Századok – 2014
KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Bobay István: Egy kalandos sorsú magyar huszár, Jajczay József élettörténete. Különös tekintettel a Hawaii-szigeteken végzett kapitányi és kiképzői tevékenységére és az egyéb 19. századi hawaii-magyar történelmi kapcsolatok kérdéséről III/747
EGY MAGYAR HUSZÁR, JAJCZAY JÓZSEF ÉLETTÖRTÉNETE 777 nak kiderítése, hogy egyáltalán van-e valami köze a magyarsághoz, és ha igen, akkor esetleg rokoni viszonyban állhatott-e Kossuth Lajossal. THE LIFE OF AN ADVENTUROUS HUNGARIAN HUSSAR, JÓZSEF JAJCZAY, WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO HIS ACTIVITY AS A MILITARY TRAINER ON HAWAII AND OTHER RELATED ITEMS OF HAWAII-HUNGARIAN HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS IN THE 19th CENTURY by Bobay István (Abstract) In this study I mainly summarise the content of the documents I collected in the summer of 2013 in the State Archives of Honolulu, supplemented by the information provided by previous Hungarian historiography and archival sources preserved in Hungary and Vienna. It focusses on the adventurous life of József Jajczay, who was bom at Buda, and conscripted for the Habsburg imperial army in 1850. There he served in various units, was for some time imprisoned in the fortress of Olmiitz, and then joined as a hussar the expeditionary force which escorted emperor Maximilian to Mexico. He later settled in Mexico, but already in 1872 we find him in the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, where he worked as a training captain of the Hawaii Royal Household Troops. In 1874, however, he committed suicide as a coffee planter in Costa Rica. In the present study, after a brief introduction, I overview previous scholarly work dealing with this Hungarian soldier, then summarise the available evidence on his life and career grouped into four thematic chapters: - 1. the life of József Jajczay before his arrival to Mexico, 2. from Mexico to Honolulu, 3. József Jajczay as a training captain of the Hawaii Royal Household Troops, 4. the last period of his life. Besides, I offer a brief description of the history of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the 19th century, and in the closing section of the study I deal in detail with the problem of Hawaii-Hungarian relations during the same period.
