Pătrășcanu contended that the first relevant social conflict had occurred in 1821, at the time of Tudor Vladimirescu's Wallachian uprising. He rejected the notion that, despite Vladimirescu's statements to the contrary, the rebellion had a peasant character, and argued instead that it was evidence of low-ranking boyars and merchants ("the embryo of a class, that was to become the bourgeoisie") attempting to emancipate themselves from Ottoman pressures. In his view, its nationalist character ("see Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire") had been manipulated by high-ranking boyars as a measure to dissuade adverse reactions to privileges.