Open AccessThe Society of Physicians and Naturalists of Iași and the Union of the Romanian Principalities
Author(s) -
Dana Baran
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jurnal de chirurgie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1584-9341
DOI - 10.7438/jsurg.2021.01.09
Subject(s) - romanian , victory , context (archaeology) , emancipation , european union , empire , law , political science , admiration , proclamation , fatherland , reign , economic history , history , classics , ancient history , politics , literature , philosophy , art , archaeology , linguistics , business , economic policy
The Union of the Romanian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia has been an ideal of the nation forcenturies, expressed by its intellectuals and policy makers. Its fulfillment was rendered possible in theenlightened era of the nineteenth century, following the Crimean War (1853-1856) and the Peace of Paris.The Peace Treaty of 1856, involving Russia, the Ottoman Empire, France, Great Britain and the Kingdom ofSardinia, and then the Paris convention of 1858, enabled the Union of the Principalities in 1859. In thiscontext, the progressive Romanian intellectuals played an essential role in awakening the nationalconsciousness of the masses called upon to vote, as well as in the elaboration of the strategy to beimplemented, both internally and internationally. The Society of Physicians and Naturalists of the Principalityof Moldavia (SPN), the first scientific society not only in the Romanian Principalities but also in SoutheastEurope (1830), got involved in this national unification process, seen as a condition of emancipation, stabilityand European integration of their country. SPN was therefore not only the seat where Colonel Alexandru IoanCuza was appointed as the sole candidate for the Reign of Moldavia on January 3rd, 1859, but also a nucleusof struggle for the Union. It is plausible that, due to the participation of some of the leading SPN members,ideological confrontations took place within this scientific forum and tactics were envisaged meant to achievethe Union of the Principalities through the victory of the Unionist Party. Ever since SPN remained linked to thememory of Cuza's election in Moldavia, and this constituted another fundamental contribution of thisacademic institution to the overall establishment of modern Romania. Immediately after the Union, in 1860the Society of Physicians and Naturalists of the Principality of Moldavia became the Society of Physicians andNaturalists of Iași and kept on integrating both national and international personalities from the entire world.