Political conditions
After the Ottoman conquest in the sixteenth century,
Transylvania was given wide autonomous rights, surpassing in practice those
o f Wallachia and Moldavia, which had a similar status within the empire. The
Transylvanian princes often conducted an independent foreign policy. They
waged war and were in direct contact with other governments through their
representatives. In governing the province the prince was assisted by a coun
cil o f twelve and the diet. By the end o f the sixteenth century there were three
recognized “nations,” the Hungarians, the Szeklers, and the Saxons, and four
religions, Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Unitarian. The Hungarians, as
we have seen, had arrived in Transylvania in the tenth century, and the area
became part o f the Kingdom o f Hungary. The Szeklers, who were closely
related to the Hungarians and spoke their language, followed later; they were
at first border guards and free landholders. The Saxons were German immi
grants from the Rhineland who had come in the twelfth century. Both the
Szeklers and the Saxons had received charters from the king o f Hungary
confirming their privileges and granting them self-government in the areas
where they settled. The Szeklers were to be found primarily in the eastern
Carpathians; the Saxons in the area between the cities o f Bra§ov (Kronstadt)
and Sibiu (Hermannstadt), with another center around Bistrija (Bistritz) (see
Balkan nationalities under Habsburg rule
M ap 15). C luj (Kolozsvar, Klausenburg), the largest city o f Transylvania, was largely H ungarian by the eighteenth century.
T h e religious divisions in the province were also significant. Th e R e fo r m ation m ade considerable progress am ong the H ungarian nobility, w h o saw it as a m ovem ent directed against the H absburgs. It was also accepted by the Saxons, w h o became Lutherans. T he H ungarians were henceforth both C al vinist and Lutheran; the Szeklers, Catholic, Lutheran, and Unitarian. B y the end o f the sixteenth century the Protestant churches had an equal status in the province w ith the Catholics and representation on the diet. T h e four recognized, o r received, religions were thus the Catholic, Lutheran, C alvin ist, and Unitarian. T he clergy o f these faiths all enjoyed the position and privileges o f the nobility.
In general, the province was organized much as the other lands o f the H ungarian crow n. T he nobility through their county organizations and their position on the diet dom inated the political life o f the country and held con trol over an enserfed peasantry. T h e Saxon territory, known as the Fundus Regius, o r Konigsboden (R o yal L an d ), had certain special institutions. It was governed by a count and an assembly known as the Nationsuniversitdt. This
The eighteenth century
body chose the candidate to be count, but the nom ination had to be ap proved by the king. Recogn izin g that they w ere but a small m inority in Tran sylvania, the Saxons w ere extremely jealous o f their autonomy. H ungarians and Rom anians were not allowed to hold property in their territory, nor could they m arry Saxons. Th e privileged grou p consisted not only o f the noble landowners, but also o f the peasant farmers and the city inhabitants. T h e Saxon cities, in particular Bra§ov, were m ajor com mercial centers.
T he political and religious organization left com pletely ou t o f the picture the R om anian population and the O rthodox church, that is, the m ajority o f the people in Transylvania in the eighteenth century. O ccupying no particular area, Rom anians were to be found in all o f the regions controlled by the privileged nations. T he weakness o f the Rom anian position lay prim arily in the fact that the population consisted almost entirely o f enserfed peasants w h o w orked on H ungarian, Szekler, o r Germ an estates. A R om anian n obil ity, representing scarcely i percent o f this class, tended to cooperate w ith its H ungarian equals. In no part o f the em pire did a serf population play a political role. In Transylvania the term nation referred to the political “ na tion” o f the privileged orders; it was not an ethnic designation. H ungarian, G erm an, and Szekler peasants were scarcely better o ff than their Rom anian counterparts, except that they belonged to accepted religions.
Certainly the Rom anians’ adherence to the O rthodox faith was to prove a handicap to their political and social position. Unlike the Serbs, w ith their cultural center o f Sremski Karlovci, the Rom anians had not received a special charter o r guaranteed privileges. A M etropolitanate was established at Alba Iulia, w hich w as under the jurisdiction o f the m etropolitan o f U n gro- Valachia in Bucharest. It could, how ever, offer little practical support to its members.
As an autonom ous principality under O ttom an sovereignty, Transylvania had been subject to a tribute, which had at first been ten thousand florins and then had been raised, and to a number o f other payments. H ow ever, it had never been reduced to a pashalik, nor had the O ttom an land system been applied. A s in M oldavia and Wallachia, the native nobility remained in con trol, and it was highly sensitive about its rights and privileges. In 1688, after the defeat o f the O ttom an armies, the diet declared an end to O ttom an rule. A s elsewhere, the transition to H absburg rule was not easy. T h e nobility feared that the existing political system w ould be disturbed. In 1691 L e o pold I issued a charter confirm ing the continuation o f the system o f govern ment based on the three nations and the four religions; the old laws and institutions were thus preserved intact. A regular contribution to the em pire was agreed upon, but any supplementary taxes w ould need the approval o f the diet. Sim ilar arrangements w ere made concerning the military. H ence forth, Transylvania was considered one o f the H ungarian crow nlands, al though it preserved its autonom ous position.