THE NEW EUROPE
The Roumanians of Hungary
Roumania's entry is the crowning proof of a fact which is still too often overlooked by Western public opinion, but which, none the less, goes to the root of the whole European problem as raised by the Great War, and, even more so, of the settlement which must follow it. In a single phrase, this is not only a German War, but also a Magyar War. Nay more, it is as much a Magyar War as it is a German War: for the Magyars have done more than any other people to create that electrical atmosphere in South-Eastern Europe which produced the fatal explosion. The essential factor in Roumania's attitude, ever since she attained her own unity and independence, is that she has been forced to witness the spectacle of 3,500,000 of her kinsmen in Hungary subjected to one of the grossest tyrannies which the modern world has known, and defending themselves desperately and at great disadvantage against the systematic efforts of the Magyars to undermine and destroy their national spirit. Some years ago the distinguished Roumanian statesman, M. Take Ionescu, tersely expressed to me the feeling which is shared by all thoughtful Roumanians. "If I thought," he said, "that the Roumanians of Transylvania could ever conceivably become Magyarised, I should give up politics altogether. It would not be worth while for us Roumanians of the kingdom to go on living. We should have no future." Almost one-third of the entire race is threatened by Magyar policy, and it is obvious that no country in the world could regard such a situation with equanimity.
The history of Transylvania is, in many ways, unique in Europe. After forming the backbone of the ancient Dacia, it was fought over for centuries by tribe after tribe of barbarian invaders moving westwards. It was not till the end of the 11th century that the Magyars extended their sway to what came to be called Erdély, Ardeal, Transylvania—"The land beyond the forest." Their kings, finding the country thinly populated after the ravages of centuries, encouraged Magyar and German settlers by the grant of special charters and concessions. The Transylvanian constitution crystallised round the so-called "Brotherly Union"
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