Az 1854-es országos államkölcsön Háromszéken

Nagy, Botond (2023) Az 1854-es országos államkölcsön Háromszéken. ACTA SICULICA: A SZÉKELY NEMZETI MÚZEUM ÉVKÖNYVE, 2023. pp. 205-226. ISSN 1843-8385

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Abstract

The summer of 1854 saw a state-wide attempt of the Vienna government to raise loans to facilitate running the empire smoothly, despite the enormous costs involved. During the course of the previous years, there were similar government loan programs to address the various liquidity issues of the treasury; however, besides the 1854 operation dwarfing these through the sheer magnitude of its scope, it also differed from them in that it was also conceived as serving an additional propaganda purpose: as a voluntary, collective undertaking of the empire’s citizens, the program was supposed to double as a centripetal force bolstering an imperial brand of patriotism that could counterbalance the threat national movements posed to the unity of the empire. Naturally, implementing the plan strictly on the basis of voluntary participation proved more difficult than expected, especially in such renitent provinces as Transylvania. Therefore, the authorities began applying various forms of pressure on individuals and local governments alike, a practice protesting which in the recently pacified region was ill-advised. This study endeavours to look into the events surrounding this government loan program, as well as its consequences in the Székely seat of Háromszék. While the operation merits the historian’s attention in itself as well, a further aspect that is worth focusing on is its unforeseen positive by-effect of allowing local governments to amass a capital that local quasi-institutions of crediting could be built upon. Subsequently, this paper can further provide a partial explanation for the delay with which commercial credit institutions appeared in the broader area, as well as a useful starting point for continued research into communal crediting.

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