The Economic Policy of Gábor Bethlen and Its Legal Implications

Abstract

The background for this research and the writing of this article is that the 400<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the death of Gábor Bethlen is approaching, and the Corpus Juris Hungarici and some representatives of the Hungarian scholarly elite (see e.g. Trócsányi) play a significant role in the literature researched. The role of Gábor Bethlen Hungarian and Transylvanian history can be, and probably should not be, disputed, because his domestic, foreign and economic policies served to maintain the "Hungarian" state of the Principality of Transylvania. Its practical implementation can always be subject to so-called "criticism". In this respect, it is worth examining both the theoretical and the practical aspects, as well as the legal and economic-historical aspects, as far as possible, including tax and economic policy and, where appropriate, the various (even sociological) aspects of these, since their outline may be of assistance to the legislators of today. As a result of the research, it can be concluded that the Transylvanian state tax system is particularly striking in this respect; the levying of taxes without regard to the mate-rial strength of the subjects is in stark contrast to the idea that Transylvania in this period can be equated with absolu-tism in the Western sense, nor does it elevate the Principality of Transylvania to the rank of Western absolutism, although it was an indication of the prince's unlimited power that he could "abolish" the Diet. The reason for this was that he did not change the structure of the estates and central govern-ment that had existed since 1541.