Recuperarea patrimoniului brâncovenesc în secolul al XVIII-lea. Opţiunile succesorale ale doamnei Maria Brâncoveanu
Fighting for Brâncoveanu’s inheritance in the Eighteenth century. Maria Brâncoveanu’s legal actions

Summary/Abstract: Constatin Brâncoveanu, or the “Prince of Gold” as his contemporaries used to call him, has been one of the wealthiest men of his time. As a precautious man, he kept some of his money at the Zecca, the Venetian state bank. Moreover, in case of danger, he was ready at any moment to send goods and money across the border, in Transylvania. Therefore, when Brâncoveanu was dethroned and arrested by the Ottomans, his wealth quickly dissipated. Naturally, the Ottomans confiscated the entire Brâncoveanu’s wealth found in Wallachia, but they could not touch the Venetian deposits, or the goods that have already been transferred to Transylvania. Moreover, important sums of money had been entrusted by Brâncoveanu to some of his Ottoman connections. As a result, his successors, mainly his wife, Maria, had to fight for several decades to gain back, at least partially, Brâncoveanu’s inheritance. This study aims to analyse the legal procedures that Maria Brâncoveanu carried out in order to accomplish this goal. The first important step was the acknowledgement by the Venetian authorities of Maria’s nephew as the sole inheritor of the former lord. The second step was to secure the family goods transferred to Transylvania, including the ones confiscated and used by the Imperial authorities from Manu Apostol, a merchant who worked for Brâncoveanu. After several legal actions, the emperor Charles VI finally acknowledged Maria’s rights and agreed to make amendments from a special deposit of the Imperial Treasury. Throughout her legal actions, Maria Brâncoveanu successfully managed not only to restore an important part of the Brâncoveanu’s inheritance to his nephew, Constantin III Brâncoveanu, but also to secure his position within the larger family. Accordingly, Brâncoveanu’s inheritance and male succession was continued through his nephew for two more generations.

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