Századok – 2011

TANULMÁNYOK - Süli Attila: A Szeben-vidéki kormánybiztosság története 1849-ben III/561

602 SÜLI ATTILA THE HISTORY OF THE GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONERSHIP OF SZEBEN IN 1849 by Attila Süli (Summary) The revolution of 1848 led to ethnic conflict in the so-called Királyföld, inhabited by a mixed population of Hungarians, Saxons and Romanians. The attitude of the Saxons towards the union of Hungary and Transylvania was not straightforward, but it was predominantly against the revolutionary Hungarian government that they tried to enforce their claims. The Romanians living in the territory ruled by the Saxons likewise aimed at achieving emancipation by supporting Habsburg absolutism, paradoxically alligning themselves with the Saxons against the Hungarian government which made efforts at introducing equality in terms of civic rights. The Romanians and Saxons, allied with the imperial troops, occupied almost the entire region in November 1848. After the military situation had turned in 1849, the region of Szeben also returned under the control of the Hungarian government. Although Southern Transylvania was reoccupied by the Hungarian army, its territory was not entirely subjected to military administration. The press was revived, several of the associations which had previously been dissolved were authorised again, and even elections took place in some of the municipalities. Despite the conditions of war, education started again, and steps were taken in order to reorganise the Romanian orthodox church. Mózes Berde, who was appointed to govern the region as a government commissioner, complied without hesitation with the orders of the Hungarian government, but at the same time tried to consolidate the prevailing conditions of the territory, under the pressures of military administration, with a conciliatory, law-abiding behaviour. It was thanks to his carefully balancing policies that the Királyföld remained free of major ethnic clashes during his commissionership there. In this regard Berde could thank a lot to major general János Czetz, who shared his attitude, and the two consequently successfully prevented major military abuses despite the fact that the organisation of provisioning the army must have been extremely difficult on account of the country's exhaustion. The amount of supplies of uniform material offered and furnished by the Saxon municipalities proves beyond doubt the efficiency of the policies advocated by Berde. The short, three-month commissionership of Mózes Berde showed that one of the chief Transylvanian leaders of the revolution, alongside organising the self defence of Háromszék, was also capable of laying such foundations for the Hungarian government in a basically hostile region on which it would have certainly been possible to build later on.