Okay, now
onto the topic of history connections between Transylvania and Romania. As most
people already know, Transylvania is a part of Romania today. For the majority
of history, it was a part of the Hungarian kingdom and populated by Germans. So
the question is: how did Romania get its hands on Transylvania? And, how were
they able to keep Transylvania?
There were three treaties involved in this process. There was the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of St. Germain and the Treaty of Trianon. Each treaty played its own role in bringing Transylvania and Romania together.
There were three treaties involved in this process. There was the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of St. Germain and the Treaty of Trianon. Each treaty played its own role in bringing Transylvania and Romania together.
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in
1919, was the one that started things rolling. The
Austro-Hungarian Empire was starting to fall apart, and the Empire had control of Transylvania at this time. The thing is that they did not make up the majority
of the population. The majority of the population was actually Romanian. Within the Treaty of Versailles was the condition that Transylvania
was now under the sovereignty of Romania. This went over pretty well with the
general population, and especially the Romanian National Party. Romania was an
ally of the Triple Entente, which was why they were granted Transylvania.
The Treaty of St. Germain, signed in
1919, was made in order to elaborate on what was stated in the Treaty of
Versailles. The Treaty of St. Germain ordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire to be dissolved. Austria was forced to recognize the independence of other
countries, including Hungary. This treaty redefined the borders specifically to
Austria, and this would have included Transylvania. Unfortunately, Transylvania was
not large enough to be independent, which was why it was given to Romania.
That, and it already had a Romanian population and was already influenced by
Romanian culture.
The Treaty of Trianon, signed in
1920, was another treaty that specifically defined a country's borders. This time it was
referring to Hungary, though, whereas the Treaty of St. Germain had referred to Austria. This meant that Transylvania was completely out of the hands of Hungary.
Hungary was depleted to a fraction of its former size. It was forced to give up
much of its lands, including Transylvania, despite the fact that they had
controlled Transylvania since the Middle Ages. With the restriction set out in the
Treaty of Trianon, Hungary would be able to try to take Transylvania back — they were somewhat successful and regained Northern Transylvania.
After the end of the Second World War, Transylvania will forever be under the sovereignty of Romania.
I know this post did not actually
talk much about Romania and really focussed on one main event. (Well, it was
three events but they all came from the one event of the end of World War I.)
The thing to consider is that this one short period in time completely changed Transylvania.
They were no longer under the rule of Hungary or Austria-Hungary. They had been
ruled by Hungary since the Middle Ages. To be put under the sovereignty of
Romania was a huge deal to Transylvania.
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