Constantin G. Cantacuzino, also known as Costache Cantacozino or Costandin Cantacuzino (transitional Cyrillic: Кonстanтin Кanтaкozino; 1790s–1877), was the Caimacam (Regent) of Wallachia in September 1848–June 1849, appointed directly by the Ottoman Empire. A member of the Cantacuzino family, he had emerged as a leader of the conservative boyardom during the Regulamentul Organic period. As a commander in the Wallachian militia, he organized in 1831 the first elections for Bucharest's Town Council, and subsequently served as one of the Bucharest Governors. He first played a major part in national government from 1837 to 1842, when he served Prince Alexandru II Ghica as Postelnic and Logothete. During that interval, he clashed with his own brother Grigore Cantacuzino, who sided with the liberal current.
Falling out of favor with the Russian Empire, Cantacuzino was deposed ahead of Ghica himself, and was an unsuccessful candidate in the princely election of December 1842. After years in self-imposed exile, Cantacuzino returned with the Ottoman Army in September 1848, helping to quell the 1848 Revolution—although his own son, Ion C. Cantacuzino, had been active within the revolutionary movement. Supervised by Fuad Pasha, Constantin sent the revolutionary leadership, including his immediate predecessors, into exile. He then oversaw the imprisonment and mistreatment of various others, being allegedly responsible for the death in custody of writer Ion Catina. He also disarmed the rebel forces, while restoring both Regulamentul and its symbols of power, as well as reintroducing slavery.
Cantacuzino resigned when Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei took over as Prince, but remained active within Știrbei's successive governments, being granted the office of Great Vornic. He opposed the Prince's views on agrarian reform, taking an ultra-conservative stance which favored indentured servitude for Wallachian farmers. Throughout the early 1850s, Cantacuzino actively sought the crown of Wallachia for himself, championing Ottoman loyalism. His in-law Nicolae Mavros also attempted to make him ruler of both Danubian Principalities.
Cantacuzino's final moment in power was in late July 1854, during an interregnum caused by the Crimean War. He became the president of an Administrative Council created by Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov just before the Russian withdrawal from Wallachia. The Ottomans then recognized him as head of a caretaker government, jointly with Constantin Năsturel-Herescu, although both resigned after Știrbei's second return that September. After rallying with a larger conservative coalition, he served a final ministerial term in 1856, became a minor contender in the princely election of 1859, and was Vice President of the resulting Ad hoc Divan. In this capacity, he streamlined the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor. While the Caimacam spent the remainder of his life abroad, his sons Ion and Adolf remained active in the administration of the United Principalities. Constantin was the father-in-law of General Gheorghe Manu, as well as the grandfather of microbiologist Ioan Cantacuzino and of poet Scarlat Cantacuzino.
Biography Early life
Of distant Greek origins, the Cantacuzinos had reached prominence in both Wallachia and Moldavia, which were governed as tributary states of the Ottoman Empire. According to diverging accounts, Constantin was born in 1791,Bezviconi, p. 82 1793,Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 276 or "about 1798".Rizo-Rangabé, p. 26 His father was the Clucer Gheorghe (Iordache) Cantacuzino (1747–1803), grandson of Constantin I Cantacuzino; through his two paternal great-grandparents, Constantin descended from Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu and Prince Radu Șerban.Rizo-Rangabé, pp. 17–18, 24–26 Constantin was born from Gheorghe's marriage to Maricuța, daughter of Ban Ștefan Pârșcoveanu. The couple had another son, Grigore (1800–1849), who also served as Wallachia's Vornic.Rizo-Rangabé, pp. 25–26. See also Bezviconi, p. 82
Cantacuzino's involvement with the Wallachian administration began during the late stages of the Phanariote era, when both Principalities were being Hellenized. He first became a titled boyar in 1813, under Prince John Caradja, when he was appointed Serdar of the Wallachian military forces; in 1820, he was an Aga, or head of Wallachia's police.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 276–277 In 1821, following the Greek War of Independence and the anti-Phanariote uprising, he and his family took refuge in the Austrian Empire, joining a colony of boyars in Corona (Brașov).Filitti (1932), pp. 62–65; Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 277 An anonymous letter, tentatively dated to April 1821, cites him as one of the boyars attracted into the anti-Phanariote faction of this diaspora, alongside Grigore Brâncoveanu, Scarlat Rosetti and Alexandru Vilara.Filitti (1932), pp. 64–65
The Aga had returned home by 1822, the probable year of his marriage to Zoe Slătineanu, from whom he had his four children.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 277 In 1828, under Grigore IV Ghica, he issued the first-ever decree regulating Wallachia's police, which also marked a first step in its transition to modern metropolitan law enforcement.Dana Cadeschi, "Câteva aspecte privind aplicarea Legii pentru autorizarea comunelor urbane de a avea poliție municipală (1878)", in Annals of the University of Bucharest. Political Science Series, Vol. 3, 2001, p. 45 That year, he was also appointed as the first ethnic Romanian to serve as Efor (Curator) of the Wallachian theaters.Potra (1990 I), p. 524 Cantacuzino's political climb was accelerated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828, when he welcomed the Imperial Russian Army and became a protege of Governor Pavel Kiselyov. Following the Treaty of Adrianople, both Principalities became protectorates of Russia under Ottoman suzerainty. In 1831, Cantacuzino was Vornic of the Wallachian Police in Bucharest. In this capacity, together with Gheorghe Bibescu he organized the very first elections for the Town Council, which took place in November 1831. When this was convened, he also presented himself as a candidate for an executive function (mădulăr), failing to obtain an absolute majority but advancing to the second round.Filitti (1909), pp. 551–553 He ultimately earned endorsements from 56 out of 80 councilors,Constantin Moisil, "Primul sfat orășenesc al Bucureștilor", in Bucureștii Vechi, Vols. I–IV, 1935, pp. 136–154 and, after validation by Kiselyov on November 28, emerged as one of five town governors.Filitti (1909), p. 553 Still serving as Aga in 1832, Cantacuzino was directly involved in the hunt for brigand Ioniță Tunsu.Potra (1990 II), p. 75 Kiselyov also assigned him to committees which supervised the paving and beautification of Bucharest's streets; his colleagues were Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei and Alecu Filipescu-Vulpea.Potra (1990 I), pp. 230, 292 With Iancu Văcărescu and Costache Golescu, he also collected funds for the establishment of a national theater.Bogdan-Duică, p. 31 His own townhouse, located outside Lipscani, was fitted with a bathhouse—one of the few private ones existing in 1830s Wallachia.Potra (1990 I), p. 265
In parallel, Cantacuzino also ran in Wallachia's first legislative election, taking one of the 19 Ordinary Assembly seats reserved for the high-ranking boyars. Ștefan Grigorescu, "Regulamentul organic și primele alegeri din Olt și Romanați", in Memoria Oltului și Romanaților, Vol. V, Issue 2, February 2016, pp. 75–76 After the election of 1836, there were protracted debates between the National Party and the conservative boyars. A ministerial crisis was finally ended in June 1837, when Cantacuzino agreed to enter a cabinet that also included his rival Știrbei.Iorga (1910), p. 29 He served as Postelnic or Secretary of State, and was also Logothete or Justice Minister.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 277; Tiron, p. 93 He contributed to the pacification of Brăila in July 1841, signing Prince Alexandru II Ghica's proclamation to the rebellious Bulgarians.Andronescu et al., pp. 86–88 Acting on Ghica's behalf, he welcomed at Calafat the Ottoman inspector, Hüseyin Pasha, with whom he discussed means of tackling Russian intrigues in Wallachia.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 123–128
By 1842 Logothete Cantacuzino had been received into three orders of chivalry by Wallachia's protective powers: he had the Order of Saint Anna, Second Class; the Order of Saint Vladimir, Fourth Class; and the Ottoman Order of Glory.Tiron, pp. 93, 99 His friendship with Kiselyov afforded him a say in the legislative framework of Wallachia, codified as Regulamentul Organic. From within the Ordinary Assembly, Cantacuzino supported tagging the controversial "additional article" to Regulamentul, and thus revealed himself as a vocal backer of Russian influence in the Principalities.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 277 This pitted him against the National Party, whose leaders included Emanoil Băleanu, Ioan Câmpineanu, and his own brother, Grigore Cantacuzino.Bogdan-Duică, pp. 132, 134; Xenopol & Kretzulescu, p. 12. See also Iorga (1929), p. 232
Constantin was still a member of the Assembly following the election of 1841. However, on May 20, 1842, Russian commissioner Alexander Osipovich Duhamel obtained that he be deposed as Postelnic and replaced with Știrbei.Andronescu et al., pp. 90–91 Cantacuzino presented himself as a candidate in the princely election of December, but only managed 41 of 188 votes;Andronescu et al., pp. 91–94. See also Bușă et al., p. 682 the winner was Bibescu. Initially, Bibescu promoted him, assigning him office as an Efor of the Wallachian schools, jointly with Filipescu-Vulpea and Mihalache Ghica.Potra (1963), pp. 138–139, 166–167, 191, 349–351 Like his brother Grigore (who sat in the Assembly's committee for educational review), Constantin was a reactionary who objected to educational reform.Potra (1963), pp. 166–167 Still present in the Assembly in 1843, he soon rallied with the anti-Bibescu opposition, blocking his legislative projects.Bibescu, pp. 69–70, 128–130 He later chose to expatriate himself,Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, p. 277 although his family remained behind. His eldest son, Ion C. (Iancu), was married from 1846Fotino, p. 299 to Maria, daughter of the numismatist and Russian spy Nicolae Mavros. This made Constantin in-laws with politician Ion Ghica and with the Kotzebue family.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 208, 254. See also Bogdan-Duică, pp. 37–38, 183; Florescu, pp. 381–382; Panaitescu, pp. 36, 73, 146, 148; Parusheva, pp. 159–160, 161
1848 takeover
In June 1848, Wallachia's liberal revolution toppled Bibescu and installed a Provisional Government. Two of Cantacuzino's three sons, Ion and Grigore, were enthusiastic participants in the events.Lăcusteanu & Crutzescu, pp. 160, 270. See also Xenopol & Kretzulescu, pp. 266–267 The former served on the Regeneration Club (which grouped the most committed radicals) and its Central Electoral Committee.Vârgolici, pp. 82–83 In the early stages, both Constantin and his Mavros daughter-in-law helped the radical Nicolae Bălcescu evade police round-ups at Telega.Panaitescu, pp. 73, 147–148 On June 11, the day of revolutionary victory, he wrote to Bălcescu a congratulatory and "rather humble" letter.Dan Berindei, "Contradicțiile de clasă în desfășurarea revoluției muntene din 1848", in Studii. Revistă de Istorie, Vol. XI, Issue 3, 1958, p. 36 During the subsequent weeks, the new regime sought to obtain recognition from the Sublime Porte. The Cantacuzino home was also where the Provisional Government, represented by Ioan Voinescu II, welcomed Suleiman Pasha in August.Albini, pp. 130–131