The conflict

The Austrians refuse however the Rumanian application of October according to which the linguistic criterion should be the base of the internal borders of the empire, which would have led to create a principality for the roumanophones (gathering Transylvania, the Banat and the Bucovine), because they do not want to replace the Hungarian nationalist push by a Rumanian separatism. They declare hostile with the fast creation of administrative offices " valaques" in Transylvania.

Banat remains included in Hungary and Bucovine keeps its statute of Austrian Kronland; the Transylvanian territory as for him is organized in prefecturi (" préfectures"), with Avram Iancu and Buteanu as prefects in Apuseni. The prefecture of Iancu, the Auraria Geminated (a name in charge of Latin symbolism ), becomes most important, by including frontier zones which never had been completely organized.

The same month, the administrative efforts stop, when the Hungarian revolutionists of Józef Bem launch an offensive through Transylvania. With the assistance of the Russian troops , the Austrian army (with share garrisons of Alba Iulia and Deva) and the austro-Rumanian administration is withdrawn in Valachie and Wallachian Olténie (which is under Russian occupation at this time). Avram Iancu remains the only one to oppose a force of resistance: it takes the maquis, while assembling a campaign of Guérilla against the forces of Bem, causing severe damage and blocking the road of Alba Iulia. It is also itself the severe subject of rationing: its troops have few rifles and very little powder. The conflict proceeds during the following months, with all the attempts of the Hungarians to take again the control of the mountain.

In April 1849, Iancu is approached by the envoy of Hungarian: Ioan Dragoş (which is in fact a representative roumanophone at the Hungarian Parliament). Dragoş works hard to meet the Rumanian chiefs with Abrud and to make them hear the Hungarian requests. But the direct adversary of Iancu, the Hungarian commander Imre Hatvany, car favors provisional Armistice obtained by Dragoş to attack the partisans of Iancu with Abrud. It however does not profit from the effect of surprise, and Iancu and its men withdraw themselves, then encircle it. Because of this attack, Dragoş is lynched by the crowd of Abrud, which believes that it knowingly belonged to the trick of Hatvany.

Hatvany succeeds in capturing and killing Buteanu. It attacks the men of Iancu frantically, but its position weakens until the great defeat of the May 22nd. Hatvany and the majority of the soldiers his group are massacred by their adversaries, because Iancu captured their guns, rocking the tactical advantage for the following months. Kossuth is dissatisfied with the defeat of Hatvany (the collaborators of Hatvany all are dismissed), especially because this one places it in position of weakness for future negotiations.

The conflict hardens: the intervention of the Russian precipitates the things in June, particularly since the Poles who fight with the Hungarian revolutionary quotas oppose an exaggerated resistance to the armies of the Tsar. Some as Henryk Dembiński militate however for an arrangement between the emigrated Kossuth, Avram Iancu and revolutionists Valaques (of Valachie) like Nicolae Bălcescu, Gheorghe Magheru, Alexandru G. Golescu or Ion Ghica, of opinions close to Avram Iancu. The emigrated revolutionists Valaques (of Valachie) would wish to inflict a defeat with the Russian armies which broke their movement in September 1848.

Bălcescu and Kossuth meets in May 1849, with Debrecen. This contact was celebrated a long time by the historians and the Marxist politicians Hungarian and Rumanian, because the judgment by Karl Marx of any opposition to Kossuth, put Iancu in a posture of Réactionnaire : this " had to be erased; honte" by stressing revolutionary solidarity between Kossuth and Bălcescu. Actually, it seems that their agreement was not in any way a pact: Kossuth simply thought of leading Bălcescu to the idea that the departure of the armies of Iancu for Valachie would be an good idea, to help the revolution with Bucharest. Although being of agreement on a mediation of peace between Kossuth and Iancu, Bălcescu did not try to bring with him in Valachie the combatants of Iancu. Its personal documents (commented by Liviu Maior) show that it was not easily deceived demagogy of the Hungarian chief.

Avram Iancu thus continued to be opposed to the Magyar centralism of Kossuth, but accepted the principle of the neutrality of its forces in the conflict between Russia and Hungary. Thus, it reinforced its position while the Hungarian armies are beaten by Russian in July with Sighişoara, with the Bataille of Segesvár (1849) (Magyar name of the locality, which is called also German Schässburg). The Hungarian revolutionists capitulate the August 13rd.

Its last years

When the Austrians take again the control of Transylvania, Avram Iancu is of agreement to disarm its troops and writes a report/ratio detailed with the new governor of Transylvania, the general Ludwig von Wohlgemuth (in 1850). To avoid the suspicion of Rumanian separatism, the document does not mention its contacts with the Valaques revolutionists. The Austrians guarantee the abolition of serfdom, and prohibited all the old feudal institutions in Transylvania. Once the overcome revolution, Hungarian nationalism tried to make accept by Habsbourg the idea of a Compromis associating Autrichiens and Hungarian in the role of dominant nations of the empire. The alternative option of Slavic and Rumanian, who militated for a confederation of kingdoms and duchies (Austria and Hungary, but also Bohemia, Galicie and Lodomérie, Bucovine, Transylvania, Banat, Croatia and Slavonie, Dalmatie) brings more and more irritation to Hungarian, but also in Habsbourg, which fears that the revolutionary dash (advantageous with monarchy under Iancu) becomes a weapon usable by the side-slavisme (of which the Serbia and the Russian Empire was then the vectors) or by the irredentism " valaque".

It is very possible that Iancu could not apprehend these changes, this bringing together of the Austrian and Hungarian interests. Even if the initial decision to stop it in December 1849 were quickly cancelled afterwards local demonstrations, it were censured all its life, its library was confiscated, and it was placed under monitoring. It was even stopped in 1852, when it was shown owing to the fact that its presence alone ignited the local feelings. It was slackening quickly, and tried in Vienna to defend its position in front of the emperor. The police force prevented some, and this public humiliation caused a nervous breakdown to him which it never concerned. It became depressed, traversing the area of Apuseni to foot and drinking the " more and more; palinca" among people who accommodated it.

He asked that its body be buried under the tree of Horea to Ţebea (according to the tradition, the starting place of the Révolte of Horea, Cloşca and Crişan in 1784).

Reference

Keith Hitchins, Românii 1774-1866 , Bucharest, Humanitas, 1996
Liviu Maior, 1848-1849. Români şi unguri in revoluţie , Bucharest, Editura Enciclopedică, 1998
Ion Ranca, Valeriu Niţu, Avram Iancu: document şi bibliografie , Bucharest, Editura Ştiinţifică, 1974

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