Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza promulgates legislation that…

Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza promulgates legislation that diminishes the role of the Orthodox clergy in civil affairs, thereby contributing to the secularization of Romanian society.

By initiating these changes on his own authority before seeking permission from his nominal suzerain, the Ottoman sultan, Cuza asserts the de facto independence of Romania.

Cuza's reforms have alienated both the boyars and Romania's mostly Greek clergy, however, and government corruption and the prince's own moral turpitude have eroded his popularity.

After an uprising breaks out in Bucharest in 1865, animosity toward the prince unites the leaders of Romania's two political parties, the pro-German Conservatives, backed by the boyars and clergy, and the pro-French Liberals, who find support in the growing middle class and favor agrarian reform.

The English company John Trevor-Barkley begins construction on the Bucharest-Giurgiu line, the first railroad line built in the territory of Romania.