Abstract
During the 5th decade of the 18th century, the Principality of Moldavia as well as the Principality of Wallachia were governed by Turkish-Phanariot elements. Except for the tribute payment and numerous gifts for the Turkish dignitaries, the Phanariots were preoccupied to get richer and richer. It caused an excessive taxation, the venality of functions, and generalized corruption. In this context, Constantin Mavrocordat was the first Phanariot ruler tempted to remediate this situation and make the State function more efficiently. He reorganized the tax system, but without any results, he reorganized the justice and the administration in order to directly control the local high dignitaries. The heads of administration ruling the county of Bacău, together with their subordinates, received a lot of instructions as well as admonitions from the central administration concerning their activity.
According to historical sources, there was a rich activity at the level of the administrative quarters of Bacău, at the level of shires, towns and villages within the county. Nevertheless, corruption was barely diminished after introducing the wage system at the level of the high dignitaries. Despite all their limits, Constantin Mavrocordat’s reforms mark, at the level of both the State of Moldavia and the county of Bacău, the beginning of modernization, transparence and efficiency in recruiting and the activity of the high dignitaries.