Landweber|211he rose through their army’s ranks to become a lieutenant general, a member of
Emperor Charles VI’s war council, and a close companion of the powerful Prince
Eugene of Savoy. Like all commanders in the imperial army, he had to swear
allegiance to Charles VI. Bonneval never believed this act of political expedi-
ency made him “German.” But both his past and present masters did. When,
almost inevitably, he fought with Eugene in 1724 and was exiled from Vienna in
1726, Bonneval believed that he was “returned to the King of France.” However,
neither the French king Louis XV nor the Hapsburg emperor subscribed to Bon-
neval’s old-fashioned philosophy of feudal allegiance. This disagreement over
Bonneval’s identity ultimately became the catalyst that caused the count to travel
east and “turn Turk.”
Bonneval’s maneuvering was much disapproved of in his time. His actions
were considered an insult to Louis XIV when he first quit the French army, re-
sulting in his effigy being condemned to death and hung for treason in Paris
in 1711. A century earlier, such moving around of gentleman soldiers had been
much more acceptable. By the late seventeenth century such leniency was disap-
pearing. The 1673 Capitulations signed between France and the Ottoman Empire
added a clause that “any French found in the armies of the Sultan’s enemies”
(such as the Hapsburgs) “were officers and soldiers who, not finding employment
in France, were going to seek it with strangers. Once they were serving under an-
other prince, they should no longer be regarded as French.” Bonneval apparently
knew nothing of this agreement.
When the count arrived in Bosnia in June 1729, he expected no obstacles.
Pausing in Sarajevo as a guest of the provincial governor, Ahmed Ghazi Pasha,
Bonneval sought permission to continue traveling east. Because the Capitulations
forbade French subjects to enter the Ottoman Empire without authorization,
Bonneval’s uninvited flight to Bosnia, not to mention his intended destination Is-
tanbul, required justification. His initial letter to French Ambassador Villeneuve
reveals a lively sense of the offenses done to him by the Austrians. He explained
how after leaving the Hapsburg army he tried to obtain a post with the Spanish
king but was thwarted by Charles VI’s determination to extinguish his military
career. He then continued,
Your Excellency will understand that the injustices of the House of Austria
have cut me to the quick. My plan is to serve the Turks, and to capture at the
same time some piece of Hungary if I can wrench it from the Germans. If I
don’t succeed it will not be my fault.... I hope the novelty of seeing a man of
my quality and rank offering his services to the Turks will not prejudice you
against me. Alone I am not strong enough to avenge myself against the Em-
peror. Like small princes I seek powerful allies, and I hope that with such an
ally I will in time have the pleasure of complete revenge....