PREFACE. FOREWORD. Chapter I. The genesis and establishment of the collective guarantee of the European Powers on the Romanian Principalities. Chapter II. Under the sign of the Fait Accompli — The union of the Principalities and Alexandru Ioan Cuza’s reign  — 1866. Establishing constitutional monarchy : the making of Romania. Chapter III. Romania’s road to independence and the increasingly censoring guarantee of the Great Powers — The radicals’ government (March 1867 – November 1868) and the attempted full achievement of the national programme — Envisaging political and diplomatic regulations (November 1868 - June 1870). — The implications of the Franco-German conflict (1870-1871) — Under the sign of “European conservatism” coming back  (1871-1875). Instead of conclusions. The Eastern Crisis and the “Final Defection” of the Guaranteeing Powers (1875-1878). BIBLIOGRAPHY. INDEX.