Project ABOLITIONISM
Annual scientific reports
2016
SCIENTIFIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2016
Research project with the title
The Abolitionist Movement in the Context of Civil and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania, project code: PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0655
The activities developed by the research team in the period 5 December 2015-30 September 2016 are the ones included in the project plan, the version from the Additional act no. 1/2015.
1. The documentation work
In 2016, the members of the research team continued their search in libraries and archives in Romania, first of all in the Romanian Academy Library, the National Library of Romania, the Central Historical National Archive (all in Bucharest), the "Mihai Eminescu" University Central Library in Iaşi, and the Iaşi County National Archives Department.
Research stays abroad were made by Raluca TOMI in Archivio Nationale, Torino, Italy (8-22 May 2016); Viorel ACHIM in the National Archives and the British Library, London, U.K. (7-14 August 2016); Cătălin TURLIUC in the British Library, London, U.K. (12-17 August 2016).
2. Elaboration of the volume in English
In this year we finished the work at the volume:
The Romanian Abolitionism within the Civil and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. Authors: Venera ACHIM, Viorel ACHIM, Nagy PIENARU, Raluca TOMI, Cătălin TURLIUC. Leiden & Boston: Brill, ca. 300 pp. (forthcoming 2017).
This volume in English is a collection of 10 studies about abolitionism and emancipation in the Romanian principalities/Romania in the 19th century. The chapters approach the most important issues of the topic, including the international connexions of the abolitionist movement in the Romanian principalities.
3. Dissemination of some final results
3.1. Papers at scientific conferences
During 2016 we presented 14 papers in conferences organized in Romania (12) and abroad (2):
1. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Mihail Kogălniceanu şi meliorismul social" [Mihail Kogălniceanu and the social meliorism] - paper at the Symposium "Mihail Kogălniceanu în conştiinţa contemporaneităţii" [Mihail Kogălniceanu in the contemporary consciousness], organized by the "Moldova" National Museum Complex, the County Direction for National Cultural Patrimony Iaşi and the "Mihail Kogălniceanu" Museum, Iaşi, 22 January 2016.
2. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Principiul Naţionalităţilor şi contextul internaţional al Unirii de la 1859" [The nationality principle and the international context of the Union of 1859] - paper at the national symposium "Omagiu făuritorilor Unirii" [Tribute to the Makers of the Union], the 5th edition, organized by the "Moldova" National Museum Complex, the County Direction for National Cultural Patrimony Iaşi and the Ruginoasa Palast, Ruginoasa, 23 January 2016.
3. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Emancipatorii: Generaţia Unirii" [The emancipators: The Generation of the Union] - paper at the Symposium "Domnia lui Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866) - etapă fondatoare a statului modern roman" [The Reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866) - founding stage of the modern Romanian State], organized by the "Moldova" National Museum Complex, the County Direction for National Cultural Patrimony Iaşi and the Museum of the Union, Iaşi, 23 January 2016.
4. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Geneza şi emanciparea statului modern român din perspectiva asociaţiilor de tip fraternalist ale epocii" [The genesis and the emancipation of the modern Romanian state from the perspective of the fraternalist type associations of that era] - paper at the 2nd edition of the Symposium "Naţiune şi acţiune" [Nation and Action], Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iaşi, 11 June 2016.
5. Viorel ACHIM: "Dezrobirea ţiganilor - argumentele aboliţioniştilor" [The emancipation of Gypsies from slavery: the abolitionists’ arguments] - paper at the National Congress of the Romanian Historians, Cluj-Napoca, 25-28 August 2016.
6. Raluca TOMI: "Aboliţionismul românesc între imitaţie externă şi tradiţie reformatoare" [The Romanian abolitionism between external imitation and reformatory tradition] - paper at the National Congress of the Romanian Historians, Cluj-Napoca, 25-28 August 2016.
7. Venera ACHIM: "Eufrosin Poteca aboliţionist" [Eufrosin Poteca as abolitionist] - paper at the National Congress of the Romanian Historians, Cluj-Napoca, 25-28 August 2016.
8. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Perspective conceptuale şi teoretice asupra aboliţionismului" [Conceptual and theoretical perspectives on abolitionism] - paper at the National Congress of the Romanian Historians, Cluj-Napoca, 25-28 August 2016.
9. Viorel ACHIM: "The voice of Gypsies in Romanian abolitionists’ writings" - paper at the 2016 Gypsy Lore Society Conference on Romani Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden, 14-16 September 2016.
10. Viorel ACHIM: "About the origin of several texts written in Romani language from mid-19th century Romania" - paper at the 12th International Conference on Romani Linguistics, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden, 14-16 September 2016.
11. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Asociaţionismul fraternal şi aboliţionismul" [Fraternal associationism and abolitionism] - paper at the Symposium "Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations", organized by the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest, 20-21 September 2016.
12. Viorel ACHIM: "Rolul factorului extern în adoptarea ultimelor legi de emancipare a ţiganilor" [The role of the external factor in the adoption of the final laws of emancipation of Gypsies] - paper at the Symposium "Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations", organized by the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest, 20-21 September 2016.
13. Venera ACHIM: "Dezrobirile individuale: limitele acestui fenomen în anii 1830-1850" [The manumission: the limits of this phenomenon in the 1830s-1850s] - paper at the Symposium "Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations", organized by the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest, 20-21 September 2016.
14. Raluca TOMI: "Teatrul aboliţionist în principatele române" [The abolitionist theater in the Romanian principalities] - paper at the Symposium "Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations", organized by the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest, 20-21 September 2016.
3.2. Scientific studies and articles
In 2016, we submitted for publication three articles, from which one has been already published:
1. Viorel ACHIM: "Gypsies speak. An analysis of the petitions of the Gypsy slaves in the Romanian principalities, c. 1835-c. 1855". In: Hristo Kyuchukov, Elena Marushiakova and Veselin Popov (eds.), Roma: Past, Present, Future. Munich: Lincom, 2016, pp. 53-67.
2. Viorel ACHIM: "Considerations about the territorial distribution of Gypsy slaves in Romanian principalities (late 14th century - mid-19th century)". In: Slaving Zones: A Global Perspective. Edited by Jeffrey Fynn-Paul and Damian Alan Pargas. Leiden & Boston: Brill (forthcoming 2017).
3. Viorel ACHIM: "What Gypsies in Romanian principalities thought about their emancipation from slavery. Notes on two petitions from the year 1856". In: Romani Studies (forthcoming).
3.3. Lectures for the students of the universities of Bucharest and Iaşi
1. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Emanciparea şi problematica drepturilor omului în lumea modernă" [Emancipation and the human rights issue in the modern world], Faculty of Letters, Journalism, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iaşi, 15 January 2016.
2. Cătălin TURLIUC: "Sclavia: constantă a istoriei umanităţii" [The slavery: a permanence in the history of mankind], Faculty of Law, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iaşi, 14 March 2016.
3. Viorel ACHIM: "Robia ţiganilor în ultimele ei decenii (cca 1830 - 1856)" [The slavery of Gypsies in its last decades (ca. 1830-1856)], Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, 16 May 2016.
4. Raluca TOMI: "Ce este aboliţionismul românesc?" [What was the Romanian abolitionism?], Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, 23 May 2016.
3.4. Lectures at the National Archives of Romania
1. Viorel ACHIM: "Dezrobirea ţiganilor ca proiect social: problema integrării foştilor robi în economia rurală" [The emancipation of Gypsies from slavery as a social project: the issue of the integration of the former slaves in the rural economy] - lecture at the National Archives of Romania, within the series of lectures "Interferencesˮ, Bucharest, 26 May 2016.
2. Raluca TOMI "«Omul şi libertatea lui nu sunt de vânzare». Influenţe externe asupra aboliţionismului românesc" ["The man and his freedom are not for sale". Foreign influences on Romanian abolitionism] - lecture at the National Archives of Romania, within the series of lectures "Interferencesˮ, Bucharest, 30 June 2016.
3.5. Participation in debates
1. Viorel ACHIM: "«Dezrobirea ţiganilor»: ce se înţelegea în epocă prin aceasta" [‘The emancipation of Gypsies from slavery’: ce se înţelegea în epocă prin aceasta] - presentation within the debate with the title "1856-2016: The situation of Roma in Romania at 160 years since the emancipation", organized by the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament, with the support of the Senate of Romania, the Equal Opportunities Commission, Bucharest, 21 January 2016.
2. Participation at the debate "The slavery of Roma in the Romanian principalities", within the manifestation "160 Years from the Emancipation of Roma in the Romanian Principalities", organized by the Ministry of European Funds and the National Center for Roma Culture, Bucharest, 19 February 2016. Participants: Daniel Vasile, Alina Şerban, Viorel ACHIM, Carmen Gheorghe, Costel Bercuş, Elena Iordănescu, Gelu Duminică.
4. Symposium "Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations", 20-21 September 2016
The research team organized the Scientific Symposium with the title "Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations", which took place at the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History, Bucharest, on 20-21 September 2016. Organizers: Viorel ACHIM, Venera ACHIM and Raluca TOMI. 14 participants.
In the introductory part of the symposium, Viorel ACHIM presented the main results of our project. The papers presented by the team members developed some aspects of the research undertaken by us: Cătălin TURLIUC: "Asociaţionismul fraternal şi aboliţionismul" [Fraternal associationism and abolitionism]; Viorel ACHIM: "Rolul factorului extern în adoptarea ultimelor legi de emancipare a ţiganilor" [The role of the external factor in the adoption of the final laws of emancipation of Gypsies]; Venera ACHIM: "Dezrobirile individuale: limitele acestui fenomen în anii 1830-1850" [The manumission: the limits of this phenomenon in the 1830s-1850s]; Raluca TOMI: "Teatrul aboliţionist în principatele române" [The abolitionist theater in the Romanian principalities].
The paper presented in this symposium will be publish in the volume:
Emancipare socială şi politică în România modernă. Noi perspective şi interpretări [Social and Political Emancipation in Modern Romania. New Perspectives and Interpretations]. Edited by Venera ACHIM and Viorel ACHIM. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române (forthcoming 2017).
6. The Internet page
Our research team has its own site (www.iini-minorities.ro), where the main activities within the project are presented and some of our publications are posted (www.iini-minorities.ro/ro/proiect-abolitionism, in Romanian; www.iini-minorities.ro/en/project-abolitionism, in English). This year we have enriched the site, by posting new informations. This site facilitates us contacts with researchers, journalists etc. from Romania and abroad interested in the history of Gypsies (Roma) and, more general, in the history of minorities in Romania.
We believe that the results obtained in the final year of our project about the Romanian abolitionism are proving the original and high quality character of our research on a topic important for the actual preoccupations of the world historiography.
Bucureşti, 30 septembrie 2016
DIRECTOR PROIECT,
Dr. Viorel Achim,
