Magyar külpolitika, 1930 (11. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)

1930 / 6. szám - The Hungarian Situation. Lecture delivered in Hull by Count Rubido Zichy, Hungarian Minister in London, in the League of Nation lecture series

November 1930 HUNGÁRIA LLOYD 23 thc Battle of Mohács. The Hungárián array was Rcattered, the king himself drowned in a river, and the road into the heart of the country lay open before the victorious Sultan who advanced steadily and sueceeded somé years afterwards in capturing Buda, the ancienl Hungárián capital, withouj a stroke of the sword. The cafeistrophe of Mohács, as this battle is called, opened a new chapter in Hungárián history. Jt was the beginning of one of the severest trials in the life of the nation. Dining the Turkish occupation the country was lorn into three parts, in somé ways resembling its present condition. The middle part — the plain hetween the Danube and the Tisza — came under Turkish domination. which turnéd it into a desert. The Eastern part — Transylvania — became independent under a succession of autonomous national princes. The third and smallesl part — consisting of about fcwenty counties in the West and North — became the Hungárián kingdom in the proper sense of the word, being ruled by the Habsburgs. The size of this part fairly approached that of present day Hungary. The Turkish rule lasted for about 150 years and has left, apart from considerably diminishing the population of the territory under the Turks, very little impression on the further development of Hungary. More or less the same can be said about the Eastern part which during this period was ruled by autochthon princes whose policy vacillated between Constantinople and Vienna. The House of Habsburgs which reigned over the third part of Hungary, exercised a paramount influence on the development of the country from 1680 — when the Turks were driven out from Buda and Hungary was united under one ruler — till the end of the recent world war. Therefore it is necessary to give a short survey of the history of the House of Habsburg, which meanwhile was endowed by the Hungárián Diet with hereditary rights to the throne of Hungary. Aj= everybody who has studied world history knows, the Habsburgs held for generations the Imperial Crown of the Holy Román Empire of the Germán nation. This institution came to an end j through the upheavel caused by the Napóleonié wars, and in 180] Francis of Habsburg and Lorraine resigned the Germán crown ant took up the title of Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Króm that date on the history of Hungary is a perpetual struggle for political freedom and independence from Á-ustria, which led tothe War of [ndependeíjce 0f 1848-1849, crushed by the Austrians with the aid of Russia and followed by a period of IS years of absolutist rule, until in 1867 the wise ruler, 'Francis Joseph. under the pressure of political and military adversity, restored the ancient Hungárián constitution. Thus the Monarchy was divided into two independent States, namely Austria and Hungary. The leading idea of the institution of this dualistic reign was that the Germán elemen! of the Monarchy hy its numerical int'eriority had proved un fit to govern all the differenl nationalities corítained within the borders of the Enij)ire. So the numerically second strongest element, the Magyars, which had a conspicuous and nearly millenary political past, was entrusted with the mission of establishing a working governmental system in those parts where they förmed an absolute majority. Emperor Francis Joseph was crowned King of Hungary with the ancient crown of St. Stephen in 1808, and an arrangement was reachedl between the Sovereign and the Hungárián nation by which the Army and Diplomacy were kept in common between Austria and Hungary, while all other brancb.es of administration as well as legislation were separated. This constitution 'involved the formát ion of three cabinets of ministers, i. e. one cabinet for the common affairs, one for Austria and one for Hungary. It would lead too far to explain the working of this constitution and so I will limit myself to giving you an idea of the political structure of the Hungárián part of the Monarchy. This pari contained about 21 millión inhabitants of which approximately 3 millión lived |n Croatia and Slavonia, where the Croatian nation förmed an overwhelming compact majority. This part enjoyed a very far reaching autonomy, a separate Diet, and was autonomous in internál administration, education and jurisprudence. The official language of this part was Croatian. The remainder of Hungary comprising about 18 millión inhabitants, was under a united rule. In this part the Magyars or Hungarians förmed a majority of 11 millión. The balance of 7 millión was divided among several nationalities (Roumanians, Slovaks, Germans, Serbians, Croatians, Ruthenians and Albert Berzeviczy and Eugene Balogh.