Andrei Şaguna: Encyclopedia II - Andrei Şaguna - In the Revolution

Andrei Şaguna - In the Revolution

Şaguna got involved in the movement that sought increased rights for Romanians and demanded that Transylvania would become an autonomous entity of the Monarchy after the 1848 Revolution in Hungary (as opposed to the Hungarian plans for a Union of the two). As such, Şaguna was present at the Blaj Assembly in May, where he argued for a moderate position. The respect he enjoyed, as well as his will for mediation got him elected to the executive of the Romanian movement, and soon after he was to be the main delegate petitioning Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and the Vienna government.

As the Hungarians effectively imposed the union project at the end of the same month, Andrei Şaguna joined the side that still sought a compromise. The Romanian envoys led by him negotiatied with the Hungarian side until September, when the conflict between Hungary and the Habsburgs erupted, coupled with an understanding between the Romanians and Vienna (the former were allowed to create a loyalist administration in Transylvania). In October, as Transylvania became a battleground, Şaguna and the rest of the Romanian leadership took refuge in Sibiu (where the Austrian army still held some ground).

Austrian General Anton Freiherr von Puchner, who had taken refuge to the Wallachian region of Oltenia, pressured Şaguna and other leaders to openly demand that Imperial Russian occupiers of Wallachia protect his last contingents as they evacuated Transylvania. His commanders were hoping to turn the tide by attacking Hungary from the west, and a Russian presence was not requested officialy. However, as the troops in Transylvania were on the brink of destruction (and the rest of Puchner's army was being decimated by a cholera epidemic), a Romanian request was judged honorable. Prolonged negotiations led to a compromise, through which the Romanians agreed to appeal to the Russians through an unsigned petition issued by "Sibiu citizens". The Russians did respond, and helped Austrians into Wallachia - the refugees were to be followed by all the Romanian leaders.

The Hungarians reacted with anger at the outcome (since it prolonged the war and created a precedent). Information got out about Şaguna's involvment, which leader Lajos Kossuth feared to be a confirmation that the Eastern Orthodox Romanians had accomodated Pan-Slavism. In offers of peace he sent to Romanian insurgent Avram Iancu, Kossuth singled out Şaguna as an enemy, specifying that no offer of amnesty would include the cleric.

In February 1849, as the tide of a second and decisive Russian military action grew near, Andrei Şaguna left for Austria, where he drew suspicion by trying to reanimate a previous project, which asked for a common Romanians-in-Austria realm (Transylvania together with the Banat and Bukovina). Such demands proved decisive after the crushing of Kossuth's movement: Austria steadily withdrew its offers to Romanians, as it feared that encouragement of their cause would lead to a Hungarian-like crisis.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "In the Revolution", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki