The peasant uprising in 1907 in Romania was a response to extreme economic exploitation by the ruling class.
The Romanian government responded to the peasant uprising with violent suppression and maintained their power through oppressive conditions.
Deep dives
Romanian peasants revolt against economic exploitation
In 1907, Romanian peasants rose up against economic exploitation by the aristocracy. The uprising began after a peasant was hit in the eye with a rock thrown by an estate manager, leading to violent protests and pogroms against Jews who served as middlemen for the ruling class. As the revolt continued, leftist revolutionaries arrived and redirected the anger towards the property-holding class. However, the Romanian government responded with extreme force, including firing artillery on protesters, resulting in thousands of deaths and the suppression of the uprising.
Romania's struggle for independence and peasant rights
Romania had long been under the control of the Ottoman Empire and only achieved its independence in 1877-1878. The country faced tremendous challenges, including a system where peasants were effectively paying to work on land owned by aristocrats. Peasant revolts, such as the 1907 uprising, emerged as a result of extreme economic exploitation. The ruling class, often using anti-Semitism as a diversionary tactic, maintained their power while peasants sought land redistribution and fair treatment.
King Ferdinand's hesitation to join World War I
King Ferdinand of Romania was reluctant to join World War I due to concerns about further agitating the peasant population, which had already shown their capacity for rebellion. The Romanian government did not want to risk conscription and the potential social upheaval it could trigger. However, pressure from Britain and the desire to acquire Transylvania pushed the Romanian government towards joining the war, despite the potential consequences.
The brutal history of Romanian peasant repression
Romania's history is marked by brutal repression of the peasants by the ruling class. Forced to pay high taxes and live in extreme poverty, the peasants revolted in 1907, only to be met with violent suppression by the government. The struggle for land redistribution and fair treatment continued throughout Romania's struggle for independence and into the modern era. The events of the peasant uprising highlight the deeply exploitative and oppressive conditions faced by the Romanian working class.
