1. Human Geography

Brăila is a port on the Danube in north-eastern Wallachia, very close to the other important port of the region, Galaţi. It is surrounded by large plains whilst being connected to Bucharest by rail.¹ Its advantageous position – since it was located on the border with Moldavia and was simultaneously, owing to the great depths of the waters of the river, the only port of Wallachia which ships coming from the Black Sea had access to - established it as a significant shipping and commercial centre.

The city was probably established at the end of the 14^th century and was initially a small fishing settlement which was soon granted various privileges from the local rulers.² In 1540 it was conquered by the Ottomans who fortified the settlement and installed a strong garrison there. During the Russo-Turkish wars of the 18^th century it was a strong base of the Ottoman Empire and headquarters of a pasha.³

Accurate data regarding the population of Brăila during the Ottoman rule is not available, but it seems that it was approaching 30,000, including the powerful Turkish garrison, at the beginning of the 19^th century. In the city the majority of the population was probably comprised of Turkish residents, the Romanians constituted the largest proportion of the orthodox whilst many Greeks, primarily merchants, had settled there, as well as, Armenians and Jews.⁴

Following the victory of Russia in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829 and the incorporation of the city in the principality of Wallachia, the population decreased dramatically as the Muslims were forced to emigrate. From the beginning of 1830 a considerable number of Romanians as well as many foreigners, mainly Greeks, settled there. The Greeks were basically, merchants and tradesmen and quickly dominated the economic life of the city, the population of which reached, in 1843, 14,000.⁵

In the latter half of the 19^th century, Brăila witnessed a considerable increase in population which was due not so much to the natural increase of the population as to the settlement of Romanians and foreigners. More specifically, the 25,765 residents in 1860 had reached 56,330 by 1899, becoming the fourth largest city in the country. The presence of the foreigners remained strong since they constituted approximately 40% of the total population. There were 33,194 Romanian subjects whilst the Jews comprised the second most significant group with 9,830 individuals. Moreover, the number of Greeks also rose and reached 4,929, that is, approximately 9% of the residents of the city.⁶ Finally, many were subjects of the Hapsburg Monarchy (3,999), the Ottomans (1,586, often Christian Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians) while there was also a considerable number of Germans, French and Russians.⁷

The population of Brăila continued to increase at the beginning of the 20^th century, reaching 65,711 residents in 1912. During the interwar years the growth rate was not the same and in the 1930s the city experienced stagnation as the population fluctuated at 68,718 people. Despite the strengthening of the Romanian element, strong Jewish (about 11,000) and Greek (about 5,000) groups continued to live in Vraila.⁸ Only in the post-war years will the presence of the Greeks decline and that of the Jews virtually nullified.

2. History

A crossroads in the history of Brăila was its re-incorporation in the principality of Wallachia, in accordance with the Treaty of Adrianopolis (2^nd September, 1829). Thenceforth, the city became the capital of the district of Brăila.

Brăila was the site of the settlement of a considerable number of Bulgarians, the centre of the Bulgarian national movement, as was demonstrated by the uprisings in 1841-1843 and in which Greeks took part.⁹ In addition, the great Bulgarian revolutionary, Hr. Botev, lived in the city for a period of time.

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Brăila witnessed devastation as a result of the bombing of Ottoman forces whilst, during the First World War, it was occupied, in 1916, by the German and Austro-Hungarian forces.¹⁰ Finally, the city was one of the centres of the Romanian workers’ movement.

After the war, Brăila developed economically, mainly in the industrial sector, however, its population growth and cultural development was not comparable to that of Galaţi.

3. The Economy

Brăila was one of the important cities of Wallachia and, following the unification of the two principalities, (1859) of whole Romania. At the end of the 19^th century, it had become the largest port and a significant industrial centre.

3.1. Industry

In the 19^th century industry constituted a secondary sector of the economy and did not develop substantially, at least until 1880. Nevertheless, some small units such as, one shipyard , under the management of G. Kountouris, had already been established from the 1840s.

Industrial development actually occurred after 1880, just as in all of Romania. The sector that mainly developed was the flour industry, where the presence of the Greeks prevailed. In 1896 out of the five modern mills of the city, four belonged to Greeks (the brothers Galiatsatou, Ioannis Millas & Son and Christoforatou). The Greek flour mills were among the most modern in Romania and, in contrast to the flour industries of Bucharest, were export driven. In the days prior to the First World War, more units were established, such as the flour-industry of Panagis Violatos and that of Lykiardopoulos-Valerianos, which were also the largest in the whole of Romania.¹¹

The industry experienced even greater development in the first decade of the interwar period, when the Romanian industrial sector as a whole developed at a relatively rapid rate. A number of heavy industries were established (eg. the steel), whilst, the flour industry remained strong.¹²

3.2. Trade – Shipping

Throughout the Ottoman period Brăila was a noteworthy commercial port, mainly as an outlet for corn and other agricultural products, which were regularly sent to Constantinople by the principality of Wallachia. The ships, which were of a small holding capacity, sailed under the Ottoman flag and belonged to Greeks and Muslims.¹³

The treaty of Adrianopolis, nevertheless, imposed freedom of shipping and, in combination with an increase in demand for wheat from countries of Western Europe, mainly France and England, port traffic increased rapidly; to this also contributed its proclamation of porto franco in 1836. Thus, whilst in 1831 just 111 ships sailed into the harbour, by 1837 this number had reached 448. The ships under Greek, Ionian and Russian flags belonged to Greeks who held the most powerful position in commerce while their strong competitors were Italian shipowners and merchants. Among many significant merchants were A. Petalas, Th. Farangas and I. Lykiardopoulos.¹⁴

The significant growth which the wheat export trade experienced in the middle of the 19^th century and the capital which the Greek shipowners and merchants had accumulated, contributed to preparing the ground for the transition from sailing to steam boat shipping in Brăila as well as the surrounding areas of the Danube, together with the Greek communities of the Azov Sea. Furthermore, the intense competition brought about by the improvement of shipping in the Danube, thanks to the work of the Danube European Committee (which was formed in 1856) created the pressing need for the Greeks to modernise their fleet and to strengthen their position. Consequently, shipowners from Kefalonia and Ithaca such as the Stathatos brothers, Ioannis Theofilatos, E. Vlassopoulos as well as the Embeirikoi from the Andros island took advantage of their bonds with merchant princes, usually from Chios, of the previous generation (Sekiaris, Rodokanakis), formed the “Ionian Network” and managed in the last two decades of the 19^th century to acquire many steamships and the dominant role in the particular domain.¹⁵

In the first decades of the 20^th century, in contrast to shipping, the position of Greek merchants was rendered marginal as the Jewish merchant houses prevailed and the only large Greek (merchant) house was that of M.Z. Chrissovelonis.¹⁶

The primary field of activity for the Greeks of Brăila was riverboats. Some of the largest owners of riverboats (“slepia”) were the Greeks: Manouel Z. Chrissovelonis, the brothers Stathatou, Othon Stathatos and many more. With their ‘’slepia’’ they conveyed wheat and other cereals to Sulina, where they were reloaded on to steamships. However, in this field, as in the export of goods, the importance of the Greeks declined from the beginning of the 20^th century, as Jewish merchant princes (Mendl, Dreyfus, Löbl, Fratelli Bach) bought many ‘’slepia’’ or built new, larger and better riverboats. Greek owners of one or two riverboats, especially, were unable to compete against them and so, sought support from the Greek government.¹⁷

During the interwar years, the importance of Brăila declined, as the port of Constanţa, thanks also to its large warehouses installations, had gained dominance in the export trade of Romania. Furthermore, the high tariffs required by the ‘’European Danube Committee’’ made the port of Brăila increasingly less competitive. Proposals to deal with the crisis through the creation of a free zone or to declare Brăila a free harbour again, received no response and, thereafter, the port gradually deteriorated. The Greeks played a smaller role, in relation to the past, in the fields of trade and shipping although among the major owners of riverboats were a fair number of Greeks (Georgios Portolos).¹⁸

4. The Greek Community – The Church

4.1. The Community

The Greek community did not organise itself in Brăila until 1863. Prior to that, it seems that the Divine Service ceremony and the use of the Greek language in at least two of the Orthodox churches of the city in addition to the smooth functioning of private Greek schools, satisfied the main needs of the Greeks. However, the nationalist and centralist policies of the Romanian ruler, Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866), drove the prominent citizens of the Greek community to apply, on the 26^th February 1863, for permission to construct a church (Evaggelismos tis Theotokou), where the Divine Service would be conducted in Greek by Greek priests, whilst a committee elected by members of the Greek community would be occupied with the administration. Their application was granted on the 12^th April, 1863.¹⁹

The construction of the imposing church , the largest in the city, was inaugurated on the 8^th September 1863 and was completed just on the 29^th October 1872. The time-consuming construction caused numerous problems and increased the cost, a fact which obliged the community to take out loans twice (1866, 1871), the payment of which placed a burden on their budget for years.²⁰

However, the drawing up of the community statute was also delayed considerably since it was passed in 1870. The statute defined two elected bodies as existing, one a five-member committee with a one year term of office and one twelve-member board holding office for two years, which attended to community issues.²¹

The crisis which the community was faced with in the 1870s, with the formation of two factions drove the vice-consul to intervene and provoke the election of a “neutral” committee. Thenceforth, and until the beginning of the following decade, the involvement of the Greek consul was regular although this was not defined by the statute. The stabilisation of community ties at the beginning of the 1880s, also marked by the institutionalization of the three-year term of the community committee and the abolition of the board, rendered the role of the Greek consul secondary, again.²² It is characteristic that when the Greek consul attempted, in 1889, to intervene in community issues, the committee reacted strongly and imposed his recall.²³

The Greek community, recognised by the Romanian authorities in practice, was officially recognized by the protocol appended in the Greek-Romanian trade agreement of 19^th December 1900. The rupture of diplomatic relations between Greece and Romania, and the explosive situation which prevailed in the city with demonstrations against the Greeks did not lead to the dissolution of the community, which survived until the first post-war years.²⁴ After 1989 it was reestablished.

4.2 The Greek church

The architect of the church, Avraam Ioannidis, came from Bursa, whilst among the painters Konstantinos Livadas-Liokis from Kephalonia, who painted the murals at the beginning of the 20^th century, can be singled out.²⁵

4.3. Religion

During the Ottoman period Brăila was the headquarters of eparch of Proilava, who was under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Nevertheless, the number of churches in the city appears to have been small. After 1829 the metropolis was abolished and the city came under the diocese of Buzӑu until 1864, and thereafter, under the diocese of Lower Danube, the headquarters of which was Izmail and later Galaţi.²⁶

The Greek church was also subordinate to the Romanian bishop, however, de facto, and after 1900 de jure as well, had complete administrative independence. The sole obligation of the committee was to inform the bishop about the priests who had been elected. The church was under the supervision of a special committee, the “pangarion”, which was selected from a community committee.²⁷

In Brăila there were many Romanian Orthodox churches and one Bulgarian. The Catholics and the Calvinists had churches as well, whilst the large Jewish community was served, in 1900, by six synagogues.

5. Education

Records concerning the presence of teachers in Brăila before 1829 are limited and education developed, undoubtedly, only after the incorporation of the city under the principality of Wallachia.²⁸ Then, and more specifically in 1832, the first public primary school was established under the management of the scholar, Ioan Penescu who tried, but with little success, to compete with the numerous private schools, nearly all Greek, which had already been established. To achieve this, he asked, in 1838, that two essential languages for a port be introduced, Italian and Greek. The teaching of Greek and Italian as well as various mercantile subjects at the public school would be under the charge of the Municipality as well as the merchant representative of Brăila, which was comprised primarily of Greek merchants.²⁹

From the middle of the 19^th century state education was better organised, as many lower level public schools were established, whilst in 1863, a merchant school was founded, which was transformed into a high school, with a complete cycle of education, from 1888.³⁰ A separate reference must be made to the girls’ school which was established in 1866, thanks to the donation made by the abbot Chrisanthos Penetis (from the Andros Island) of the monastery of Hurez. One of the conditions of the donation stipulated that the Greek language was also to be taught at the school.³¹

In the latter part of the 1860s, on the initiative of the Greek societies, elementary boys ’and girls’ schools were established, which took care of the poor “Greek children”. These institutions, which were transformed into community ones in the following decades, were not the only Greek ones as in Brăila; by the beginning of the 20^th century, a large number of private Greek schools had been established, there being an equal number of boy and girls’ schools. Some of these were acclaimed for a relatively high level of education while they also provided high-school classes, such as the “Proodos” high school, which was established in 1898 as well as the school of Georgios Chrisochoidis.³²

The community schools always had a larger number of students in relation to the private ones while their standard varied, depending on the resources of the community. The schools closed in 1893-1894, while, thereafter, only the boys’ school operated.³³ However, the construction of a building in 1903, thanks to the donation of the industrialist P. Violatos, and the hiring of a sufficient number of staff contributed to the improvement in the level of education.³⁴

Problems were encountered by the Greek schools, as all the Greek community, in 1905, when, owing to the crisis in Greek-Romanian relations, the government acerbate its stance and proceeded to close down all the Greek schools in the city. Only in 1910, the community boys’ school re-operated while on the eve of the First World War a girls’ school was also established.³⁵

However, apart from the Greek schools, there were many other private schools operating under the control of other national and religious groups of the city. In 1905, the number of private schools had reached 24. By 1853 the Catholics had already established an elementary boys’ school and at the end of the century the Catholic schools were the best girls’ schools of the city (Institut St. Maria) while a special case was the ‘’Lycée Edgard Quinet’’, a French “popular” school, under the charge of the French government. There were also many Jewish “asylums”, which were frequently closed down by the authorities even though the two “Romanian-Israeli” schools, primary and secondary levels, had a very good reputation.³⁶ In the interwar years the presence of public education became stronger as the number of public schools increased substantially, especially the girls’ (schools) whilst the private schools decreased. Nevertheless, the most significant communities of Brăila (the Greeks, Jews and Catholics) financially sustained from one to two educational institutions.³⁷

6. Associations

In Brăila many Greek associations were established, mainly, educational and philanthropic. More specifically, in 1869 the ‘’Greek Philharmonic Association of Brăila’’ and the ‘’Philanthropic Association of Brăila for white-collar workers Ermis” were founded. The former established a girls’ school and the latter a boys’ school. The associations, which had as their example the ‘’Greek Philological Association of Constantinople’’ (Ελληνικός Φιλολογικός Σύλλογος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως), aimed to disseminate Greek literature to the lower stratums of the Greek community and to prevent their Romanisation. At the end of the 19^th century the educational associations gradually declined.³⁸

Noteworthy were also the philanthropic associations, the two “fraternities” (’Proodos’, ‘Enosis’), which were established in the mid 1870s, as well as the ‘’Reciprocal-help Fraternity of Brăila Philharmonic Association", which was established in 1890 and operated until the interwar years, mainly thanks to the assistance of the middle classes of the Greek community. The latter was to display excellent work, providing medical aid to hundreds of Greeks.³⁹ During the interwar years various cultural societies continued to operate (‘Parnassos’).

The establishment of assemblies in Brăila was, naturally, not restricted to the Greek community as there were noteworthy associations founded by the other national groups of the city. The most enduring association seems to have been that of the "Association for the Support of Poor Students", which was established in 1887 and survived until the interwar years. Although most of its members were Romanian, there were also a considerable number of prominent Greeks, such as Alkiviadis Empeirikos, who had registered and contributed as well as Jews.⁴⁰ The members of the French community had already established a philharmonic association in 1868, and a cultural one in 1905 (Cercle Voltaire), whilst some merchant clubs were Jewish.⁴¹ Noteworthy was the presence, from the end of the 19^th century, of various athletic clubs for sports, such as fencing and riding.⁴²

Finally, it is worth noting that the Albanian community of Brăila had established incorporations, as indicated by the association ‘’Djaleria Sqipetare’’ (The Albanian Youth), which was established in 1904, the aims of which were cultural and political.⁴³

7. Publishing Activities

In the city, a printery was already operating from 1839 and in which some books in Romanian and the sole newspaper of the city "The Mercur", of a commercial character,were published. After 1841, when the bankrupt and disillusioned printer and teacher, Ioan Penescu sold the printery, publishing was almost non-existent until the beginning of the 1860s,⁴⁴ when the publication of a substantial number of books in Romanian, Greek and Bulgarian were published.

Illustrative of the multinational nature of the city was the presence of the Bulgarian printeries (Tipografia Româno-Bulgarӑ, H.D. Panicikov) which played a significant role in the cultivation of the Bulgarian language and the development of education, since in Brăila were printed important texts of the period of the Bulgarian Renaissance and many newspapers.⁴⁵

And in the sphere of the Greek book the position of Brăila was important, as in this city operated the Greek printery of Romania which was the most active in the second half of the 19^th century, the "Tipo-Lithografio Perikleous M. Pestemaltzioglou". The particular publisher, an active member of the Greek community, printed a multitude of books in the Romanian language and a fair number of Greek ones, as well as various newspapers. From the beginning of the 20^th century the Greek presence exhibits a decline although the printery of the “Ethnos” continues to operate, in contrast, however, the presence of the Jewish publishers becomes stronger.⁴⁶