THE EVOLUTION OF TERRITORIAL CONTRASTS IN THE PERIOD 1775-1918, BETWEEN THE HISTORICAL BUCOVINA AND THE EXTRABUCOVINEAN TERRITORY

The political map of Europe underwent numerous changes at the end of the century XVIII, determined by the periods of expansion of the great powers. The agreements regarding the cession of some territories were manifested without the endorsement of the peoples, being only a result of diplomatic activities. One of the important events that has had territorial repercussions so far is the occupation by the Habsburg Empire of a territory in Moldova, with an area of 10,441 km2. The Habsburg Empire introduced numerous reforms in Bukovina, which created a contrast in the humanized landscape with the extrabucovinian territories. The fundamental elements that led to territorial contrasts with the unoccupied proximity: -identification and use of natural resources; -administrative-territorial reform; -increasing the percentage of the literate population; -changing the ethnic and confessional composition. Objectives of the paper: -identification of the geographical features of the Upper Country of Moldova before the Habsburg occupation; -to determine the way in which they were transformed: Bucovina and the extrabucovinean territory from Suceava county between 1775-1918; - to clarify the particularities that created the dynamics in the reform of the two territories; Research methods: -comparative analysis in the temporal evolution of the territories: bucovinean and extrabucovinean from Suceava County; -transformation of historical information into geographical data; -processing and interpretation of statistical data.