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The duchy of Bukovina has expe rienced a great development after obtaining its autonomy. The new status and the internal organization allowed Bukovina to significantly reduce the gap in developme nt with other provinces of the Empire. Unfortunately, the autonomy of the province of Bukovina in the Empire was a short one and the reduction of the gap in economic development was not enough to surpass other provinces. The great conflict at the beginning of the XXth century changed everything as the industry of the province was mostly destroyed and the union with Romania led to the loss of its autonomy.

The annexation of Bukovina by the Habsburg Empire was a decisive moment for its economic and social evolution. The measures taken by the new administration, right after 1775, created the basis for a rapid economic development, which had positive effects on the standard of living and the quality of life in the region. The administrative reform, the transformation of the legal system, the investments in infrastructure, the new fiscal rules, as well as all the other economic policies which were promoted, generated a considerable economic progress. However, we shouldn’t omit the contribution of the human factor, the period analyzed in this paper being characterized by deep demographic transformations. Economically, after the occupation of the province, Bukovina underwent spectacular transformation, stimulated by the development of infrastructure and by the influx of specialists from other parts of the empire, as well as by the new opportunities offered by the market and the State’s policies promoting certain fields of activity. Industry recorded the most spectacular growth, the most dynamic industries being breweries, distilleries, milling, logging, the production of glass and paper etc. At the same time, the discovery of some pitch pits, salt water springs and peat deposits spurred the development of other industries.