Nicolae Bălcescu

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Nicolae Bălcescu (Romanian pronunciation:

Early life

Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility,^[1] he used his mother's maiden name, in place of his father's name, Petrescu (his mother was originally from Bălcești, Vâlcea County now, then Argeș County). His siblings were Costache, Barbu, Sevasta and Marghioala, and his father died in 1824.

As a boy, Bălcescu studied at the

Upon his release (after being granted a pardon by the new prince, Gheorghe Bibescu), he took part in forming a secret society drawn up from the Freemasonry and named Frăția ("The Brotherhood"),^[2] which he led together with Ion Ghica and Christian Tell (joined soon after by Gheorghe Magheru) in resistance against Prince Bibescu.

Magazin istoric pentru Dacia and other early works

In order to further his history studies, Bălcescu went to France and Italy, and was, together with August Treboniu Laurian, the editor of a magazine entitled Magazin istoric pentru Dacia, which was first published in 1844; that year also marked the publishing (in a different magazine) of his historical essay Puterea armată și arta militară de la întemeierea Prințipatului Valahiei și până acum ("The Military Strength and Art of Warfare from the Creation of the Wallachian Principality to This Day", which argued for a strong military as a guarantee of self-determination).

While in Paris (1846), he became leader of the

In 1848, after taking part in the

Bălcescu was arrested on 13 September that year by the authorities of the

Bălcescu left for Debrecen in May, and met with Kossuth to register the latter's offer to Iancu. Marxist-inspired historiography has celebrated this as an agreement; in fact, Bălcescu's papers reveal that he viewed the peace offering as unsatisfactory for Romanians, and that Avram Iancu rejected it altogether (while agreeing to a temporary armistice). The final offer from the Budapest leadership to Bălcescu and Iancu called for the Romanians to withdraw from Transylvania, as the region was turning into a battleground between Russia and the Hungarians. When this latter conflict drew to a close, the Romanians in Transylvania, although never particularly welcoming of the Russian presence, surrendered their weapons to the reinstated Habsburgs (Iancu's loyalty to the dynasty had been the subject of a parallel dispute between him and the Wallachians).

Final years

Bălcescu's most important work is Românii supt Mihai-Voievod Viteazul ("Romanians under the Rule of

His final years saw an intense publishing activity, including his study, written in French, Question économique des Principautés Danubiennes, as well as a collaboration with

(1848–1899), who became a professor of French language and literature.

Nationalization of his properties

This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the section. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In the present his properties remain nationalized by the

• Lucian Boia, Istorie și mit în conștiința românească, Bucharest, Humanitas, 1997
• Lucian Boia, ed., Miturile comunismului românesc, Bucharest, Nemira, 1998: Adrian Drăgușanu, "Nicolae Bălcescu în propaganda comunistă" (pp. 98–132)
• Liviu Maior, 1848–1849. Români și unguri în revoluție, Bucharest, Editura Enciclopedică, 1998
• Ion Ranca, Valeriu Nițu, Avram Iancu: documente și bibliografie, Bucharest, Editura Științifică, 1974

External links

Romanian Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Nicolae Bălcescu (works in Romanian)

• Footnotes to Vol. 9 of the Marx-Engels Collected Works at
  Marxists.org
• Balcescu, Nicolae, by Dan Berindei, September 9, 2004, at the Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions