Un secol de reprezentare consulară britanică în orașele românești (1834 – 1941)

Abstract

Starting with the third decade of the 19th century and until the beginning of the Second World War, the British Empire (England) showed a pronounced interest in the geopolitics of the Danube and the Black Sea. At the beginning of the 19th century, Great Britain was in a position of inferiority to its rivals (Russia, France, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire), in terms of diplomatic and consular representation on the Danube and the Black Sea, an effective mechanism that could protect and promote interests in the region. In 1800, Great Britain decided to send its first consular representatives to the Romanian Principalities. Starting from the 1830s, London decided to consolidate the consular network in Romanian cities, along with the significant increase in trade and the strategic importance of the ports of Galați and Brăila.

Between 1834 and 1941, this network was staffed with 123 officials who represented British interests in 18 Romanian cities, 8 of which were ports on the Danube and the Black Sea. The core of the British consular representation in the Romanian Principalities (Romania) was the city of Galati, the most important port of the Maritime Danube. This rich dynamic of the British consular representation in Romanian cities highlighted London's increased interest in the strategic potential of the Carpathian - Danubian - Pontic space