The Hungarian Minority of Romania makes up 6.6 percent of the total population of Romania (1,431,807 citizens), and is the largest minority in Romania and one of the largest minorities in Europe.
For historic reasons, most ethnic Hungarians live in what is today known as Transylvania (where they make up about 20% of the population), an area that includes the historic regions of Banat, Crişana and Maramureş. They form a large majority of the population in the Harghita and Covasna counties and a large percentage in the Mureş county.
History
Historical background
Transylvania had been part of the Magyar invasion of the Carpathian basin in 896, and remained part of the Hungarian Kingdom until the Ottoman victory over the Magyars following the Battle of Mohács (1526).
After the Battle of Mohács, Hungary became divided into three parts: the remainder of the Hungarian kingdom came to be ruled by the Habsburg empire, conquested Hungary became part of the Ottoman Empire, while Transylvania became an autonomous Grand Principality under Ottoman rule.
By the eightteenth century the Habsburg Empire had conquested mist of the former Hungarian part of the Ottoman Empire. After the independence war of Francis II Rákóczi failed in Hungary in 1711, Austrian control over Transylvania could be consolidated, and the princes of Transylvania were replaced with Austrian governors. In the 1848 Hungarian revolution the union of Transylvania and Hungary was re-affirmed, and with the Ausgleich of 1876 Transylvania became part of the Hungarian kingdom within the Astro-Hungarian empire once again.
The Magyarization policies of the Hungarian government led to an enforcement of the Hungarian element in Transylvania during the entire 19th century (as shown by Hungarian official figures), but ethnic Romanians remained firmly in the majority.
After 1918
The interwar period
Following WWI, on December 1 1918, an assembly of Romanians of Transylvania met at Alba Iulia to call for a union with Romania, promising minority rights for all ethnic groups. The Romanians, who formed a majority of the population, were joined by Saxons, who thought they could profit from the promise Template:Ref harvard. The Hungarians had no representatives at the vote, as they refused to accept the legitimacy of such a vote, but were viscerally opposed. The unification was accepted by the Entente powers and in 1920, the unification was ratified by the Treaty of Trianon. About 197,000 Transylvanian Hungarians fled to Hungary between 1918 and 1922[1], and a further 169,000 emigrated over the remainder of the interwar period Template:Ref harvard. In 1921, the Popular Hungarian Party and National Hungarian Party were formed, which later will fuse to form the Hungarian Party of Romania.
The new regime's objective became to effectively Romanianize Transylvania in a social-political fashion. The regime's goal was to create a Romanian middle and upper class that would assume power in all fields. The Hungarian language was expunged from official life, and all placenames were Romanianized Template:Ref harvard. In the land reform perform after World War I, Transylvanian nobles (most of them ethnic Hungarians) were disposessed of large domains, and the land was given to the peasants that worked it (the majority of whom were ethnic Romanians). The move changed the ethnic distribution of land ownership.
The Magyar population complained about the insuffiency of schools in their language and the pressure to send their children to Romanian language schools. In the private economy the commanding position of Hungarian, Jewish and Saxon was somewhat eroded, as the government tried to improve the relative position of the Romanian enterprise with preferential measures Template:Ref harvard.
World War II
- For more background information and statistics, see Second Vienna Award
In 1940, the joint German/Italian Second Vienna Award gave Northern Transylvania to Hungary, which held it until 1944. The territory encompassed a slight Hungarian majority of 1,343,000 Magyars and 1,069,000 Romanians Template:Ref harvard. During this period, some members of the Hungarian minority participated in discriminating policies and harassment against the Romanian population.
When World War II ended, another ca. 150,000 Hungarians sought refuge in Hungary [citation needed].
After World War II
After the war, in 1952, a Hungarian Autonomous Province was created in Romania by the communist authorities. The region has been disbanded in 1968, when a new administrative organization (the one still in place) was applied.
The early communist party of Romania heavily relied on non-Romanian elements. Among them, many Hungarians (many of whom were of Jewish origin). Under the first decades of Communist power, the situation of the Hungarian minority improved: a few Hungarian newspapers and theaters were created, etc.
Merging of Hungarian schools with Romanian ones began in 1959 and was completed in the mid-1980's. Teaching staff were progressively Romanianized in the wake of this consolidation, so that the propartion of Magyar children educated in their mother tongue steadily declined Template:Ref harvard.
Once Ceausescu came to power, emphasis was put on nationalism, and the situation of the Hungarian minority worsened. Education in history became focused on the Romanian history of Transylvania and omitted the role played by Hungarians. The regime's favored authors were publishing virulent diatribes against the Magyars by the 1980's. Ethnic Romanians were encouraged to believe that all their troubles in past and present were due the presence of Hungarians in Transylvania Template:Ref harvard.
The government plainly wished to get rid of all minorities. West Germany and Israel obliged by paying a per capita ransom; the Jewish and German commities were rapidly depleted by emigration. Hungary didn't have the money nor the political will follow suit Template:Ref harvard.
The minority situation after 1990
In the aftermath of the 1989 turnover the situation of the Hungarian minorities worsened with atrocities commited against Hungarian civilians by the Vatra Romaneasca movement and their political arm, the Romanian National Unity Party (RNUP). Party leader of the RNUP, Gheorghe Funar, became mayor of the cultural center of the Magyars, Cluj-Napoca. In this function he was responsible for many xenophobic measures. In Targu Mures ethnic clashes occured Template:Ref harvard.
by November 1996 the situation of the Hungarian minority improved following the election which showed a change in the political preference of the Romanian citizens.
After 1989, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, an ethnic party of the Hungarians, was founded, which advocated the minority rights of Hungarians. The party has been part in or supported the government of Romania since 1996 on.
In 1995, a basic treaty on the relations between Hungary and Romania was signed. In the treaty Hungary renounces claims to Transylvania and Romania reiterates its respect for the rights of its minorities.
Politics
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR) is 1 of 56 organizations in the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. The aim of DAHR is to achieve local government, cultural and territorial autonomy and the right to self‐determination. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania is a member of the European Democrat Union (EDU) and an associated member of the European People's Party (EPP). DAHR's first two ministers were elected in the 1996 Romanian parliamentary elections.
The ethnic party Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség) holds as of 2004 10 seats in the Senate (6.23%) and 22 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Romania (6.17%) and has been since 1996 part of the ruling coalition in Romania. (Hungarian population in Romania is 6.6%)
(to be written about autonomy of the Szekely land movement)
Subgroups
Székely
- Main article: Székely
The Székely people are Hungarians living in Eastern Transylvania who maintain a different set of traditions and different identity from that of other Hungarians in Romania. Based on the latest Romanian statistics, there are approximately 670,000 Székely.
Csángó
- Main article: Csángó
The Csángó are people speaking a Hungarian dialect that live in the Bacău County, Moldavia region. They settled there between the 13th and 15th centuries and are the only Hungarians living to the east of the Carpathians. Their real ethnic background is disputed, however. Some Csango feel closer to Hungarians, others claim that they are in fact Romanians.
Population
Nationwide
- 1992 - 1,624,959 persons, 7.1% of the population of Romania
- 2002 - 1,431,807 persons, 6.6% of the population of Romania
Transylvania only
- 1720 - 37.2% of the population
- 1786 - 29.4% of the population[2]
- 1910 - 1,662,000 persons, 32% of the population of Transylvania (1910 census)
By county
Magyars form the majority of population in two counties of South-Eastern Transylvania: Harghita and Covasna (Hargita és Kovászna).
| County | Magyars | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Harghita | 275,841 | 84.61% |
| Covasna | 164,055 | 73.81% |
| Mureş | 227,673 | 39.26% |
| Satu Mare | 129,998 | 35.22% |
| Bihor | 155,554 | 25.92% |
| Sălaj | 57,318 | 23.07% |
| Cluj | 122,131 | 17.37% |
| Arad | 49,399 | 10.70% |
| Maramureş | 46,250 | 9.06% |
| Braşov | 51,470 | 8.75% |
| Timiş | 51,421 | 7.59% |
| Bistriţa-Năsăud | 18,394 | 5.89% |
| Alba | 20,682 | 5.40% |
| Hunedoara | 25,321 | 5.20% |
| Sibiu | 15,478 | 3.67% |
| Caraş-Severin | 5,859 | 1.76% |
| Bacău | 4,528 | 0.64% |
| Bucharest | 5,834 | 0.31% |
Each of the other counties of Romania has a Magyar population of less than 1,000 people.
Notes
- ^ Raffay Ernő: A vajdaságoktól a birodalomig-Az újkori Románia története = From voivodates to the empire-History of modern Romania, JATE Kiadó, Szeged, 1989, pages 155-156)
- ^ Hungarian Government Office for Minorities Abroad
References
External links
- Map Nationality Map of Central and Southeastern Europe
- Map Ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania
- "The Situation of Hungarians in Romania in 2005" (a report by the Hungarian Government Office for Hungarian Minorities Abroad)