ABSTRACT
On 1 December 1918, in the Transylvanian town of Alba Iulia, a ‘National Assembly’ of the Hungarian Romanians declared independence from Hungarian rule and the union of their (shared) territories with the Kingdom of Romania. The nascent ‘Greater Romania’ was intended not only to unite the Romanians facing marginalisation and assimilation in Hungary but also to support their political, economic and social advancement in a national context. In their proclamation of annexation, the political leaders of the Transylvanian Romanians underscored their vision of a modern, democratic society based on the ‘Western’ model.
