Magyar News, 1995. szeptember-1996. augusztus (6. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1995-09-01 / 1. szám

Vienna he saw, once again, that he was mistrusted by the Austrians. In Hungary, he felt like a stranger. This was the environment in which Ferenc Rákóczi lived. He tried to be neutral, but events would soon cause the traits of the lion cub to come to the force. The name Rákóczi was like a magnet, and as the unrest spread, it symbolized a solution for those seeking relief and freedom. Seeing that he had to make a decision, Ferenc Rákóczi came out in favor of a Hungary free from Austrian domination. The lineage of the lion cub would not be denied. The first attempts by Rákóczi, however, were not very propitious.

A letter sent by Ferenc Rákóczi to Louis XIV explored the possibility of French intervention or assistance in the cause of Hungarian freedom. This letter was intercepted, however, by a traitorous French officer and handed over to the Austrians. Naturally, it did not take long for the authorities in Vienna to react. Ferenc Rákóczi was arrested and, ironically, put into the same cell which was once occupied by his grandfather; a rebel in his own day. Fortunately, Rákóczi was able to escape and with the help of his wife and her connections, he fled to Poland. While in Poland Rákóczi became acquainted with other individuals who were also in exile.

On May 6,1703 Ferenc Rákóczi issued a proclamation from the Polish city of Brezan calling upon all Hungarians to take up arms against the Habsburgs. A month later Ferenc led a band of men back into Hungary with the expectation that he would

be joined with a large army of men and together they would march to the capital.

To his dismay Rákóczi encountered only about 300 peasants waiting for him in Hungary. It seems that after Rakoczi’s proclamation many of the rebels had not been willing to wait for his return. The rebels mounted an unsuccessful military campaign of their own.

If Ferenc Rákóczi was disappointed by the size of the army that greeted him, the (bujdosok) rebels who met him that day were equally upset They had anticipated that Rákóczi would be returning with a large army. Instead they found before them an inexperienced young man with a few followers. How could this young prince and few hundred men defeat the Austrians? Everyone overlooked, however, the power of a just cause and the attraction of the Rákóczi name.

When others heard that Ferenc Rákóczi had crossed the boarder back to Hungary, news of his arrival spread throughout the region. It wasn’t long before the ranks of his army began to swell. Louis XIV was in-FERENC RÁKÓCZI II

formed of the growing support for Rákóczi and he sent some financial support. Rákóczi also was forced to use the income from the Tokaj vineyards on his estates. Even former supporters of Vienna joined the rebel ranks. The most surprising was the defection to the Hungarian cause by Count Sándor Karolyi. It was Karolyi who defeated the rebels who had earlier not waited for

A’ meltojagos fejedelem

FELSŐ-VADÁSZI

RÁKÓCZI FERENCZ,

Kegyelmes Urunk által:

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Az Außritn Ház erólzakoskodása alól való fel - fzabadulásert fogott Magyar fegyvernek ártatlanságáról, azegefz Kerefztyén Világnak eleibe «látott

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KÖZ TUDOMÁNY TETEL.

Medy elsőben Deák, mtßan pedig IJ4T Nyelve», ipmmm kf\siur^tjté tétetem*

Continued from page 2

Rákóczi's appeal on behalf of the Hungarian Nation to the World. (Hungarian Version.)

Rákóczi. In October, 1703, Karolyi was named the chief commander of the forces, which was now being called the kuruc army.

During the years of the ensuing struggle, the hope remained on the Hungarian’s part that Louis XIV would enter into a formal alliance with Ferenc Rákóczi. The French ruler hesitated so long as the Hungarians legally acknowledged the Austrian Emperor as their king. The problem was solved as the Diet of Onod on June 14, 1707 at which time the Habsburg Emperor was dethroned and Ferenc Rákóczi elected as the Prince of Hungary. At first glance it seemed a glorious moment of triumph for Ferenc Rákóczi. But it would actually seal his fate. The emperor in Vienna, as we can well imagine, did not accept the new political situation.

Once the final decision was made to disposeof the Habsburgs and electRakoczi, Rákóczi was locked into mortal combat with the emperor. Hungary could not have

two kings claiming the crown of St S tephen. One or the other would have to lose. Rákóczi was no longer a prince causing trouble, he was now a threat to Austrian rule in Hungary.

To make matters worse Rákóczi discovered that the French king was not seriously considering supporting the Hungarian cause. Louis XIV was afraid that by supporting the overthrow of a fellow king, the forces let lose by the act would eventually reach France. In retrospect, he was right. By the end of the 1700’s France would be a republic.

Ferenc Rákóczi sought help from other European princes, but to no avail. His fortunes were beginning To decline. The struggle for Hungarian freedom, to which Rákóczi had given so much of himself and his personal fortune, came to an unsuccessful end with the Treaty of Szatmar signed on May 1,1711. The war was over.

Rákóczi rejected the Austrian emperor’s offer to return to his confiscated estates in exchange for his loyalty. Rákóczi could never bring himself to do so. Instead, he decided to go into exile which took him to France. Ironically, he was the guestof Louis XIV. After the king’s death, however, Rákóczi became bored with his idle life in France. His spirits were lifted for a short time when he learned that war had broken out between Austria and Turkey. The Sultan of Turkey offered Rákóczi an alliance if he helped him against the Austrians. Unfortunately, by the time Ferenc reached the Turkish capital at Constantinople, the Austrians defeated the Turks ending the war before Rákóczi could influence the outcome. The victorious Austrians, who knew of Rakoczi’s compliance with the Turks, insisted, as a part of the peace treaty, that he be sent into permanent exile in Rodosto on the Marmor Sea in Turkey. Ferenc Rákóczi spent the remaining 22 years of life amidst a shrinking number of faithful followers who still called him the Prince of Hungary. He died in 1735 at the age of sixty.

Even though the freedom movement was defeated, the influences and changes it brought with it have been continually felt in Hungary. For example, the pride of the nation, which was devastated by the Turkish occupation of 150 years, was revived. Even though they lost, the people’s pride was renewed. The Turks and the Austrians had not taken the fight out of the people.

Also, while Ferenc Rákóczi stands out in history as a symbol to the world of selfsacrifice and national spirit, the romantic world of the kurucok, or freedom fighters, has also left a colorful page in Hungarian history. The kuruc era influenced literature, art and music. It was destined to become a facet of Hungarian culture.

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