The Image of 19th Century Romanians in the View of the British Travelers Cover Image

Imaginea românilor în secolul XIX din perspectiva călătorilor britanici
The Image of 19th Century Romanians in the View of the British Travelers

Author(s): Carolina Oprea
Subject(s): History, Studies of Literature, Romanian Literature, 19th Century, British Literature
Published by: Universitatea Hyperion
Keywords: 19th century Romania; cultural identity; British travelers; stereotypes;

Summary/Abstract: This paper is meant to bring to the fore a profile of 19th century Romania and its people through the documents left by British travelers. Regardless of their education and social status, they had a rich experience of voyages throughout Europe and beyond it, which gave them the opportunity to make accurate commentaries on the regions, customs and people of Romania. Their written recordings, providing us with beautiful and sometimes surprising , real-to-life depictions of our country, are valuable sociological and ethnological documents. Among the stereotypes used to describe our people and country, five seem to appear with a certain frequency: 1. the country being a shield for the West; 2. peasants having a rich spiritual life, being intelligent, peaceful and family-oriented; 3. a refined intellectual elite; 4. people’s ability to progress through its own political knowledge; 5.Romanian culture, being compatible with major European cultures.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 137-150
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Romanian