The Army of the Rákóczi War of Independence 1703-1711 / A Rákóczi-szabadságharc hadserege 1703-1711

Description

As a result of the war of liberation fought between 1683 and 1699, Hungary - except for Banat - was liberated from Ottoman rule. Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary Leopold I (Habsburg dynasty, 1657-1705) declared the country an area conquered by arms, and then started to populate it with Germans and Southern Slays. He banned Hungarians from major towns, persecuted Protestants and burdened the indigenous Hungarians - few in number after the long war - with supporting foreign troops who acted as conquerors. This was what the Kuruc movement (the word is derived from the Latin "crux" meaning "cross") rebelled against, choosing Francis II Rakóczi, a man coming from a historical Transylvanian family as its leader. Lasting until 1711, the war developed into the biggest freedom fight of the Hungarian nation. Its slogan "Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate" (With God, for homeland and freedom) was aimed at restoring the old legal system of the Kingdom of Hungary, including nobility and freedom of religion. Historian and graphic artist Győző Somogyi (1942) has spent decades researching Hungarian military history and painting accurate illustrations. He is an experimental archaeologist and an active hussar re-enactor so he has personally tested many of the clothing and equipment presented in the series. More than a dozen of his full color albums have already been published in Hungarian and German.