Casa Vasile Boerescu

Vasile Boerescu was born in Bucharest on January 1, 1830, the second son of Constantin and Ana. The first child of the family, Scarlat, died young, shortly after graduating from the “Saint Sava” National College. In the Boerescu family, Vasile was followed by his brother Constantin — who later became a lawyer, politician and president of the Senate — and three sisters: Maria, Ana and Eufrosina. The family’s origins date back to Banat, where, at the beginning of the 18th century, a small landowner named Vasile Boerescu was forced to take refuge in Wallachia, in Câmpulung, to escape the persecutions of the time.

Vasile’s childhood took place in Bucharest, where he attended the “Saint Sava” National College, a prestigious educational institution, previously attended by great personalities of the era, such as Nicolae Bălcescu and Ion Ghica. This school was notable for promoting patriotic values ​​among its students, many of whom later became active militants for the social and national emancipation of the Romanian people. In this context, Vasile Boerescu grew up and was formed under the influence of progressive and democratic ideas, acquiring a critical vision of the old feudal regime.

The decisive moment for the young Boerescu's affirmation came with the Revolution of 1848, which he considered a necessity for social progress and the democratization of Romanian society. In his view, the revolution represented an indispensable means of removing feudal privileges and establishing a regime of justice and truth. Vasile Boerescu approached revolutionary leaders with radical visions, especially Constantin Alexandru Rosetti, one of the leaders of the movement in Wallachia and a supporter of the idea of ​​unifying the Principalities.

Although young and inexperienced, Boerescu was actively involved in writing and preparing materials for the radical newspaper "Pruncul român". A significant article he signed, "Către frații reacționari", published on August 31, 1848, denounced the attitude of the reactionary boyars who were conspiring with external forces against the homeland. In the pages of the article, Boerescu appealed to the conscience of these conservative elements, reminding them that they were sons of the Romanian people and that their duty was to put the interests of the homeland above their personal ones. He preached national unity, encouraging the idea of ​​a homeland devoid of privileges and prejudices, in which Romanians would form a unitary, inviolable body.

Vasile Boerescu signed the petition addressed to the sultan in September 1848, alongside important names of the revolution such as Nicolae Bălcescu, Dumitru Brătianu and Constantin Alexandru Rosetti. The petition called for an end to the acts of violence that had erupted with the Ottoman intervention in Wallachia and disapproved of the behavior of Fuad Effendi, the imperial commissioner in charge of reinstating the Organic Regulation, a document abolished during the revolution. The young Boerescu was arrested in Ploiești by Tsarist troops, but managed to free himself with the support of the sub-administrator Manolache Șoimescu, then returning to Bucharest. Faced with the repressive measures of the occupiers, he chose to temporarily withdraw from public life in order to continue his studies.

In 1850, Vasile Boerescu translated and adapted for the Romanian stage the play “The Orphan Soldier”, a melodrama in three acts, published by Zaharia Carcalechi’s Bucharest printing house. This work illustrated the young man’s intellectual maturity and his constant interest in promoting national values ​​through culture.

Two years later, in 1852, Boerescu went to Paris to continue his university studies, financially supported by the family of the merchant Ion Hagi Tudorache, a close friend. At the Faculty of Law in the French capital, he studied between 1852 and 1855, obtaining his bachelor's degree on September 25, 1855, after defending a thesis on the relationship between Roman law and the Napoleonic code. He continued his studies, and in August 1857 he became a doctor of law, with an extensive 385-page work that comparatively analyzed crimes and punishments from a legal and philosophical perspective, something rare at the time.

The period spent in Paris offered him the opportunity to broaden his horizons, acquiring solid knowledge not only in law, but also in history, philosophy, political economy and other fields. This complex intellectual training, in one of the most reputable European universities, would profoundly mark Vasile Boerescu's personality.

In parallel with his studies, Boerescu became involved in supporting the Romanian national cause. In 1853, he wrote a memoir in which he pleaded for the right of the Romanian people to autonomous development, an idea that Ion Heliade-Rădulescu considered mature and worthy of a man with vast experience. In February 1856, he published the work "Mémoire sur la question politique et économique de la Moldo-Valachie", in which he demonstrated the need to establish an independent Romanian state on the Lower Danube. The memoir was sent to the delegates of the great powers at the Congress of Paris and appreciated by the international press, including the British newspaper "Morning Advertiser".

After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Boerescu intensified his journalistic activity, criticizing the restrictions imposed on Romanians. In the pamphlet "La Roumanie après le traité de Paris du 30 mars 1856", reported by the jurist Pierre Paul Royer-Collard, he used the name Romania to designate the entire area inhabited by Romanians and argued in favor of national unity, invoking the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination.

In February 1857, Boerescu published in Paris the pamphlet "Le firman turc pour la convocation des Divans ad hoc", in which he criticized the provisions of this political act, considering it an attack on the national sovereignty of the Romanians and a violation of the provisions of the treaty of 1856. Returning to the country, in October 1857 he obtained the right to edit the newspaper "Naționalul", a moderate liberal press organ, which informed public opinion about the actions and nationalist ideas of the leaders of the time.

Boerescu also contributed to the popularization of the Paris Convention of 7/19 August 1858, through the brochure "Explanation of the Convention relative to the organization of the Romanian Principalities", analyzing the constitutional provisions in relation to those in European legislation. In 1858, he printed in Paris "Examen de la Convention du 19 Aout", in which he thanked the guarantor powers for the support given to the Romanians and drew attention to the divergences among them regarding the issue of the Union.

Directly involved in the elections for the Elective Assembly, Boerescu contested the irregularities committed by the authorities and campaigned for the annulment of the election. During the Assembly, on 24 January 1859, he delivered a memorable speech, calling on the deputies to put aside their disagreements and vote in favor of the Union. He advocated for the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, already elected Prince of Moldova on January 5, considering that this would represent the expression of the principle of national unity. His words had a decisive effect, determining the unanimity of the vote for Cuza on that historic day.

Sursa: www.researchgate.net