THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGRARIAN REFORM OF 1921 IN THE FORMER “COPOU” UNIT OF THE COUNTY OF IAȘI - NEW FINDINGS

Abstract

In inter-war Romania, the agrarian reform of 1918-1921 was a topic of research and prioritized debate. A reference event in the modern history of the country, the issue still is, at present, and most likely also in the long term, a topic of historical-economic research of considerable importance.

On studying the historical-economic literature available, it can be noted that there is still no extensive research which aims at analyzing in depth the 1921 agrarian reform, especially its implications or overall consequences at the level of the entire Iași County. There are a few papers focused on the overall development of the agrarian economy of the interwar period in which various aspects are presented in detail, backed by relevant arguments regarding the implementation endeavors at the level of Iași County.

The present paper tackles the reform at the level of the rural settlements in the inter-war administrative-territorial unit - the “plasa” Copou, including the possible differences that might emerge in comparison to other similar  “plase” in the county of Iași, in terms of appropriations and leases, the expropriations of the large agricultural holdings, the various abuses committed during the implementation procedures, the colonization steps a.s.o. – all of which resulted from the agricultural reform triggered by the law decreed in 1921 – based on the available archived files with their unavoidable qualitative and quantitative limitations.