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Morits Benovsky

Morits August Benovsky (1746–1786) — an adventurer, soldier, participant in the Bar Confederation, French diplomat, Austrian count, convict, and proclaimed supreme ruler ("king") of Madagascar.

Overview

Morits Benovsky was born in 1746 in the town of Vrbové (now Slovakia) into the family of an Austrian officer. From a young age he was known for his restless temper and his service in the hussars. Because of a family conflict and the seizure of his father's estate, he was forced to flee to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where in the town of Bar he joined the Bar Confederation — a noble uprising against the pro-russian king Stanisław Poniatowski.

After the defeat of the confederates, their delegation retreated southward and arrived in the domains of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire, which had become allies of the confederation. Taken prisoner by the russians, he escaped repeatedly, was exiled to Kamchatka, where he raised a revolt, seized a galleon, and sailed to Formosa (Taiwan) and France. Later, at the invitation of the French government, he set out for Madagascar, where local chiefs elected him supreme leader ("amnasakeba"), and later he established an independent state there. He was killed in 1786 in battle against a French punitive detachment.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • The Bar Confederation and its ties to the Crimean Khanate: participation in the uprising against the pro-russian king Stanisław Poniatowski and the retreat into the domains of the Crimean Khanate, where the Bar confederates urged the Crimean Tatars and Turks to join forces against the russian empire.
  • Escape from exile and the Kamchatka epic: after being taken prisoner by the russians and resuming armed struggle, he was sent to Kamchatka, where he organized a mutiny, proclaimed himself Commander of Kamchatka, seized a galleon, and reached Europe via Taiwan.
  • King of Madagascar and international activity: he led the French expedition to Madagascar, where he was proclaimed supreme chief. He sought to involve Austria (during the War of the Bavarian Succession he received a count's title) and the United States in colonization and military projects, and played chess in Paris with Benjamin Franklin (the author of the "Benovsky mate").
  • Literary legacy: the Polish Romantic poet Juliusz Słowacki dedicated his poem “Benovsky” ("Crimean Adventures") to him, creating a Romanticized image of a nobleman from Podolia who sets out on a mission to Bakhchisarai. In 1975 a television series was filmed (Hungary/Czechoslovakia), and a street in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, is named after him.