The century from the 1774 Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji (between Russia and the Ottoman Empire) to the end of Prince Alexandru Cuza's reign in 1866 stands as a distinct era in the development of modern Romania. It marks the transition from long-established agrarian economic and social structures, and medieval political forms, to a society moulded by urban and industrial values and held together by allegiance to the nation-state.

This initial period of nation-building was characterized by dramatic shifts of mentality and significant changes in economic and social life.

The principal changes included: the freeing of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia from Ottoman Turkish dominion and their union to form the core of modern Romania; the cultivation of the idea of the ethnic nation as the foundation of community; the emergence of new ways of producing goods and doing business, notably the advance of capitalism in agriculture and industry; and the relentless advance of Western political forms, economic models and cultural achievements.

This original and ground-breaking work is the first attempt to treat the period 1774-1866 as a distinct stage in the evolution of modern Romania and is a fascinating analysis of the building of a European nation-state.