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This is the first part of the background to my ME6 nation:

1. The Art of the Possible: The Principality of Rumania (1859-1914)

On January 24, 1859, Alexander Ion Cuza (1820-73) was elected as Prince Alexander of Rumania.

In this timeline Alexander John Couz’s private life remained private – rumours of a mistress were suppressed and, subsequently, he wasn’t forced to abdicate in 1866. Elena Rossetti Cuza, his wife, accepted the two illegitimate children – Alexander and Dmitri – as her own. With less severe health problems than in OTL, they were able to participate in normal life. Indeed, when Alexander died in 1873, his eldest son – Alexander II (1862-1910) - became Prince Regent of under the guidance of his mother, assuming full Prince status in 1880.

In the immediate aftermath of the Prince’s death, Rumania had to deal with the aftermath of the 1873 Vienna Stock Market Crash (significantly worse than in OTL due to butterflies). This plunged Rumania (and, indeed, most of Europe) into an economic recession that lasted until the early 1890s, resulting initially in mass unemployment, food shortages and civil unrest. The election of a populist liberal government in 1876 helped matters somewhat, and with the passing of much-needed agrarian reforms and a number of popular social reforms, a civil war was narrowly avoided with public support for the monarchy and the government begrudgingly regained.

In January 1877, Russia declared war on Ottoman Turkey. Rumania refuses to commit troops to fight alongside the Turks, professing absolute neutrality whilst asserting its independence. In 1878, the Greeks join the war, on the side of Russia. Having to defend themselves on two fronts, the Ottomans start to lose territory to both the Russians and the Greeks. In 1879, with a growing threat of UK involvement on behalf of the Greeks, the Ottomans sue for peace.

Rumania received official recognition of its independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1879 Treaty of San Stephano, which concluded the Russo-Turkish War. 1880 heralded the coronation of Prince Alexander II. In 1882, Alexander II married Princess Viktoria (1866-1929), strengthening relationships with both Germany and the UK. She gave him three children; Niklas (b. 1884), Maria (b. 1887) and Friedrich (1892-93).

With the co-operation with the Rumanian Prime Minister (the liberal leader, Ion Bratianu), Alexander II helped oversee the creation of a limited Rumanian welfare state in 1883. National elections in autumn 1886 see huge vindication of this move, with the liberals receiving an overwhelming majority and a change in leadership. The new populist Prime Minister, Dmitri Torok, manages to peacefully diffuse potentially violent reactionary protests in the winters of 1886 and 1889.

Prince Alexander II died from a heart condition in 1910, and was succeeded by his twenty-six year old son, who became Prince Niklas of Rumania (b.1884-1942). The first few months of his reign were committed to his opposition of the new conservative government’s attempt to limit his powers essentially to those of a constitutional monarch. Political deadlock was reached by early 1911, with neither side prepared to budge. Alexander II demanded the dissolution of Parliament in March, but the summer election returned a broadly similar result. Ultimately, it took the liberal opposition to negotiate a compromise. A series of negotiations throughout 1911-12 established that whilst Alexander would retain his executive powers, he would be bound to any decisions ratified by over two thirds of the parliament. Parliament would gain de jure legislative powers, and the question of an independent judiciary would be looked into. This formed the cornerstone of what would ultimately, in the inter-war years, become known as the Bucharest Republic.

The First World War broke out, right on shedule, in 1914.

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Thoughts anyone? What happens next?
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