The problem with which this survey is concerned is the role played by the Rumanians of Transylvania as an integrating and disintegrating force in the Habsburg monarchy in the nineteenth century. This problem is unusually complex, since it can be examined from various points of view and at different stages in its historical development. On the basis of changing economic, political, and social factors, we may discern at least five such stages: (1) the first half of the century, during which Transylvania maintained the autonomy it had enjoyed since the promulgation of the Leopoldine Diploma in 1691; (2) the revolution of 1848–1849; (3) the period of absolutism of the 1850's, during which the Rumanians, who had failed to obtain territorial autonomy within the empire, were parceled out among various administrative units and continued to suffer national and social oppression at the hands of the dominant Magyar classes; (4) the so-called “liberal era” between 1860 and 1867, during which the court beguiled the Rumanians with promises that their national rights would at last be recognized in the monarchy generally and in Transylvania in particular; and (5) the period of dualism and the forced incorporation of Transylvania into Hungary.