BENYOVSZKIANA - Thoughts and Topics
Even 240 years after his death, there is rarely a dull moment with Benyovszky. Apart from the continued and continual celebration of his intriguing life by Benyovszky societies - aided and abetted by government bodies - across central Europe, other small nuggets of news keep popping out of the woodwork.
Set out below are just a small handful of such miscellany. These range from the ever-popular question 'Was Benyovszky King of Madagascar?' to erroneous reports of his resurrection. And then there is cartography and what it can prove (or not prove). Browse below, read further, and be instructed - or simply outraged.
Hungarian-Slovak-Polish Rivalry
In July 2017, the English-language Wikipedia article on Benyovszky underwent a major revamp, to introduce (a) some proper facts and (b) new material. All went quite well for a few days and then anonymous edits began to appear on the article. Where the original editor (OK: it was me) had used the word 'Hungarian' to describe Benyovszky's nationality (an error of judgement in retrospect!), that adjective was disappearing and being replaced by 'Slovak' or 'Polish' or reverting back to 'Hungarian', on almost a nightly basis. At first, I made the mistake of trying to revert to the original text, and made it quite clear that the word referred to the 18th century Kingdom of Hungary, and not to the present-day nation-state. I even tried pointing out that 'Slovakia' did not actually exist in the 18th century. And that Benyovszky in any case spent the best part of his life in French employment.
Eventually I gave up, and let nature take its course, all the while puzzling to myself why on earth the Poles, the Hungarians and the Slovaks were fighting over a fraudster. The Wikipedia controversy continues to rumble on, although now perhaps less energetically.
It is a blessing that the competing editors never really got past the initial paragraph of the article...
For my more considered thoughts on this issue, and the general concept of nationality, why not take the time to read this essay?
A very strange map indeed
In 2013, a map was discovered in a Warsaw university library. It seems to be a map which was put together by Benyovszky himself, and presented to the French government minister for Foreign Affairs, the Duc d'Aiguillon. It bears the date 1772, which is precisely the time when Benyovszky was doing the rounds of French government offices, seeking financial backing for one of his several plans for trading with (or colonising) far-off places.
The map is a curiosity, as my attached essay suggests. It is clearly based on a map drawn by someone else - for example, the great French cartographer, Nicolas Bellin, whose own work was based on the maps of earlier explorers. And it raises many unanswered questions. The Warsaw academic who discovered this map has suggested that it could prove that Benyovszky did all the things he claimed to have done in the North Pacific. I venture to throw cold water on that hypothesis.
However, a recent paper by two Warsaw geographers has attempted to shed some clarity on the physical and visual nature of the map - its sources and so on. The paper is interesting, if flawed (they still argue that it proves that Benyovszky went to places that he simply can not have visited...) What their paper does indicate, however, is that Benyovszky certainly did not draw the map himself, from scratch. I have therefore updated my essay accordingly.You can read all about it by clicking here.
To view the map, you can either click on the thumbnail image above (opens in new window), or access the Warsaw article and map on-line here.
Was Benyovszky ever King of Madagascar?
The short answer to that question is surely: 'No.'
However, it is a question which keeps popping up, largely because certain groups of people in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Madagascar keep insisting that Benyovszky told the truth in his tales of colonising Madagascar.
Back in early 2019, I was very pleased to be invited to give a talk to the members of the British Czech and Slovak Association, in the Slovak Embassy in London. I have put the text of my lecture in a document - just click here and be instructed. The idea was for me to give some perspective on the question of Fact and Fiction relating to Benyovszky's many tales, but in particular on the Madagascar legend.
I have to say that the British Slovaks were extremely polite and friendly, given that I had just spent 45 minutes rubbishing one of their national heroes. They made me most welcome. It was a pleasure to be there.
Whether anyone believed what I had to say, I really do not know...
Was Benyovszky ever King of Madagascar? Part II.
Back in 1906, the French historian Prosper Cultru published a book about Benyovszky. Its title (translated into English) was An Emperor of Madagascar in the XVIIIth century – Benyowszky. In his book, using letters and documents from French state archives, Cultru very effectively nailed on the head many of Benyovszky's stirring tales of Madagascar.
No one in the intervening 120 years or so has managed to counter Cultru's arguments. It is, therefore, a book that rewards a close reading.
Since the original text is in French, I have gone to the immense trouble of getting it translated into English. (No money, you will be glad to know, changed hands during the translation.) I used the remarkable online translation engine DeepL; the quality of the translated text is really pretty good, although I manually corrected some of the results. Having done that, I then persuaded DeepL to render the English translation of Cultru's book into Slovak, Polish and Hungarian. The results of that, for all I know, may not be perfect... All four versions, plus the original, are now available:
To access the French original text, click here...
To access the text in English, click here...
To access the text in Slovak | Slovenská verzia, click here...
To access the text in Polish | wersja polska, click here...
To access the text in Hungarian | magyar változat, click here...
What did Benyovszky do in the War?
One of Benyovszky's many claims was that he had played an honourable, glorious and very effective part in the war of the Polish Confederation of Bar against the Russians (and their very own Polish king). This brief uprising against Russia took place in 1768/69. Benyovszky certainly took part in it, on the side of the Confederates, and he was certainly captured by the Russians - and was subsequently sent to Kamchatka. But how much of a role did he play, really? To read my thoughts on this, click here... You may disagree with them. That is perfectly fine.
Miss Afanasia Nilova - really?
In Benyovszky's published account of his adventures, one young person looms large. This was 'Afanasia Nilova', the 16-year old daughter of Grigorii Nilov, the commander of the soldiers guarding the prison-settlement at Bolsheretsk. Benyovszky expended a considerable amount of ink in describing Afanasia's crush on him, and their tender expressions of friendship and love. After Benyovszky came close to marrying her, Afanasia sailed on the ship commandeered by the escapees, and travelled all the way to Macao. Where she promptly died. But was 'Afanasia' a real person? And if not, then why not? Click here to read more, and my argument that she was not real, only ever a useful romantic gloss for Benyovszky's book. These revelations may upset you; but, like Afanasia, you must be strong!
Did Benyovszky reach the Bering Strait?
Having escaped from Kamchatka on board a 'borrowed' ship, Benyosvzky and some 65-90 shipmates - depending on whose story you believe - eventually made their way to Macao on the Chinese mainland, from where they took passage on French merchant ships and came - most of them anyway - back to Europe. But Benyovszky claimed also to have spent around 7 or 8 weeks on the first part of this voyage, in sailing northwards towards the Bering Strait, then back along the Aleutian Islands, before heading for Japan and China. But how plausible is this little detour? Read here to ponder on this question. It is a question of elapsed time, different calendars and the top speed of a ship in 1771.
The King is dead - long live the King!
In December 1787, the Warsaw news-sheet, 'Gazeta Warszawski', carried a small notice which had been sent to them from a correspondent in Vienna. According to this, on 7 November,
The Hungarian Baron Beniowski, who has already been declared dead so many times, has arrived here from Constantinople.
No further details were provided, and we later hear no more news of the man risen from the grave. The Count had, after all, died 14 months earlier, on Madagascar.
Had it really been Benyovszky promenading the streets of Vienna, we would almost certainly have heard much more about - and from - him. We must sadly assume that the report was a misunderstanding.
Or perhaps the person in question was an impostor? - nothing could be less surprising.
You can read the original newspaper notice (it is in Polish, though). Click here and then go to page 8, and look at the top of the second column... ("Carogred" is Constantinople / Istanbul.)
The Mysterious Mr. Sedzimir
In 1814, a Pole named Josef Sedzimir, in much-reduced circumstances and living in Paris, wrote a letter to an army general in Poland, essentially asking for financial support. (For those of you able to read Polish, there is an article about it here...) Sedzimir claimed to have fought for the Polish Confederation of Bar, to have been - like Benyovszky - captured by the Russians and sent to Kamchatka, and with Benyovszky to have escaped on the glorious voyage to Japan and China.
But many things in Sedzimir's narration do not add up (as if that was something new in relation to Benyovszky?) You can read my thoughts on this here. My conclusion is that Sedzimir was simply trying to capitalise on the late Benyovszky's fame, and had perhaps made himself familiar with the details in the latter's Memoirs and presented these as if they were his own memories.
