Romanian principalities

United Principalities (1859–62) Principatele Unite Romanian United Principalities (1862–66) Principatele Unite Române Romania (1866–81)
România
De jure vassal of the Ottoman Empire (1859–77)
1859–1881
Flag Coat of arms
Motto Nihil Sine Deo "Nothing without God" (1878–1881)
United Principalities (Romania) 1859–1878, shown in light beige
Capital		Iași and Bucharest (1859–1862) Bucharest (1862–1881)
Languages		Romanian (official) Hungarian, Romani, Ukrainian, German
Religion		Romanian Orthodox, Catholicism, Judaism, Reformed Church
Government		Constitutional monarchy
Domnitor (Prince)
•	1859–1866	Alexandru Ioan Cuza
•	1866–1881	Carol I
Regency
•	1866	Lascăr Catargiu
•	1866	Nicolae Golescu
•	1866	Nicolae Haralambie
President of the Council of Ministers
•	1862	Barbu Catargiu (first)
•	1879–1881	Ion Brătianu (last)
Legislature		Parliament
•	Upper house	Senate
•	Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
History
•	Union between Moldavia and Wallachia	24 January 1859
•	First common government	22 January 1862
•	Independence from the Ottoman Empire	9 May 1877
•	Kingdom established	14 March 1881
Area
•	1860	124,506 km² (48,072 sq mi)
•	1880	130,434 km² (50,361 sq mi)
Population
•	1860 est.	4,424,961
Density		35.5 /km²  (92 /sq mi)
•	1880 est.	5,278,531
Density		40.5 /km²  (104.8 /sq mi)
Currency		Austrian gulden Kreuzer Romanian leu (from 1870)
Preceded by Succeeded by Principality of Moldavia Principality of Wallachia Dobrudja Kingdom of Romania Bessarabia Governorate
Today part of		Moldova  Romania  Ukraine
^ a. De facto independent state. ^ b. 1866 Constitution of Romania. ^ c. Independence internationally recognized in 1878. ^ d. Ethnic and Political Studies.

The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was the official name of the personal union which later became Romania, adopted in 1859 when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as the Domnitor (Ruling Prince) of both territories, both of which were still vassals of the Ottoman Empire.

On 24 January (O.S.) (5 February N.S.) 1862, the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia formally united to create the Romanian United Principalities, the core of the Romanian nation state. In 1866 a new constitution came into effect, giving the country the name of Romania, and on 14 March (O.S.) (26 March N.S.) 1881, it became the Kingdom of Romania. Transylvania was added after the First World War.

As a historical term designating the pre-Union Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, sometimes including the Principality of Transylvania, the term "Romanian Principalities" dates back to the beginnings of modern Romanian history in the mid-19th century. It was subsequently used by Romanian historians as an alternative to the much older term "Romanian Lands". English use of "Romanian Principalities" is documented from the second half of the 19th century.

In the period between the late 18th century and the 1860s, Danubian Principalities was used, a term that sometimes included Serbia, but not Transylvania. In contrast, use of "Romanian Principalities" sometimes included Transylvania but never Serbia.

The aftermath of the Russian Empire's defeat in the Crimean War brought the 1856 Treaty of Paris, which started a period of common tutelage for the Ottomans and a Congress of Great Powers—the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the Austrian Empire, Prussia, and, though never again fully, Russia. While the Moldavia-Wallachia unionist campaign, which had come to dominate political demands, was accepted with sympathy by the French, Russians, Prussians, and Sardinians, it was rejected by the Austrian Empire, and looked upon with suspicion by Great Britain and the Ottomans. Negotiations amounted to an agreement on a minimal formal union; however, elections for the ad-hoc divans in 1859 profited from an ambiguity in the text of the final agreement, which, while specifying two thrones, did not prevent the same person from occupying both thrones simultaneously and ultimately ushered in the ruling of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor (Ruling Prince) over the United Romanian Principalities from 1862 onwards.