Móric Beňovský

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Móric Benyovszky.
Móric Benyovszky.

Benyovszky Móritz Ágost (Polish: Maurycy Beniowski) (born September 20, 1746 - died May 23, 1786) was a noble in the Kingdom of Hungary, with Slovak and Hungarian ancestors, also an adventurer, globetrotter, explorer, colonizer, writer, chess player, a King of Madagascar, a French colonel, Polish military commander, and Austrian soldier.

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[edit] Variations on his name

Slovak: Matúš Móric August Beňovský
Hungarian: Benyovszky Móric Ágost
Polish: Maurycy August Beniowski
French: Maurice Auguste de Benyowsky/-ski
English: (Matthew) 'Maurycy Benyowsky/Benovsky
German: Moritz Benjowsky/-wski/Benyowski
Latin: Mauritius Auguste de Benovensis.

[edit] Nationality, origin of the family

Three peoples claim Benyovszky as one of their own: Slovaks, Hungarians, and Poles. Benyovszky was a nobleman of the Kingdom of Hungary. His father, Samuel Benyovszky from the Trenčín county of the Hungarian Kingdom, was of Slovak origin. His mother, Rozália Révay, was the widow of a general and came from the noble Hungarian Révay family. In the 16th century, after the Battle of Mohács the family moved from Syrmia to present-day Slovakia, became a predominantly Slovak family, and occupied the post of heads of the Turiec county. Vrbové was a purely Slovak village, when Benyovszky was born there.

The Benyovszky family has a long history. The ancestors of the Benyovszky family left Hungary to Poland, when the king was Charles I, because they were relatives of Felicián Zach, a supporter of Matthew Csák. In 1396, Benjamin and Urbán returned to Hungary and they fought at Nicopolis. Because of their deeds, Sigismund gave them lands at the Váh, and they became counts. Benjamin was the ancestor of the Benyovszky, and Urbán of the Urbanovszky family. George Benyovszky lived in the 16th century. He had three children: Gabor, Adam and Burián. Burián's son name was Michael, whose son was Samuel, who later become a general in the Austrian army and he was the father of Móric Benyovszky.

As a young man Benyovszky left Hungary to join the Polish Confederation of Bar fighting for freedom against the Russian Empress Catherine. He became a close associate of his Polish compatriots. Until his death Poles were his brothers-in-arms. In many occasions he also declared himself a Pole. However, as many nobles of the 18th century, Benyovszky was a cosmopolitan in the best tradition, serving different great powers and mastering numerous languages.

[edit] Biography

Beňovský's birthplace in Vrbové.
Beňovský's birthplace in Vrbové.

Benyovszky was born in Vrbové near Piešťany in present-day Slovakia (at that time part of the Kingdom of Hungary). His career began as an officer of the Austrian army in the Seven Years' War, because Hungary was part of the Habsburg Empire at that time. However, his religious views and attitudes towards authority resulted in his leaving the country. From this time on he was called a sailor, an adventurer, a visionary, a colonizer, an entrepreneur, and a king.

In 1768 he joined the Confederation of Bar, a Polish national movement against Russian intervention. He was captured by the Russians, interned in Kazan, and later exiled in Kamchatka. Subsequently, he escaped and returned to Europe via Macau and Madagascar.

In 1772 Benyovszky arrived in Paris where he impressed King Louis XV. He was offered the opportunity to act in the name of France on Madagascar. In 1776 Benyovszky was elected by the local tribal chiefs an Ampansacabe (king) of Madagascar. In 1776 he returned to Paris where, in appreciation for his services as Commander of Madagascar, he was promoted to the rank of General, and granted the military Order of Saint Louis and a life pension by Louis XVI. In 1779 Benyovszky came to America, where he tried to obtain support for a proposal to use Madagascar as a base in the struggle against England. He died in 1786 while fighting with the French on Madagascar.

[edit] Family

Father: Samuel Benyovszky, from the noble Benyovszky family. At the time of Móric's birth, Samuel was an Austrian colonel.

Mother: Rozália Benyovszky (maiden name: Révay), whose father was the Bishop of Spiš. This was her second marriage.

Wife: Zuzana Benyovszky (maiden name: Hönsch) (1750-1815), the daughter of a butcher. She lived in Baltimore in 1784, after Móric's death, she and her daughters departed America in 1786 and returned to Benyovszky's castle in the Slovak town of Beckovská Vieska. Countess Benyovszky died here in 1825.

Siblings: one sister Márta, two brothers Ferenc and Emanuel. His brother was an officer and adventurer in the Caribbean around 1780 and the adjutant of Major Polerecky, head of the Blue Hussars of the French cavalry supervising the British surrender at Yorktown in America in 1781. He died in America in 1789.

Thanks to Benjamin Franklin's help, Benyovszky's descendants kept the spirit of cosmopolitanism and can be found all across Europe, as well as in the United States.

[edit] Important dates

September 9, 1746 
Benyovszky is born in Vrbové near Trnava in the present day Slovakia. Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary at that time, which in turn was part of the Habsburg Empire.
1746 – 1759 
Benyovszky spends his childhood in Vrbové.
1759 – 1760 
Benyovszky studies at the Piarist College in Svätý Jur, a suburb of Bratislava.
1760 
His mother dies, her property is inherited by her daughters from her first marriage, and Benyovszky has to care for his brothers and sister.
c.1762 
He shortly enters the army as an officer in the Seven Years' War (1755 – 1763), then escapes and stays in the Spiš.
1764 
He is accused of deserting and of apostasy (he had a rebellious attitude in matters of Catholic religion) and must participate in a tribunal.
1765 
He captures his mother's (see 1760) property in Hrušové near Vrbové, previously seized by one of his brothers-in-law. He is accused for this and must participate in a tribunal in Nitra. Before the trial ends (1766?), he flees to Poland, by which he violates the order of queen Maria Theresa forbidding him to leave the country.
1767 – 68 
He stays in those Spiš towns that Hungary had pawned to Poland in 1412.
1768 (beginning of) 
For unknown reasons, Benyovszky flees to Poland and enters into contact with Confederation of Bar (Konfederacja Barska) in Poland, which was rebelling against the Polish king Stanislaw August Poniatowski installed by Russia.
1768 (July) 
He is arrested in Spišská Sobota in the house of the German butcher Hönsch (whose daughter will become his wife – see Family), because he had tried to organize a military unit for Confederation of Bar. In the same month he is imprisoned in the Lubovňa Castle (part of the pawned territories).
1769 - 1770 
He joins the Polish Confederation at Bar (Konfederacja Barska) to fight together with Kazimierz Pułaski for the independence of Poland from the Russian rule in the Ukraine. He is captured and interned in a camp at Kazan. Taking advantage of local rebellions (according to some sources the rebellion was incited by Benyovszky), he flees from there to St. Petersburg, where he tries to board a Dutch ship; the captain of the ship delivers him to the Russian police.
1770 - 1771 
This time, the Russians send him into exile 8,000 km further east to eastern Siberia (Kamchatka). There he is one of the few educated people, so the local governor asks him to teach his daughter to play the piano. She falls in love with him. In May 1771 Benyovszky organizes a revolt of mainly Polish prisoners, during which the rebels, under his leadership, capture weapons, money and a Russian battleship. Benyovszky's girl is killed in ambush by a flying bullet. Benyovszky then commandeers the captured battleship and on May 23 sets out for a discovery trip through the Northern Pacific (well before James Cook and Jean-François de La Pérouse) along the Aleutians, Alaska, Japan, and Formosa (Taiwan), until the rebels finally arrive in Macau in July 1771.
1771 – 1773 
In Macau, he enters into contact with France. The Kamchatka rebels sell their original ship and sail to France on another. On their way (around the Cape of Good Hope) they also visit the huge island of Madagascar off the African coast, then still independent and ruled by countless native chieftains. Finally in July 1772, he and most of the Kamchatka rebels arrive in France, where he is joined by his wife and learns about his promotion to General of the Polish Confederation, as well as his growing international fame. He suggests to King Louis XV that he could establish a French colony on Formosa (Taiwan) or Madagascar. The king appoints him as Governor of Madagascar, gives him the title of count and a few promises, and charges him with leading a French military and trade mission to the island of Madagascar (see 1774);1774 (February): Benyovszky, 21 officers, and 237 volunteers land at Madagascar.
1774 – 1775 First expedition to Madagascar 
In Madagascar, he starts to build the town of Louisbourg, a kind of base, through which France could enter into trade relations with Madagascar. He begins to build roads, settlements and to dry up swamps. Louisbourg was at the Maroantsetra (Antongil Bay) and included a hospital/quarantine on Nosy Mangabe. Besides building the French presence and geographically exploring the island, Benyovszky is unifying tribes there (see 1776). From the beginning, he is in conflict with the governors of the French colonies Réunion and Mauritius, who are his superiors and are sending negative reports on his activities to Paris, hindering his projects and causing the French Maritime Ministry to send a committee, which then finds deficiencies in Benyovszky's performance. The main reason for this is that the colonisation did not bring the immediate profits expected by the French government.
1776 
On October 1, the natives of Madagascar elect him King / Emperor (Ampansacabé) of Madagascar on the Mahevelou plane. Among other things, Benyovszky introduces Latin script for the Madagascar language. (In the history of Madagascar, the King Andrianampoinimerina (1786-1810) is mentioned as the national unifier—in fact he built upon the efforts of the Ampansacabe Benyovszky.) In general, however, Benyovszky's mission largely fails (also due to illnesses caught by his men – their number will reduce to 63 in 1778) and Paris ignores his requirements. At the end of the year, Benyovszky leaves the island and goes to France.
1776 
Back in France, he tries to make sure that the amounts he had invested in Madagascar are paid to him, and he presents new proposals for the colonization of the island. He is promoted to the rank of general, and is granted the military Order of Saint Louis and a life pension by Louis XVI.
1777 
Still in Paris, he becomes a close friend of Benjamin Franklin (American envoy in France) and Kazimierz Pułaski. Franklin becomes like an uncle to Benyovszky's two daughters. Franklin and Benyovszky regularly play chess, often joined by Count Pułaski. Franklin later supported Benyovszky in trying to organize an American expedition to Madagascar (see 1784). In the same year, Pułaski goes to America with Benjamin Franklin's letter of recommendation and presents to the Continental Congress a proposal from Benyovszky to use Madagascar as a base in the American struggle against England. The project is not approved, because the Continental Congress does not want to risk alienating France. Also in 1777, Benyovszky turns to the Austrian royal court. He petitions the Austrian empress Maria Theresa, offers his services and experience acquired abroad for the development of the commerce of his native country, and asks her pardon and permission to return home (see 1765). The royal court in Vienna changes its attitude towards Benyovszky (because he now is in service of France, whose queen is member of the same — Habsburg — dynasty as that in Vienna). Amnesty is granted to him on October 17.
Late 1777/ early 1778 
He returns to Hungary and writes a letter to the French Maritime and Colonial Ministry from his castle in Beckovská Vieska near Trenčín.
1778 
France grants him the title of brigadier with annual payments of 4,000 pounds, but all his proposals are rejected by the French court. On April 3 he receives a letter by Maria Theresa promoting him to the rank of count. However, his project for maritime trade from historic Hungary and for the establishment of a trade route from Komárno to Rijeka (i.e., the Mediterranean) is refused by the Austrian royal court. In addition he enters the army and fights in the war between Austria and Prussia (1778-1779) in Prussia.
1779 First expedition to America 
Benyovszky follows Pułaski to America and offers his services in the American Revolution in person and in a letter to the Continental Congress. He is approved to report to General Pułaski at the siege of Savannah, where Pułaski dies in his friend's arms. Without Pułaski's support, Benyovszky has no choice but to return to Europe.
1780 
In Austria, he presents another project aiming at promoting the maritime trade, but again it is rejected.
1781 - 1782 Second expedition to America 
In 1782 Benyovszky visits Philadelphia with letters of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, offering in a letter to General Washington through General Baron Steuben to serve in person the American Revolution and the USA, "of which he is desirous to become a citizen"; his offer is respectfully declined. A month later, through the French Minister to the United States, he submits a plan to General Washington proposing to raise in Germany a body of troops consisting of three legionary corps of cavalry, infantry, grenadiers, chasseurs and artillery, the whole amounting to 3,383 effective men, and after their transport to America they would be subject to the order of the United States and take the oaths of fidelity and allegiance. The project is favorably evaluated. Benyovszky meets George and Mary Washington in their headquarters in Newborough (Newburgh, New York). Following this discussion with Washington, Benyovszky rewrites his proposal and presents it to the Continental Congress on May 6. However, the proposal is rejected by Congress following a reconciliatory change in British attitude under the new British cabinet. Benyovszky writes a farewell letter to Washington and embarks on the Friendship for Europe. He stops en route in Saint Domingue (now Haiti) to visit his brother, Francis Benyovszky, stationed there with a French army unit.
1783 
He returns to Hungary, where he visits his castle at Beckovská Vieska and receives a privilege from the Emperor Joseph II, under which he is under special protection of the king and is authorized to found an Austrian colony on Madagascar, of which Benyovszky will be the governor under the Austrian flag. However this project is not realized, because the royal court does not provide money for it.
1783 
After failing to gain recognition in France, Austria, and the US, he turns to Great Britain, where he asks the British government to grant him an expedition to Madagascar. He gives to John Hyacinth de Magellan, a member of the Royal Society and descendant of the famous Ferdinand Magellan, his memoirs, written in French, describing and exaggerating all his past journeys. In the same year Magellan translates it into English under the title: Memoirs and Travels; the memoir will be published in 1790 in the UK. The manuscript comprises four volumes in French and Benyovszky appended a signature to each of them in witness of his responsibility for their contents. The manuscript was deposited in the British Museum Library by the owners subsequent to their publication and are still kept in the manuscript division of the British Library. The memoir would shortly be published in German (Berlin, 1790; Vienna, 1816), French (Paris, 1791), Dutch (Haarlem, 1791), Swedish (Stockholm, 1791), Polish (Warsaw, 1797), Slovak (Bratislava, 1808), and Hungarian (1888) and would become a worldwide bestseller. In the same year, with Benjamin Franklin's and J.H. Magellan's assistance, Benyovszky enters into contact with the Baltimore businessmen Messonier and Zollikofer, who found an American-British company for trade with Madagascar.
1784 Third expedition to America 
On March 24, Benyovszky appoints J.H. Magellan Plenipotentiary for the State of Madagascar and authorizes him to act as representative of all economic and political affairs of the island. He leaves Baltimore for Madagascar on board the 5CC-ton vessel Intrepid provided by Messonier and Zollikofer. During the voyage the ship is blown off course and is delayed for repairs along the coast of Brazil.
1785 - 1786 Second expedition to Madagascar 
In Madagascar Benyovszky initiates a rebellion of the natives (who have remained loyal to him) and finally captures the French trade settlement Foulpointe. He starts building the capital of his empire, the trade settlement Mauritania (named after himself — Maurice) at the easternmost point of the island, Cape East. In the contract with his Anglo-American associates, lots are guaranteed for all of them in the city. From Mauritania, he trades with Maryland and Baltimore. The main trade is in slaves.
1786 
The French Maritime Ministry, outraged by Benyovszky's cooperation with the US and by the capture of Foulpointe, sends an unexpected expedition from the Pondichéry colony to stop Benyovszky. The expedition manages a surprise attack on May 23, 1786. Benovsky fights bravely, but dies from a bullet wound to his chest. He is buried at the village of Mauritania by his former lieutenant Jacques de Lassalle, together with two Russian fugitives who had accompanied him from Kamchatka.

[edit] Legacy

Besides being the author of a bestseller at the meeting of the of 18th and 19th centuries, Benyovszky became a rich source of inspiration for many writers, poets, and composers. The opera Benyowsky and the exiles of Kamchatka, by François-Adrien Boïeldieu, was presented in Paris in 1800. The US premiere of the play Count Benyowsky — The Conspiracy of Kamchatka, a tragi-comedy in five acts by the German playwright August Friedrich von Kotzebue, took place in Baltimore, along with the first performance of the US national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, on October 19, 1814. The second of eight operas by the Austrian composer Albert Franz Doppler (1821-1883), later arranged for piano by the Hungarian composer Mihaly Mosonyi, is called Benyovszky. Beniowski is also the name of an epic poem by the Polish poet Juliusz Słowacki (1809-1849). In his native Slovakia, many artistic works are associated with the name of Benyovszky, above all the novel The adventures of Móric Benyovszky by Jozef Nižňánsky (1933) and the Slovak-Hungarian TV series Vivat Benyovszky from 1975.

Benyovszky is considered a national hero by Slovaks, Hungarians, Poles, and Madagascarians. Benyovszky's name and memory have survived in Madagascar to the present day. The island opposite Cape East is called the Benyowsky Island on older maps, and on the way from Antalaha to Cape East there is a ford named Baron Passage, relating to Benyovszky's first stay on the island. When Madagascar gained independence, most European names fell into disuse, but not Benyovszky's. One of the main streets in the capital, Antananarivo (Rue Benyovski), as well as streets in several other major cities, is named after the unforgettable sovereign.

[edit] Bibliography

Memoirs of Benyowsky

The Memoirs and Travels of Mauritius August Count de Benyowsky, Magnate of the Kingdom of Hungary and Poland. One of the Chiefs of the Confederation of Poland. Consisting of his Military Operations in Poland, his Exile into Kamchatka, his Escape and Voyage from that Peninsula through the Northern Pacific Ocean, Touching at Japan and Formosa, to Canton in China, with an Account of the French Settlement, he was Appointed to Form upon the Island of Madagascar. Written by Himself. Translation from the Original Manuscript. London-Dublin, William Nicholson.

[edit] References

In Hungarian
  • Jókai, Mór. Gróf Benyovszky Móric.
  • Rónaszegi, Miklós. A Nagy Játszma.
  • Pallas nagy lexikon [1]
  • [2]

[edit] External links