OCUPAREA ȘI ANEXAREA BUCOVINEI (1774–1776)
The Occupation and Annexation of Bukovina (1774–1776)

Summary/Abstract: On August 31, 1774, the first Austrian units entered northern Moldova, and by October 25, 1774, they had occupied the Chernivtsi region, 142 villages in the Suceava region, and nine localities in the northwestern part of the Hotin raya. On May 7, 1775, an Austro-Ottoman convention was signed in Istanbul, through which the Ottoman Empire ceded Bukovina to Austria. An explanatory convention was signed on May 12, 1775. Subsequently, a mixed Austro-Ottoman commission was created to demarcate the newborder, a process that lasted until June 1776. The Austrians were forced to give up some territories, including villages in the Hotin raya. The Moldavians attempted to preserve the old capitals of Moldova, Suceava and Siret, but these cities were annexed by the Habsburg Empire. On July 2, 1776, the convention definitively establishing the border of Bukovina was signed in Balamutca. The Habsburg Empire occupied the cities of Chernivtsi, Siret, and Suceava, along with 226 villages and 52 hamlets in northwestern Moldova. As a result, the Romanians in this part of Moldova were separated from the rest of the country and, for 144 years, were subjected to denationalization processes, including the imposition of the German language, especially in cities, eventually becoming an ethnic minority.

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