One and a half century of agriculture in Dobrogea. The country between The Danube and The Sea

Abstract

In 2018, the Romanians celebrate 100 years since THE GREAT UNION, but also 140 years since Dobrogea's union with Romania. This paper tries to review the main stages of Dobrogea’s agriculture throughout this period. In 1878, after the Russian-Turkish war and Romania’s independence war, the Berlin Congress of the European countries decided to unite Dobrogea with Romania. As a result, on November 14, 1878, the Romanian army, under the leadership of Prince Carol, entered Dobrogea, not as conquerors but as the rightful owners of a land granted by history. In order to capitalize the land, the Romanian administration began the colonization process. Order was made in the legal status of agricultural holdings through a series of reforms, culminating in the great agrarian reform of 1921. Throughout this period, agriculture had modernized and adapted to the requirements of the market economy. After World War II, the Communist dictatorship followed, which for 40 years took its citizens the right to private property on the land. After 1989, it reverted to market economy principles and, since 2007, the European Union's agricultural system has been practiced.