Alecu Filipescu-Vulpea, also known as Aleco Filipescul, Alecsandru R. FilipescuAchim et al., pp. 63–64, 138, 158 or Alexandru Răducanu FilipescuPreda, p. 54 (1775 – November 1856), was a Wallachian administrator and high-ranking boyar, who played an important part in the politics of the late Phanariote era and of the Regulamentul Organic regime. Beginning in the 1810s, he took an anti-Phanariote stand, conspiring alongside the National Party and the Filiki Eteria to institute new constitutional norms. Clashing with the National Party over the distribution of spoils, and only obtaining relatively minor positions in the administration of Bucharest, Filipescu eventually joined a clique of boyars that cooperated closely with the Russian Empire. His conditional support for the Eterists played out during the Wallachian uprising of 1821, when Vulpea manipulated all sides against each other, ensuring safety for the boyars. He returned to prominence under Prince Grigore IV Ghica, but sabotaged the monarch's political reform effort and also seduced his wife Maria. She was probably the mother of his only son, Ioan Alecu Filipescu-Vulpache.
Both Vulpea and Vulpache had important roles in political life under the Russian occupation of 1829–1854. Filipescu Sr worked for the beautification of Bucharest under Pavel Kiselyov, then presided over the departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs. The owner of lucrative estates and an inn in the Bucegi Mountains, he was also a philanthropist, and served for decades on the Wallachian school board alongside his protégé Petrache Poenaru. Although perceived as a committed Russophile, Alecu was a pragmatic conservative who continued seeking alternatives to Russian control, also envisaging a political unification of the Danubian Principalities. He mounted the opposition to Alexandru II Ghica, reluctantly siding with Gheorghe Bibescu and Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei, before running against them in the 1842 election for the Wallachian throne. Bibescu emerged as the winner and then co-opted Vulpea into his circle, making Vulpache his son-in-law. The three of them oversaw the charity established for Princess Zoe, Așezămintele Brâncovenești.
In 1845, Vulpea was created Ban, but was only marginally active before and after the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. Serving Prince Știrbei as adviser on agrarian matters, he died three years before Wallachia's incorporation into the United Principalities, whose administration co-opted his son. His profile endures in political theater from as early as the Phanariote period and was revived to serve as the antagonist in literary works by Camil Petrescu.
Biography Eteria and 1821 revolt Born in Bucharest as the scion of boyar aristocracy, Alecu was the son of Medelnicer Radu (or Răducan) Filipescu, and probably the grandson of Logothete Pană.Iorga (1902), pp. XXX–XXXI Their core demesne was the eponymous Filipeștii de Târg, which their ancestors founded 1600,Brătescu et al., p. 201 with another ancestral home in Bucharest, on the western side of Podul Mogoșoaiei.Papazoglu, p. 67 In addition to land of this category, Alecu inherited a number of estates in Prahova County, including parcels of the Bucegi Mountains: Jepii, Sorica and Vârful lui Găvan.Brătescu et al., pp. 108, 246, 249–250, 315, 459–460, 485, 534–535, 633 His mother Maria, from the Văcărescu family,Fotino, p. 123 also gave Radu two other sons, Grigore and Nicolae.Iorga (1902), pp. XXX–XXXI, XXXVI–XXXVII Early on, Alecu received a thorough education both at home and abroad, and was well-versed in Latin, Ancient and Modern Greek, French and Italian.Rosetti, p. 74 He was later schooled in the Austrian Empire, with Félix Colson as his tutor and Iancu Văcărescu for a colleague,Ghica & Roman, p. 342 returning to Wallachia by 1800. That year, he became godfather to Alexandru Dumitrescu, son of a parish priest at Sfântul Nicolae Tabacu, Bucharest; a series of adventures in Vulpea's lifetime resulted in Dumitrescu becoming husband of Safta Văcărescu, and grandfather of French diplomat Maurice Paléologue.Emanoil Hagi-Moscu, "Suflet de renegat", in Universul, February 4, 1938, p. 2
Alecu Filipescu rose to the post of great Stolnic in 1804.Iorga (1902), p. XXXVII During the 1806 war with Russia, he crossed into Moldavia, and later into Russia. By 1816, he was in contact with Greek immigrant circles, and reportedly joined the secret society known as Filiki Eteria, which wanted to have the Balkans, Wallachia included, removed from the Ottoman Empire.Vianu & Iancovici, p. 74 Nevertheless, Filipescu remained a Romanian nationalist opposed to Wallachia's Hellenization, and also frequented the National Party of Dionisie Lupu, Metropolitan of Wallachia.Xenopol, p. 49 He and his entire family opposed Prince John Caradja, a Phanariote, who took special measures to have them silenced.Andronescu et al., p. 46; Camariano & Capodistria, pp. 101, 104; Ghica & Roman, p. 147; Golescu & Moraru, pp. 29–30, 70, 429; Ploscaru, p. 94 Apparently, Filipescu was also personal friends with another Caradja adversary, the innkeeper Manuc Bei, with whom he engaged in land speculation.Camariano & Capodistria, p. 101 In 1818, he also set up his own business as a restaurateur, founding his own inn-and-salon near Sorica.Brătescu et al., p. 108
In 1820, under Prince Alexandros Soutzos, Filipescu detached himself from the National Party, joining the Russophiles. He was widely seen as a liaison for the Russian consul, Alexander Pini, who mediated between the Wallachian boyardom and the Eteria conspirators.Ploscaru, pp. 91–94, 98 Within the Boyars' Divan, Alecu and Iordache Filipescu now opposed the National Party, whose chiefs were Grigore Brâncoveanu and Barbu Văcărescu. The latter group managed to win Soutzos' favors and took the top boyar offices, with Filipescu settling for the title of Vornic.Ploscaru, pp. 92–93 This job saw him taking over the administration of Bucharest, effectively as City Mayor.Potra (1990, I), p. 505 With Iordache Golescu, he audited the city finances, discovering that Bucharest was unable to pay for new bridges.Golescu & Moraru, pp. 67, 433 His distant relative and political friend Iordache Filipescu held him in high regard, and viewed him as a trusted confidant.
According to some reports, Vulpea was one of the three Caimacami (regents) upon Soutzos' death.Papazoglu, p. 90 His brother Grigore, also credited as a Caimacam, was himself involved in the Russian conspiracy during those months. He was unreliable from Pini's perspective and looked to Austria for additional guidance.Iorga (1902), pp. XXXVI–XXXVII. See also Vârtosu (1932), p. 4 As the Eterists and the National Party colluded in the build-up to the Greek Revolution, the Filipescus withdrew from the intrigues. In June 1820, by his own admission, Dimitrie Macedonski wanted to co-opt Alecu into a rebellion against Soutzos and the Phanariotes. Filipescu agreed on principle that "it would be possible and rather good that we remove this country of ours from the yoke of [Phanariote] tyrants";Vianu & Iancovici, p. 75 still, he adamantly refused to be involved beyond this statement, feeling himself betrayed by the National Party.Ploscaru, p. 94 However, with Pini's assurances and possibly seeking appointment in a revolutionary government, he abetted the Eterists, without formally rejoining their movement.Ploscaru, p. 98
Vladimirescu's rebellion Ultimately, in 1821, a Wallachian anti-Phanariote rebellion erupted in conjunction with an Eterist invasion by the Sacred Band. Filipescu may have played a role in its instigation, being described by author Constantin V. Obedeanu as a "protector and ally" of the rebel leader, Tudor Vladimirescu.Obedeanu, p. 26 At Ciorogârla, Dinicu Golescu presented Vladimirescu with a letter of support from 77 nationalist boyars—including himself and Filipescu. The document, rendered compromising upon Vladimirescu's radicalization and defeat, was probably absconded and destroyed.Vianu & Iancovici, pp. 78, 81 As he advanced on Bucharest in February 1821, Vladimirescu took a stand against those boyars he viewed as accomplices of the Phanariotes, and publicly announced that he wanted Iordache Filipescu and others beheaded.Vianu & Iancovici, p. 80. See also Hêrjeu, p. 38 Alecu and Iordache Filipescu, alongside Metropolitan Dionisie, expressed their alarm in a letter to Pini, asking for protection and guidance—they believed that the rebels were controlled by Russia, until Pini denied that this was the case.Filitti, pp. 46, 54; Obedeanu, pp. 29–31; Vârtosu (1932), pp. 140–141 With most notabilities, including his two brothers,Filitti, pp. 64–65; Iorga (1902), p. XXXVII; Obedeanu, p. 29–31; Xenopol, pp. 124–125 fleeing into the Principality of Transylvania, Alecu Filipescu stayed behind in Bucharest, alongside Bishop Ilarion Gheorghiadis, Nae Golescu, and Mihalache Manu.Golescu & Moraru, pp. 54–55, 433; Iorga, Izvoarele contemporane..., pp. 57–58, 257, 284
Taking control of the treasury by March 14, Filipescu began supplying the Eterist troops already present in Bucharest with salaries, lodgings, and horse fodder.Vârtosu (1932), pp. 65–66 Some four days later, he and Grigore Băleanu signed a letter of supplication to Russian Emperor, Alexander Pavlovich, asking for Russia to intervene militarily in defense of Wallachia's "privileges and rights". The letter reached Saint Petersburg after passing through Transylvania, but the monarch never replied; this prompted Filipescu to negotiate with Vladimirescu as the next-best choice.Șendrulescu, pp. 65–66 The first two meetings between the rebel and the Vornic, at Cotroceni, were tense: on March 20, Vladimirescu informed him that he could not discern any Russian support for Wallachia's government and asked that the boyars surrender Bucharest. This they did the following day.Obedeanu, p. 31. See also Filitti, p. 54 According to oral history, when Filipescu voiced his fear, Vladimirescu's secretary, Nicolae Popescu, informed him that if the rebels had wanted him dead, he would already have been "slashed".Octavian Ungureanu, "Tudor Vladimirescu în conștiința argeșenilor. Momente și semnificații", in Argessis. Studii și Comunicări, Seria Istorie, Vol. VIII, 1999, p. 171 Subsequently, Filipescu became a representative of his boyar class to Vladimirescu's headquarters. According to various accounts, the nickname Vulpea ("the fox") was bestowed because of his abilities in performing this duty;Bodin, p. 28; Golescu & Moraru, pp. 54–55; Rosetti, p. 74 however, notes left by Colson suggest that he greatly enjoyed keeping foxes as pets.Alecsandri & Ciopraga, p. 489