The Contract for the Construction of Ocean Liners MS “Piłsudski” and MS “Batory” of 29 November 1933

Author(s): Jarosław Drozd / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The purpose of this article is to provide insight into the signing circumstances and the contents of the contract of 29 November 1933, between “Polskie Transatlantyckie Towarzystwo Okrętowe” (Polish Transatlantic Shipping Company Limited, or PTTO) and “Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico” (United Shipbuilders of the Adriatic, or CRDA) for the construction of ocean liners MS “Piłsudski” and MS “Batory.” PTTO, a Polish – Danish shipping line, was created on 16 February 1929, on the basis of a contract signed between the Polish Ministry of Industry and Trade and “East Asiatic Company Limited”. Three steam ocean liners underwent a change of flag to flag of Poland (SS “Pułaski,” SS “Kościuszko,” and SS “Polonia”), the goal of which was to maintain regular transfer of passengers and goods between Gdynia and Halifax and New York. Unfavourable operating results and the economic crisis of 1931–1932 meant that PTTO, like other Polish shipping companies with outdated ships unable to compete with foreign competitors, was forced to replace its ships with modern ones - the fastest and cheapest in operation. As the purchase of ready-made new ships proved impossible, it was decided to subcontract their construction to the Italian company CRDA of Trieste, which offered the Polish side good and cheap to operate ships, as well as favourable credit conditions and the concept of coal compensation. The Italians have also indicated their willingness to purchase hard coal from Silesian mines over the next few years, almost matching the value of the ships. The contract for the construction of MS “Piłsudski” and MS “Batory” was signed on 29 November 1933 in Warsaw, and the period of supervision of its execution by the Supervisory Commission began. MS “Piłsudski” was launched on 19 December 1934 at the Monfalcone shipyard and arrived in the port of Gdynia on 12 September 1935. Two days later, a ceremony of consecration and hoisting of the Polish flag took place, and on 15 September 1935 MS “Piłsudski” left the port of Gdynia for her first voyage to New York. The ceremony of the launching of MS “Batory” took place on 3 July 1935 in Monfalcone, while the consecration of the Polish flag took place on 17 September 1936 in Gdynia. Two days later, the transatlantic liner set off on her first voyage to New York, henceforth making regular voyages while alternating with MS “Piłsudski.” During the summer, in between voyages, she made tourist trips to European ports. The new transatlantic ships were an excellent shipping investment, being the most modern vessels of their type sailing the seas of north-eastern and central-eastern Europe. After the outbreak of World War II, they were requisitioned by the British. MS “Piłsudski” sailed as an auxiliary battlecruiser and on 26 November 1939, sank during her first voyage to Australia. MS “Batory,” after being refitted and rearmed, served for six years during World War II, before being returned to GAL in 1946 and once again flying the Polish flag.

Evolution of West Pomerania Towards a Green Region

Author(s): Izabela Bludnik,Paulina Dąbrosz-Drewnowska,Hanna Pondel / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

West Pomerania has become known in recent years as a national leader in green economic transformation. The purpose of the article is to present the evolution that West Pomerania has undergone, from a region whose economic importance in the post-war period was based primarily on environmentally burdensome industry, to an area at the forefront of economic modernisation and implementation of the European Green Deal. The reason for the change in the direction of development after 1989 was, on the one hand, the deep economic crisis of the first years of political transition – characterised by a radical decline in industrial production, based on outdated and environmentally harmful solutions and, on the other hand, Poland’s accession and entry into the European Union and access to huge financial resources from subsequent programs and funds. In addition, the increase in environmental awareness, technological progress and the requirements of competitiveness of the market economy have led to increasing investment in economic transformation based on green ventures. The research used literature on the subject, industry publications, reports and studies, basic methods of descriptive statistics and analysis of development trends. As the analysis shows, due to its natural conditions and industry specialisation, the evolution of West Pomerania into an environmentally friendly area is based on investments in renewable energy sources (RES), with a particular focus on the wind power sector, including offshore. The development of RES is gradual but systemic, and this is confirmed by the use of increasing funds for this purpose, including from EU regional programs. Although progress toward decarbonisation and “greening” of the region faces some problems, it is hoped that they will be overcome. Indeed, local authorities stress that the transition to a climate-neutral economy is a priority for West Pomerania.

Domn sau pretendent? Câteva note referitoare la domniile lui Radu Mihnea

Author(s): Liviu Marius Ilie / Language(s): Romanian Issue: XLII/2024

Radu Mihnea, a 17th century ruler of Wallachia, was the subject of historical debate regarding the exact number of times he held power. While some historians argue for four separate reigns (1601 1602, 1611, 1611 1616, 16201623), official documents from Radu Mihnea and his son suggested only two of them. The earlier periods of conflict, such as those in 1601 1602 and 1611, were viewed by the family as contested periods of power, when he had to fight against Radu Șerban and Simion Movilă. Two documents issued by Radu Mihnea on January 16th, 1613 and February 8th, 1622 mentioned only two periods of reigning, the longer ones (1611 1616, 1620 1623); the same situation was confirmed by his son’s charter issued on March 15th, 1626. Trying to be very specific, modern historians avoided historical sources and sometimes could reach doubtful conclusions.

Originea tesaliană a Mavrocordaţilor: de la „gelepie” la domnie

Author(s): Lidia Cotovanu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: XLII/2024

Greek historiography is aware that the maternal grandfather of Alexander Mavrokordatos the Exaporite, Skarlatos Grammatikos, referred to as Scarlat Grama in Romanian sources, originated from the Thessalian region of Agrapha. Based on the names given to him or attributed to him by his contemporaries – Grammatikos, Vlasios, and Vodino – we gain new insights into the life and legacy of this prominent figure, a “meghistan” of the Ottoman Empire. He was called Vlasios because he came from the village of Vlasi in the Agrapha region. A sheep trader by profession, he was related to the Grammatikos family, sheep traders (çelep) from the same village, known for having founded two monasteries: the monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in their native village and the patriarchal stavropegial Bačkovo monastery (now in Bulgaria), where they subsidized part of the votive painting. Their descendants advanced their careers in Wallachia during the reigns of Constantin Brâncoveanu and Nicholas Mavrokordatos. Scarlat Grama was also related to the Alleimatas family, sheep traders from Vlasi, whose descendants similarlysettled in Wallachia. Additionally, his contemporaries referred to him as Vodino, a name connected to the princely title of his son-in-law Alexander the Infant, although it seems that Scarlat himself married a relative of the Wallachian Mihnea family. Reconstructing his network of relatives, commercial agents and friends, using unpublished or little-known sources, allows for a more comprehensive portrait of this Phanariot avant la lettre, who secured for his descendants a prominent position in the power circles of the Ottoman capital and paved their way to the thrones of the Romanian Principalities.

Du tribut à l’impôt. Un héritage de l’époque mongole dans le système fiscal de la Moldavie médiévale

Author(s): Andrei Mirea / Language(s): French Issue: XLII/2024

The article addresses the origins of the most important tax levied by the Moldavian voivodes during the Middle Ages. This particular tax, named dan’ in the fifteenth-century Slavonic diplomas written by the princely chancellery of Moldavia, has most probably its roots in the tribute that the inhabitants east of the Carpathians paid to the Mongol conquerors from the middle of the thirteenth century onwards. Two centuries later, besides its newer meaning of tax charged on one‘s subjects, the Slavonic term dan’ still retains its old meaning of tribute imposed by a foreign power, as attested both by a document from 1456 describing the acceptance of Moldavia‘s submission to the Ottoman Empire, and by a series of diplomas issued on behalf of the Podolian rulers in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. It is widely known that the term dan’ is generally utilized in late medieval Slavonic sources of Eastern Europe to denote the tribute paid to the Mongols. The author calls attention to a phenomenon labelled ―fiscal substitution‖ that has taken place since the fourteenth century almost everywhere in Eastern Europe, providing significant fiscal benefits to the local administrations, to the detriment of the Mongols. This ―fiscal substitution‖ consists of revenues taken over by the indigenous governance from its own subjects through the medium of the fiscal structures set up by the Mongols a century earlier. After the downfall of the Golden Horde, the already traditional collection of the Mongol tribute continued successfully in various regions as a regular tax paid by subjects in favour of the local lordships. As far as Moldavia is concerned, the long Mongol domination had two main consequences: on the one hand, it favoured the strengthening of its ties with the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, all placed under the same political hegemony of the Golden Horde, and on the other hand, it allowed the formation of several political and fiscal structures appropriated subsequently by the Moldavian voivodes.

Comerțul venețian în nord-vestul Mării Negre la începutul secolului al XVII-lea: implicațiile unui document

Author(s): Cristian Nicolae Apetrei / Language(s): Romanian Issue: XLII/2024

On 16 June 1610, the Venetian ambassador (bailo) to Constantinople Simone Contarini appointed Antonio Massari, a merchant from Dalmatia, as consul in the Polish city of Lviv. His mission was to protect the interests of Venetian merchants coming to Poland via the Black Sea and Moldavia. This paper identifies three research topics that benefit from data provided by the appointment document and assesses how it changes the perspectives we have on these topics. First, the document provides new information about the Vevelli merchants, one of the Cretan families successfully involved in the Venetian malmsey trade. The information allows for the identification of one of the family’s unknown members, as well as the chronology of the Vevellis’ trading operations in the Polish kingdom. Second, the presence of the Venetian consul in Lviv changes the way we perceive the final phase of the Venetian wine trade in Poland: its decline came later than previously considered; consequently, its causal explanations need to be revised. Third, Antonio Massari’s appointment is also relevant to the context of trade relations between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. It suggests that the Polish city of Lviv, along with the Ottoman ports of Chilia and Caffa, was part of the Venetian consular network established in the first half of the 17th century both on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea and in its hinterland. Finally, the latter conclusion suggests that the closing of the Black Sea by the Ottomans in the 16th-17th centuries was not complete. The navigation of Western trading ships was conditioned and restricted by the authorities in Constantinople, but it was not totally forbidden.

Transformări terminologice aferente sistemului fiscal din Țara Românească (secolele XVII-XVIII). Practica „mâncăturilor” și stăpânirea austriacă

Author(s): Oana Rizescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: XLII/2024

The article surveys the changes suffered by elements of the vocabulary associated with the practices of tax collection in Wallachia, taking the period of Austrian rule in the province of Oltenia (1718 1739) as a revelator able to shed light on the changing meanings of the terms involved, during the entire evolution of the administrative system over the long run of history (from the 17th century to the end of the 18th century). The term „mâncături”, which is highlighted by the analysis, is shown as staying at the core of the whole range of gestures and practices by the means of which the obligations of the villagers to support the tax collectors were expected to be performed. The various contexts of its occurrence, including the peculiar one of the Austrian attempt at administrative rationalization, are indicative for the conceptions sustaining the administrative structure of the traditional Romanian society.

Odzyskanie niepodległości przez państwa bałtyckie w świetle procesu rozpadu ZSRS oraz następcze rozliczenie okresu sowieckiej okupacji. Wybrane aspekty natury prawnej i politycznej

Author(s): Barbara Jundo-Kaliszewska,Tomasz Lachowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 20/2021

Przeprowadzona w niniejszym opracowaniu analiza zbudowana jest wokół następującej hipotezy badawczej – w porównaniu z innymi częściami byłego ZSRS stopień rozliczenia okresu sowieckiej dominacji na Litwie, Łotwie oraz w Estonii był zdecydowanie głębszy (choć niepełny), co wynikało przede wszystkim z przyjęcia jednoznacznego stanowiska prawnego w zakresie przebywania państw bałtyckich pod nielegalną okupacją sowiecką w latach 1940–1991 (z przerwą na lata 1941–1944, tj. okupację niemiecką) i kontynuacji podmiotowości prawnomiędzynarodowej międzywojennych niepodległych państw przez państwa bałtyckie po 1991 r. W tym celu zostaną omówione mechanizmy prawne z zakresu sprawiedliwości okresu przejściowego (transitional justice) wdrożone przez państwa bałtyckie po odzyskaniu przez nie niepodległości, a także ich polityczno-społeczna percepcja, przekładająca się na wciąż istniejące problemy związane z przepracowaniem okresu reżimu totalitarnego, panującego niemal pół wieku na terytorium Litwy, Łotwy oraz Estonii.

O jednostce i historii – Gorbaczow i koniec imperium. Recenzja książki: Alicja Stępień-Kuczyńska "Gorbaczow. Pieriestrojka i rozpad imperium" Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, Łódź 2020

Author(s): Jakub Olchowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 20/2021

Wilno 1991 Kijów 2013–2014 Mińsk 2020

Author(s): Wojciech Jankowski,Tomasz Grzywaczewski,Piotr Hlebowicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 20/2021

Pozostając w temacie przewodnim niniejszego numeru czasopisma naukowego „Władza Sądzenia”, tj. 30. rocznicy rozpadu Związku Sowieckiego, w tym jego przyczyn oraz konsekwencji, prezentujemy krótką fotogalerią z trzech niezwykle ważnych momentów społeczno-politycznych, które zmieniły i wciąż zmieniają przestrzeń post-sowiecką.

L’église Saint-Georges de Mazraaet el-Chouf et son abside peinte. Un exemple de l’architecture religieuse chrétienne au Liban à l’époque ottomane

Author(s): Hany Kahwagi-Janho,Rita Kalindjian / Language(s): French Issue: 1/2024

With the advent of the Ottoman Empire in the Levant region and particularly in Mount Lebanon, we witnessed a sort of unification of the Christian religious architecture in the region, particularly for the typology of single-naved churches. This unified model, apart from a few variants, is based on a plan most often with two bays and a supporting structure formed by pilasters supporting edge vaults. The Saint George Church of Mazraaet elChouf, dating from the 18th century, forms a typical example of this architecture. With its apse covered by a multitude of layers of painted coatings, it forms one of the rare examples in Lebanon where several specimens of wall paintings, characteristic of this period, overlap and are still preserved while, in dozens of similar churches, these coatings have completely disappeared following the stripping of the monuments’ walls.

Vârfuri de săgeată din perioada medievală descoperite în zona oraşului Bârlad

Author(s): Adrian-Ionuţ Gîlea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 34/2024

The present article aims to present 6 arrowheads accidentally found in the area of the town of Bârlad, Vaslui County. In the absence of a clear archaeological context, their dating cannot be precisely given, but I offer both a chronological and geographic reference point and a description of every piece to support next research, on the basis of analogies with other similar findings in different European or Asian countries.

Cu privire la câteva imagini satelitare Google Earth de pe teritoriul judeţului Arad (munţii Zărandului şi nordul podişului Lipovei)

Author(s): Eugen D. Pădurean / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 34/2024

The author refers to some Google Earth sattelite images observed in the area of the Zărand Mountains (5) and one South of the Mureş river. These are rectangular clay structures (Șiria – Cetatea Veche/ The Old Fortress, Măderat – Între vii/ Among the Vineyards, Nadăş- Tabăra/ The Camp, Văsoaia – Jidovina) – all in the Zărand Mountains and Valea Mare – Măgura, Săvârşin town, visible on the first high parts of the Lipova plateau. A clay structure different in form – spool – was noticed at Minişul de Sus (Zărand Mountains). The author believes that these clay structures, clay, and wood fortifications belong to different historical periods. The reson for supporting his theory is provided by the local native toponymy distorted by the transcript of Austrian cartographers in the 17th–19th centuries. On-site investigations the objectives under discussion are regarded as necessary.

Testamentul între mântuirea sufletului şi disputele succesorale. Ultima voluntas a lui Nicolae senior de Ocna Sibiului şi a fiicei sale Magdalena

Author(s): Maria Frînc / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 34/2024

The last will of one on the deathbed or being in danger is an ancient human practice, from antiquity till our days. Orally made initially, the last will is written after so that it wouldn’t be ever forgotten. This will is especially related to the testator’s estate distribution after death. To be legal, the written document must follow the law in force within the territory and time of writing it. Consequently, the will is a legal value paper concerning the testator’s estate so divided to ensure the deceased resting in peace and a good life together of the ones who benefit of the legacy. Two are the wills I analyzed in the present study: a better known one belonging to Nicolae Senior of Ocna Sibiului, vice-voivode of Transylvania, and another one, less or almost unknown, belonging to her daughter, Magdalena. The two letters generated many succession disputes, even if they had been drawn up for the testator’s soul salvation and for rewarding his/ her intimates. The analyzed law conflicts show the importance of a will and, especially, of the inheritance, both for the testator and the beneficiaries. The will and its results illustrate the testator’s society directed by common laws or judicial standards that I have approached by the means of sociological, historical, and judicial filters, the two acts being only a sample from the large number of medieval wills.

Pe urmele unui proces de proprietate

Author(s): Zoltan Iusztin / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 34/2024

The Historical sources testify that the judicial activity in the kingdom of Hungary was intensive at the turn of the XV–XVI centuries. The presentation of a case study provides a lot of information about the functionality of the courts seats and their subordination in the relation with the sovereign. A trial of Francis Haraszti, a knight of the court regarding the right of possession over the Păuliş estate, in the Arad county, is representative from this point of view, because it dragged on the role of the courts for almost three decades, leaving behind numerous documents. Their research highlights numerous juridical, political, and social aspects. It is deciphered including the attitude of individuals and the feelings they feel towards the act of justice. The testimonies generally concern the nobility and privileged status. In their case, is observable the ardor with which justice was sought, regardless of their financial power. From this point of view it is possible to confirm the testimony of the jurist Stephen Werbőczy regarding the homogeneity of the nobility or, at least, its equality before justice.

Familiile nobiliare Maciovan şi Birta în secolele XV–XVII

Author(s): Dragoș Lucian Țigău / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 34/2024

From 1454 and 1535, respectively, the families of Maciovan and Birta are noted down in some papers. The preserved documents allow us to partially reconstitute their genealogical relation and offer data on their onomastics, relationship, estate, and the functions they got in time. The first family consists in 9 known members (6 men and 3 women), and for the second one, there are data on 13 members (9 men and 4 ladies). A matrimonial alliance between the two families was concluded at the middle of the 16th century. Both of them lived and integrated into a prevalent Romanian environment. The nobiliary status, confirmed even by the first notings, was carried by all the ones belonging to those families. Shares of villages, houses, and mills in Caransebeş city and district formed their real estate. Village of Maciova was the main of their properties used as a patronimyc or a nobiliary particle of the Birtas. Their properties had the chance of not being occupied by the Ottomans in 1552. In change, many inside patrimonial conflicts and agreements or between the families’ members and other nobiliary families marked their life. Their presence in the nobles assembly in Caransebeş district and in the Council of the omonimous city confirme their nobiliary ascension. Given the absence of male descendants, the two families disapeared after 1600.

Alimentaţia locuitorilor din oraşele transilvănene în secolul al XVII‑lea

Author(s): Șarolta Solcan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 34/2024

The present study stands on documents provinding from the towns of Cluj, Târgu Mureş, Alba Iulia, and Braşov that allow us to reconstitute certain aspects of people feeding during the 17th century. Registers and account books from St. Duh/ The Holy Ghost and Sf. Elisabeta/ St. Elisabeth asyla (1601–1650) in Cluj are of great importance for containing very many details on regular nourishment both of the refugees and the ones who used to have a meal there. Namely, guardians, auditors belonging to the town elite, workers and villains brought there for special and temporary activities. Starting from such papers with large data on nourisment of different social-economic and cultural categories, I analyze both the common elements and the particular ones that constituted the people feeding in the cities of Transylvania within the 17th century. The Town of Cluj Rules on Trade and Goods (1668) is a precious source in aknowledging the city strategy and, implicitly, the local mentality concerning feedind supply and trade. Forwards, my analysis presents the main features of people feeding, from ingredients and menus, to daily consumption framing. The sources also show the women’s specific part in urban trade with feeding products and the culinary art developing. The first cookbook, written by Sofia Tofeus in 1692 (Târgu Mureş) demonstrates it. Even if great discrepancies marked the nourishment of people in Cluj, we may consider that the interest, the efforts for a healthy feeding using fresh ingredients, and diversification of nourishment were the factors which connected all of them.

The Creation of New Visual Content in Altar Sculpture: an Overview of the Neo‑Gothic Altars in the Catholic Cathedral of Timişoara

Author(s): Mihaela Vlăsceanu / Language(s): English Issue: 34/2024

To understand the relationship between art and ideology during this period, the present study highlights the complex interactions between artistic creations and their historical context, emphasizing the importance of critique and interpretation within a timeframe defined by the idea of national revival. In Austro-Hungarian Banat, this revival acquired unique dimensions through the resemanticization of visually impactful concepts that directed the viewer towards the glorious past of medieval Hungary. We will explore this notion of nationhood as promoted through art, specifically through the artistic vision of sculptor Joannes Müller in 1856, in the composition of two neo-Gothic altars. These structures employ a universal visual language that connects the present to the past through recurring, established iconographies. Such symbolic images translate the politics of the period into a visual discourse, manifesting as a form of visual propaganda for the moment of state, legislative, cultural, and religious consolidation of the Kingdom of Hungary, particularly during the reigns of the canonized kings Stephen and Ladislaus, as well as Duke Emeric. As this examination serves as an introduction to the history of the genre in 19th-century Banat, we will employ a range of analytical approaches, situating the discussion within the methodological framework of art history.

Ioan‑Aurel Pop, The Hunyadis: a European Family, Editura coala Ardeleană, Cluj-Napoca, 2020, 428 pag. + 44 de ilustraţii

Author(s): Marian Horvat / Language(s): English Issue: 34/2024

Book review. The structure of the book is well balanced, having a Foreword, a Note on the book, eight chapters, a bibliography, an index, and 44 colour illustrations. The chapters are called: The Middle Ages among the Romanians, At the Beginnings of the Hunyadis, Iancu’s Family, Iancu’s Legacy, Matia’s Wars, Matia and the Romanians, Matia’s Legacies, and The Hunyadis and Us. Almost all of them were originally articles, studies, and essays, having been published separately. This is not a monograph, but a series of thorough and complex investigations. The style is accessible, engaging and compelling. The author’s literary talent is obvious.

Fotografia ojczysta jako czynnik integrujący społeczności Ziem Odzyskanych w pierwszej dekadzie po II wojnie światowej

Author(s): Maciej Szymanowicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 22/2022

Artykuł pokazuje sposoby obrazowania społeczności i terenów Ziem Odzyskanych przez polskich fotografów w pierwszej dekadzie po II wojnie światowej. Gigantyczna skala ówczesnych migracji i powstające w jej wyniku nowe struktury społeczne stały się ważnym elementem nie tylko krajowej polityki, ale również jednym z kluczowych tematów ówczesnej fotografii. Oficjalne przekazy propagandowe utwierdzające społeczeństwo w celowości przejęcia terytoriów i powrotu na „ziemie macierzyste” wpływały na tworzenie określonego modelu fotograficznej reprezentacji Ziem Odzyskanych. W artykule została omówiona rola fotografii w konstruowaniu „tożsamości protetycznej” umożliwiającej przedstawienie nowego terytorium i jego mieszkańców jako gospodarzy „własnego” obszaru. Dociekania przedstawione w artykule są prowadzone na bazie materiałów archiwalnych i pokazują jak ewoluował w pierwszej dekadzie po II wojnie światowej obraz Ziem Odzyskanych, ze względu na zmieniające się koncepcje polityczne i artystyczne. Elementem spajającym przedstawioną problematykę są zagadnienia programu fotografii ojczystej, który został wykorzystany jako podstawa estetyczna dla opisanych akcji dokumentalnych.