Codrul Cosminului (Dec 2011)
Die Bevolkerung von Banat, Siebenburgen, Ober- und Niederungarn erlautert in Briefen, die Ignaz von Born im Jahr 1770 auf seiner Reise durch die oben genannten Gebiete geschrieben hat
Abstract
In 1770, Ignaz von Born - a famous mineralogist, mountain expert and imperial mine official – undertook a journey in the rural mountain areas from Banat, Transylvania, Lower and Upper Hungary. During this journey, Born wrote 23 letters, which will be published in a book from 1774. His main observations and descriptions are related to the geological and mineralogical aspects, mines and smelters. As a convinced supporter of the mercantilist theory (which considers the population as an important element for economic growth and financial strength of a country), in his letters Born pays a special attention to the inhabitants of the visited regions, especially the mining areas. This last aspect is the subject of analysis in this article. Born does not extend his attention to people from all visited regions. His preoccupation is focused especially on the inhabitants of Banat, which was organized as a domain of the Habsburg Crown. There is a little information on population of Transylvania, and less on people of Lower and Upper Hungary. The data sent by Born through those 23 letters are critically analyzed and interpreted in this article. They are also combined with information about the inhabitants of these regions, as they appear in other works or documents of the eighteenth - century.
