ADMINISTRATIVE RESTRICTION OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES IN BASARABIA DURING WARS AND EPIDEMICS (1806-1856)

Andrei EMILCIUC Institutul de Istorie

Abstract

In this article, the author ascertains that wars and epidemics have been important impediments to the development of trade in Bessarabia in 1806-1856. Both foreign and domestic trade was affected, directly and indirectly. Directly – through trade bans on geopolitical or epidemiological reasons, namely to deprive enemy armies of supplies and to block the penetration of the plague. Indirectly – by forcing the peasants from agricultural works, in order to secure the needs of the army or by closing down trade units to prevent the spread of the plague. Keywords: Bessarabia, trade, epidemics, epizootics, state of war, interdiction, quarantine, Russian-Turkish wars, Russian Empire.