Századok – 1995

Tanulmányok - Kurucz György: Érdekek és előítéletek. A brit diplomácia és Magyarország a 18. század végéig II/253

284 KURUCZ GYÖRGY par les Turcs. L'existence de l'État hongrois était prèsque détruite et à partir du début du 16e siècle des empereurs Habsbourg héritaient le titre du roi hongrois. C'était seulement le principauté de Transylvanie-partie de l'Est de l'ancien pays, qui gardait l'attentin de la diplomatie britannique à 1 époque de la guerre de 30 ans. Les tentatives hongroises pour restaurer l'indépendance du pays après l'expulsion des Turcs, n'étaient pas favorablement prises par la diplomatie britannique. Elle jugéait des Hongrois comme des rébelles, qui peut-être affaiblissent la force de la dynastie Habsbourg, alliée utile, compensant le françaises. Les sources rappellent qu'après la chute de l'État hongrois (1526) la diplomatie britannique néglige continuellement les intérêts hongrois. INTEREST AND PREJUDICE. THE BRITISH DIPLOMACY AND HUNGARY TO THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY by Kurucz György Summary This paper is based on extensive research in British archives. A comprehensive guide to sources relating to the Kingdom of Hungary was published by the author in 1992. The story of British-Hungarian relations goes back to the 11th century. Two English princes, Edmund and Edward, found refuge in Hungary during the pre-conquest struggles of Anglo-Saxon Englan. Their sojourn in Hungary had a lasting effect on the Scottish royal family as the daughter of the Hungarian king went to England with Edward. After Edward's death she went to Scotlan and her daughter became a queen and was canonized as St. Margaret. However, contacts did not become reciprocal until the late 12th century when the crusades involved the Kingdom of Hungary in European politics more actively. This was the time when English and Hungarian clerics carried out diplomatic services, so their contacts apparently played an important role in the limitation of royal rights and prerogatives as contained in a charter issued in Hungary in 1222. Diplomatic contacts between England and Hungary became quite extensive from the 14th century onwards. The reign of the Angevin dynasty increased the importance of the Kingdom of Hungary in contemporary European politics. King Sigismund of Hungary, the later Emperor, even visited England the early 15th century. However, apart from some minor missions it was not until the reign of King Matthias of Hungary in the second half of the century that regular contacts were established between the royal courts of London and Buda. Matthias was an able ruler and his kingdom was quite influential in this part of the world. After his death his kingdom crumbled as even the large number of English diplomatic repoits prove it and the Turks occupied one third of the country. Hungarian statehood nearly ceased to exist and the title of the King of Hungary went down to the successive Habsburg emperors from the early 16th century onwards. It was only the eastern part of the former kingdom, the Principality of Transylvania, that attracted the attention of English diplomacy in the Thirty Years War. After the Turks had been driven out of the country, Hungarian attempts to restore independence were condemned by British diplomats. Hungarians were deemed as rebels who would undermine the power of the Habsburg Empire, the counterbalance to French supremacy in Europe at the time. Historical sources imply that British diplomacy tends to ignore Hungarian interests ever since the indepes ambitions.