Editing Romania (section)

====From the Little Union to the Great War====
The modern Romanian state was created through the [[Unification of the Romanian Principalities|unification of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia]], accepted as a federative structure by the Great Powers following the [[Paris Convention]] of 1858, and later cemented by the simultaneous election as ruler of both states of the unionist [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]].<ref name="150_2012-07-06">[http://www.jurnalul.ro/special/150-de-ani-de-la-unirea-principatelor-romane-142961.htm 150 de ani de la Unirea Principatelor Române] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527144901/http://www.jurnalul.ro/special/150-de-ani-de-la-unirea-principatelor-romane-142961.htm |date=2012-05-27 }}, 24 January 2009, ''Jurnalul Național'', accessed 6 July 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.mnir.ro/ro/ExpozitiiTemporare/Expozitie.aspx?IDExpozitieTemp=68 National Museum of Romanian History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226155145/http://www.mnir.ro/ro/ExpozitiiTemporare/Expozitie.aspx?IDExpozitieTemp=68 |date=2009-02-26 }} – Unirea Principatelor Române, 150 de ani – Accessed 15 March 2009</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bobango|first=Gerald J|title=The emergence of the Romanian national State|publisher=Boulder|year=1979|location=New York|isbn=9780914710516}}</ref> After carrying out numerous reforms that laid the foundations for the modernisation of the state, he was forced in 1866 by a broad coalition of the political parties of the time, also known as the "[[Monstrous coalition]]", to abdicate and leave the country.<ref name="FC">Constantiniu, Florin: ''A Sincere History of the Romanian People'', Bucharest, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1997 – ISBN 973-9243-07-X</ref>

The union was at one time in peril, but the political leaders of the era succeeded in placing on the princely throne [[Carol I of Romania]], who accepted the Constitution and took the oath on 10 May 1866. Eleven years later, on 10 May 1877, Romania proclaimed its independence—achieved on the battlefield—and in 1881, on the same day of the year, Carol was crowned as [[King of Romania]]. In 1913, Romania entered the [[Second Balkan War]] against [[Bulgaria]], at the end of which it obtained [[Southern Dobruja]].<ref>[http://www.rri.ro/arh-art.shtml?lang=2&sec=40&art=8410 Radio România Internațional] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819013509/http://www.rri.ro/arh-art.shtml?lang=2&sec=40&art=8410 |date=2011-08-19 }} – Romania in the Balkan Wars – Accessed 15 March 2009</ref><ref>“On 27 June/10 July 1913, Romania summoned its ambassador from Sofia and, via an ultimative diplomatic note, announced to Bulgaria that, if it did not cease its aggressive actions against Greece and Serbia, the Romanian Army would take action.” – Lieutenant-Colonel drd. Rizescu Alexandru – ''[http://www.armyacademy.ro/buletin/2_2001/art9.html Aspects of Romania’s Security Policy in Southeastern Europe at the Beginning of the 20th Century]'' – Accessed 15 March 2009</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Frank Maloy|last2=Hershey|first2=Amos Shartle|title=Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870-1914|publisher=Government Printing Office|year=1918|location=Washington D.C.}}</ref> In 1914, [[King Carol I of Romania|King Carol I]] died, and his nephew, [[Ferdinand I of Romania|Ferdinand I]], succeeded him on the throne.<ref name="FC" />