In the Age of Dualism (1867–1918), due to the dearth or absence of other revenues, rural municipalities in the Háromszék region resorted to local municipal taxes, passing the financial burden of public expenses on the local population. These taxes constituted the primary source of revenue for the local government, both in terms of volume and extent, and their implementation varied greatly over time and settlement types. In former tenant villages and newly established settler villages, the transition from customary law-based tenant contributions (rovatolás) to nationally legislated supplementary taxes was relatively smooth. In villages predominantly populated by formerly military-rank Szeklers, the system of contributions was more complex, primarily because of the relatively late dissolution of the collective landownership. In these places, tax-like contributions could not gain ground because it was more profitable to generate revenues from the Szeklers’ own individual right to sell wine, which was essentially an indirect form of consumption tax. Another alternative practice was the imposition of a fee in exchange for the communal use of forests and pastures, paid by members of the village communities. The separation of the civil municipality and landowning community as legal entities put an end to these two sources of revenue but created the possibility of an efficient supplementary taxation. Local supplementary taxation acted as a leveller which noticeably blurred the boundaries between the settlement types that had evolved in the Estates system.

Compared to its earlier state, the border between the new sovereign state of Romania and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the second half of the nineteenth century solidifi ed considerably. Such a borderline is the most important attribute of a modern nation-state. Its basic functions are to provide a framework to the development of national industry and economy, to control migration, to stop the spread of epidemics and last, but not least, to curb ideas that might jeopardise the integrity of the state. The change from borderland into borderline is not an organic process. Between the border regions of these two countries – mainly due to environmental, and, not inconsiderably, to various economic and social factors – mutual dependency had developed in the course of the previous centuries, where the primary actors were the inhabitants of the region. The majority of the inhabitants pursued special activities and lifestyle, which necessitated their unobstructed transfer from one region to another. The diff erent directions the two countries’ economic development assumed increased the interdependency between the border regions, and intensifi ed the movement of people and goods. However, the new development allowed narrower and more restricted mobility compared to the earlier practices of border crossing. This study aims to identify individuals who strove to bypass this restricted mobility in some ways. Infringements were both common and constant practice, and the relations between the two countries generated peak seasons for these several times within a decade. From the cases of petty off ences and infringements registered by the authorities one may infer the nature of the lifestyle characteristic in this region and the subsequently developing networks of connections and people.