John Paget’s Memorandum: Hungary and Transylvania in 1836

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 4, 2671 - 2686, 22.09.2024

Mehmet Şerif Erkek

Abstract

From the renowned poet Lord Byron, who lost his life fighting for the Greeks during their War of Independence, to David Urquhart, one of the most prominent defenders of the Turks in Europe, many Englishmen volunteered for various causes throughout the 19th century. Among these individuals was John Paget, a member of an established English family. After meeting his future wife, the Hungarian Baroness Polixena Wesselényi, in Rome, Paget traveled extensively through Hungary and Transylvania before eventually settling in Transylvania, where he endeavored to contribute to the region's development. However, what keeps Paget's legacy alive in Hungary today is not his contributions to local development but rather his travelogue, Hungary and Transylvania, in which he documented his journeys between 1835 and 1837. The foundation of this work emerged in 1836 when Paget met Lord John Ponsonby, the British Ambassador to Istanbul; at Ponsonby’s request, Paget prepared a memorandum to provide the ambassador with updated insights on the lesser-known regions of the Austrian Empire. Notably, this memorandum included matters of particular interest to Ponsonby that were not addressed in his travel book. This study aims to transcribe Paget's memorandum, which holds significance for Hungarian history, and to elucidate the historical context in which it was composed.

Keywords

John Paget, Hungary, Transylvania, Lord Ponsonby

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