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TITLE: Rosalia Pop (Baldi) to Emilia Dr. Ratiu, Gilau, 23 March 1870. DESCRIPTION: The letter is a reply to Emilia Rațiu’s request for contributions for a gift to Viennese journalist Franz Schuzelka. See also, Helena Densusianu, “Helena Densusianu to Emilia Dr. Ratiu, 10 March 1870” (Letter, Făgăraș, March 10, 1870), 844/1870, Fond 1246 Personal Fond Dr. Ioan Ratiu, ff. 1-2, Romania. Arhivele Nationale. Arhivele Nationale Istorice Centrale Bucharest; andEmilia Dr. Ratiu, “Emilia Dr. Ratiu to Franz Schuzelka, 15 October 1870” (Letter, Turda, October 15, 1870), 1033/1870, Fond 1246 Personal Fond Dr. Ioan Ratiu, Arhivele Nationale Istorice Centrale Bucharest. Emilia Rațiu (1846-1929) was a Transylvanian Romanian nationalist activist. She was married to Romanian National Party leader Ioan Rațiu. She led international mobilization efforts in favor of the claims of Transylvanian Romanians within Austria-Hungary, especially following the arrest of Ioan Rațiu in 1894. Sender Rosalia Pop-Baldi was a resident of Gilau, a commune close to Cluj/Klausenburg/Kolosvár; she supported financially several women’s Reunions. Franz Schuzelka was the editor of the Viennese liberal newspaper Die Reform. In Emilia Rațiu's correspondence, he is mentioned as a speaker in the Reichsrat/ Imperial Council, advocating for the rights of nationalities within the Empire. ¶ Rosalia Pop-Baldi writes that she could only collect 20 florin because women in her area “did not know to be interested in such things.” She attaches the names of donors and the “small sum” she did collect. She mentions that she would like the inscription on the souvenir for Schuzelka to be not in German but in Romanian. Pop asks for a photograph of the gift to be sent to her, something she would be happy to cover all costs. She expresses her conviction that Rațiu would find the appropriate tone for the letter, considering that it was likely going to be published in “one of the newspapers.” ¶ The letter offers a glimpse into the techniques and difficulties of constructing and mobilizing a regional network of women for nationalist activism in the 1870s. Considering the directness of input given by Pop-Baldi, it shows the relatively flat hierarchy of the nationalist Transylvanian Romanian women’s network. The document also reveals that the souvenir sent to Schuzelka was intended to be a public gesture that needed an appropriate choreography and rhetoric. Finally, the document underscores the importance of a material culture of nationalism (represented by the souvenir and the request for a photograph) for creating and maintaining commitment to this relatively new cause. Like other letters concerning the gift to Schuzelka, the document spotlights moments of significant mobilization of Transylvanian women, which was not accompanied by a parallel action by nationalist men. This women-initiated action highlights that in the 1870s, at least, Transylvanian Romanian women had formed gendered networks to exercise political agency. This revises the idea that the 1870s constituted a nadir of organizing on behalf of the national cause among Transylvanian Romanians. KEYWORDS: Women and Practices/ Cultures of Empire; Imperial Identity; Women and Nation within Empire; Women and Nation-Building; Social Reform and Political Activism; Nationality Rights; Habsburg Empire; Kingdom of Hungary; Transylvania; Funding and donations; Networks; Mobilization; Press; Public sphere.

Field of Interest

Women and Social Movements

Author

Rosalia Pop-Baldi, fl. 1870

Collection

Women and Social Movements, Modern Empires Since 1820

Content Type

Letter

Duration

0 sec

Format

Text

Page Count

3

Subject

Women and Social Movements, History, Women and Rights, Mujer y Derechos, Direitos da Mulher, Rumania, Romênia, Hungría, Franz Schuzelka, fl. 1870, Romania, Hungary, Emilia Rațiu, 1846-1929, Women and Immigration, Women, Colonization, Empire, and Post Coloniality, Political and Human Rights, Nationality Rights, Empire and Feminism, Social and Cultural Rights, Romanians

Topic

Nationality Rights, Empire and Feminism, Social and Cultural Rights

Keywords and Translated Subjects

Mujer y Derechos, Direitos da Mulher, Rumania, Romênia, Hungría