And I also dislike those who engage in revisionist history. Let’s see where we disagree.

1848 Transylvania was NOT a fight between Hungary and Romania.

It was, on the other hand, a fight between Austria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Szekely, Saxons, and just about anyone else within a stone’s throw distance.

Kossuth’s objective was to abolish serfdom for everyone, period. If I understand what you say, you believe Kossuth wanted Romanians to remain serfs of Hungary. That is not true.

What is true is that while serfdom was abolished, Kossuth wanted Transylvania to be united with Hungary. Austria definitely did not want this and so they proposed a package of political benefits to the Romanians.

Ethnic Romanians and ethnic Hungarians were split on allegiances. It was not black and white, although the majority of each generally stuck with “their” (perceived) side.

Essentially, the Transylvania Romanians tended to side with the former overlords from Austria. Wallachia and Oltenia Romanians tended to side with their Russian masters. And, so, it was time to defeat those pesky Hungarians.

Nevermind that Kossuth was trying to abolish serfdom in all Hungarian-controlled territories.

Anyway, it was all a big mashup of playing off nationalistic feelings against one another so that Austria and Russia could control the game.

Meanwhile, it is my understanding that Iancu wanted to see an independent Transylvania (not necessarily a pan-Romana state).

Interestingly, everyone feared the possibility of Russian-Romanian unity or a pan-slavic movement.

Different generals from different countries fought back and forth.

At one point, Kossuth sought to united with Iancu, in order to take advantage of what would seem like a common goal: explusion of Austrian and Russian rule and influence.

But Hatvany decided to go around attacking Iancu. And that was the end of that potential alliance. (Incidentally, Iancu kicked Hatvany’s butt in the end.)

Iancu started having talks with the folks from Wallachia. And so did Kossuth. Everyone was talking about alliances. Everyone sought temporary gain for their own benefit.

Iancu believed that having Austrians return to rule Romania would be the best idea. Not Hungarians. And not Romanians themselves. So, he continued to fight for the “independence” (so to speak”) of Transylvania from both Hungarian and Romanian control. When the Austrians finally got the upperhand in Hungary, Iancu handed it over to them.

Sadly, Austria treated brave Iancu like trash. For all his trouble, they were deeply afraid of his popularity and his skill in battle. Twice they arrested him. They ignored his calls for greater political freedom and effectively swept him aside, for fear of him gaining power.

Poor Iancu possibly could have liberated Transylvania from the Austrians, but apparently had some sort of nervous breakdown while being kicked like a dog in Wien… and he returned home as a wandering alcoholic.

Okay, so that’s the sad tale of 1848 Transylvania. More or less. And I’m open to any factual corrections you have for me.

But what happened in Transylvania has nothing to do with the celebration of Kossuth’s revolt against the Austrians. No one asks Romanians to celebrate a day which is not theirs. I didn’t.

But I did try to spread a little understanding. And I do believe it is incredibly naive to hold anti-Hungarian feelings during their national day. It’s not 1848. There is no Austrian Empire. Nor a Hungarian Empire. There is, happily, a united Romania.

It’s my opinion that modern Romanians should not feel racism towards Hungarians. Instead, they should feel very confident because they are firmly in control of their own territory and should have little need to feel paranoid.

You can point out how difficult it has been to get to this juncture and I’ll definitely respect it. Romanians have had a very long, hard, and brutal history of oppression. But let us remember the past and learn from it, not relive it.

By the way, did you notice the palinca bottle featured in my post was Iancu? =P

But i have something people who fake history. The Transilvanian Romanians also revolted in 1848, under the leadership of Avram Iancu. After fights with the Hungarian army, Iancu wanted to ally with them against the common enemy, the Imperial armies. Kossuth refused, because he didn’t want to grant any rights for the Romanians.

A Hungarian-Romanian alliance would have had a much better chance to defeat the Austrians, and bring freedom for both nations. Too bad Kossuth only wanted freedom for themselves, while they would continue to opress the other nations.

Otherwise, they have all the right to celebrate their hero and to be proud of their celebration.

I will have some palinca for that but try to read more before you write about history next time.

At least, not in the sense that there are any *more* sides to be had… it’s pretty simple to say that a Hungarian National Day is only going to have one side to it.

And let’s be honest here, if there WAS going to be another side, it would be the Austrian perspective, since they were the masters of the day and they had to put up with the revolt and all. What a bother that must have been for his royal teenageness, the boy king.

Nope, sorry, but the notion that Romanian suffering under the yoke of oppression has no role to play in the National Day. Tough times? You bet. Directly related? Not at all.

I can see your general dislike for Hungarians pretty clearly (or, would it be more fair to say Hungarian history?) and yet it would be like saying “Those Germans are animals” in a discussion of their national holiday or “Those Russians are insane” on theirs… et cetera.

It’s a prideful day. Let ‘em have it. I wanted to share the information because I think not enough people bother to know much about their neighbors. They cling to old news about generations ago and mentally punish the living for what happened a long time ago. Remembering is good. Understanding is better.

Ignorant stereotypes that lead to alienation and racial hatred are, well, a stupid burden to carry.

But I am probably reading too much into your words. So pardon me.

Bottomline: it’s a great day for them that they feel proud to celebrate a hero who stood up to their oppressors… and that, in principle, is something all of us should be able to recognize.

Thanks for your thoughts. Palinka?

Egeszegedre!

As for the “handful of idiots” that don’t respect the other side, most of these idiots are Hungarians, not Romanians.

That being said, most Hungarians in Transilvania are nice folks and i wish them all the best.