An attempt to disrupt a celebration dedicated to the Prince of Wallachia Alexandru D. Ghica (30 August 1838)
Author: Cosmin MIHUŢ
Keywords: celebration, Alexandru D. Ghica, poem, opposition, pamphlet.
In 1838, on the day of Saint Alexander, a big celebration was being organized in honour of the Prince. This seemed the perfect opportunity for his adversaries to try to publicly humiliate him by ruining the festive event. Thus, a secret attempt was made to prevent the representation of a play written by two Frenchmen (H. Buvelot and G. Storhas), who aimed to glorify the achievements of Ghica’s reign and his love for the country. At the same time, a pamphlet started to circulate in Bucharest, questioning, in a very ironical language, the honesty and the capabilities of Alexandru D. Ghica and his brothers, whom he placed in high offices of his administration. This paper analyzes the manner in which the celebration was organized, focusing on the message it aimed to transmit and also determine the reasons why an attempt to disrupt it was made and by whom.