Zsolt Horbulák: The Life and Works of Baron Ferenc Tóth
The Hungarian history has a lot of personalities successful abroad and almost not known or valued at home. Ferenc Tóth – François de Tott (1733–1793), – belongs to them, who is French general, diplomat, engineer and writer of memoranda of Hungarian origin. As one of the most imporant representatives of the second generation of the Rákóczi emigration in France, is known mainly in France, but on the basis of the most important location of his activities works dealing with the history of the Osman Empire include him. Versailles in 1767 noticed the young diplomat. He was appointed consul of Grím, where he faced a difficult task. Against the rapidly growing influence of Russia he had to protect the claims of France. Later he was active in Carihrad, the sultan asked him to make a military map. The sultan was very satisfied with the work, with which he gained the sultan’s confidence, and therefore he was asked to fulfill another tasks: to strenghten the fortresses of Dardanellas, to renew the Turkish artillery, to establish a cannon foundry, to open a maritime school, to plan a pontoon-bridge, but he introduced the usage of bayonet at the Turkish army. These wide-range military reforms set the basis Baron Ferenc Tóth’s reputation, that soon get into West Europe, too.
The most important work of Ferenc Tóth is considered his memoranda. The first French issue was published in 1784 in Amsterdam. The Memoranda were not written in one time. They are based on a record of a journey that the baron began to write on his first journey to Carihrad. Later after his journey to the Mediterranean, re-wrote it and changed their form. The Memoranda consists of tive parts: introduction, first stay in Carihrad, diplomatic trip to Krím, second stay in Carihrad and finally the trip in Levante. Between the lines a wise man arose with good observation. Ferenc Tóth’s writings are captivating, but he still stays off shallow entertaining. He is reserved, and does not go to the field of erotic descriptions already present in that time. The genre of his writings is mostly a record of a journey with the signs typical for preromatics.