Event Title
Start Date
27-4-2020 9:00 AM
End Date
27-4-2020 10:00 AM
Disciplines
Labor History | Political History
Subjects
Antislavery movements -- Wallachia -- History, Antislavery movements -- Moldavia -- History, Antislavery movements -- Political aspects, Romanies -- Moldavia -- History, Romanies -- Wallachia -- History
Description
In the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, now a section of present-day Romania, evidence of Roma slavery dates back to the 13th century C.E. A vast majority of these slaves were of Roma ethnicity (commonly known by the pejorative term Gypsy); the principalities had enslaved the Roma for such an extended period of time that the Romanian word for “slave” (rob) and for “Gypsy” (rom) became interchangeable. Yet, in the mid 1800s, Wallachian and Moldavian society slowly but surely began to transition into a period of abolitionism. Why, after five hundred years of slavery, did the Wallachian and Moldavian governments become receptive to the idea of emancipation? This paper will dive into the facets of the abolitionist movement, focusing on its liberal ideals, political implications, and the influential influx of young, intellectual activists and authors from the West.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/32889
Included in
Abolitionism in the Danubian Principalities
In the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, now a section of present-day Romania, evidence of Roma slavery dates back to the 13th century C.E. A vast majority of these slaves were of Roma ethnicity (commonly known by the pejorative term Gypsy); the principalities had enslaved the Roma for such an extended period of time that the Romanian word for “slave” (rob) and for “Gypsy” (rom) became interchangeable. Yet, in the mid 1800s, Wallachian and Moldavian society slowly but surely began to transition into a period of abolitionism. Why, after five hundred years of slavery, did the Wallachian and Moldavian governments become receptive to the idea of emancipation? This paper will dive into the facets of the abolitionist movement, focusing on its liberal ideals, political implications, and the influential influx of young, intellectual activists and authors from the West.