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office. He had his own experience to teach him how easy it was to bribe the officials of
Austria. The nobles, who regarded themselves with good cause as the supporters of the Crown, and who expected to be consulted, resented his indifference and secrecy as the arrogance of an upstart. They were his constant enemies and critics. A few of them who admired his abilities supported him on personal grounds, but with these exceptions Thugut had no friends in Austria. Out of it, he was commonly regarded as the representative of all that was most unscrupulous and self-seeking in the methods of the Austrian government. He had inherited from his master Prince Kaunitz the firm conviction that Prussia was the worst enemy of Austria. From him, too, he had learnt that the first duty of an Austrian minister was to be an increaser of the empire, even at the expense of allies, and that excuses for annexation were to be made when they could not be found. His hatred of France, and of the Revolution, was no doubt sincere. But while prepared to defend
263:. The condition on which the pension was granted was that he took advantage of his position as an Austrian official to render secret services to France. The only excuses to be made for him are that such hidden arrangements were not uncommon before and in his time, and that as a matter of fact he never did render France any real service, or betray his masters at Vienna. Yet the terror of discovery disturbed him at several periods of his life, and when Louis XV died in 1774 he showed a strong disposition to take refuge in France, and would have done so if
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394:" on 25 March 1793. When Prince Kaunitz died in the following year Thugut was appointed to "discharge the duties of the office of house, court, and state chancellor." His promotion to the foremost place in the Austrian administration met with much opposition, and is known to have been largely due to the empress Maria Theresa of Naples. The Austrian government was by tradition very
402:, and had only yielded to the urgent requests of Kaunitz and of her son Joseph II. She thought the promotion excessive for a man of his plebeian origin. The nobles, who thought that the great offices of state should go to themselves, were of the same opinion. Thugut, who had a large fund of vanity, resented their insolence, and did nothing to disarm their hostility.
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his exertions and his forces. Thus in 1793–94 he recalled troops from the west to participate in a partition of Poland, thereby taking pressure off France, and doing much to smooth the way for her subsequent victories. Some of his actions cannot be described as other than criminal. He was certainly responsible for the murderous attack on the French envoys at
371:, formerly Austrian ambassador in France, as diplomatic agent at the headquarters of the allied army. The mismanagement of the invasion of France excited his anger. He came back to Vienna to report the facts to Francis II, to whom he presented a statement on 27 December. On 19 January 1793 he was appointed
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The history of his policy from 1793 to 1800 touches much of the history of Europe. The conflicting objects which he kept before him, resistance to French aggression on the west, and to
Russian and Prussian aggressions on the east, and the pursuit of more territory for Austria, compelled him to divide
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He was unmarried, and he avoided all society. In the discharge of his duties he took counsel with nobody. All the confidential work of his department was done by himself with the help of two clerks he could trust, and he took all important papers directly to the emperor, keeping no copies in his own
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shows how bitterly the continental allies of
Austria resented her selfishness, and how firmly they were persuaded that she was fighting for her own hand. That Thugut believed that he was doing his duty, and that he was carrying on the traditional policy of Austria, may be true. Yet his methods were
182:. His origin and his unusual name (literally "do good") have been the subject of some legends. One such legend was that the original form of his name was Thunichtgut, or Thenitguet ("do no good"), but that the name was altered to Thugut by Empress
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It was in this time that his savings, made during his years of service at
Constantinople, by means which would probably not bear investigation, were invested in France. Thugut became acquainted with many of the leaders in the
360:, partly as a diplomatic agent, but largely because he was anxious to rescue his investments, which were ultimately lost. His personal grievances may have had some share in creating the hatred of the Revolution and the
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446:, it became a fixed object with the French, and with a growing party in Austria who held him responsible for the disasters of the war, to secure the removal of Thugut. He found no support, except from the
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so extreme, and his attitude so provocative as to justify the judgment passed on him by
Kaunitz namely, that he required the control of a strong hand if good results were to be obtained from his ability.
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in April 1799. He may have intended that they should only be robbed, but he must be held responsible for the acts of his agents. So again he has to answer for the perverse policy of
Austria in 1799 when
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from French aggression, it was with the implied intention that
Austria should be rewarded for her exertions by increases of territory, and should be made the absolute mistress of
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on 7 May 1775. During these years Thugut was engaged in a mean intrigue. His salary as dragoman was small, and his needs great. He therefore agreed to receive a pension of 13,000
36:
398:. The empress Maria Theresa, grandmother of Francis II, though she valued the services of Thugut, had consented with reluctance to make him Commander of the
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and the
Russians were recalled from northern Italy for no visible reason except that Austria should be left in sole possession of the dominions of the
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During the campaigns of 1799 and 1800 Thugut was the advocate of war "to the knife". At the end he was kept in office only by the vigorous support of
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The emperor, dissatisfied with the ministers who had not prevented this misfortune, dismissed them, and after some delay Thugut was named "
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on 27 March 1801. At a later period he returned to Vienna and lived quietly on a pension of 7000 florins until his death on 28 May 1818.
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Johann
Amadeus was sent to the school of Oriental languages. He entered the Austrian foreign office as an interpreter and was appointed
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government, which considered him, as a sure ally and had great influence at Vienna as paymaster of subsidies. The death of the empress
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194:. He was the legitimate son of Johann Thugut, an army paymaster, who married Eva Maria Mösbauer, daughter of a miller near
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were single or double. When Thugut was appointed internuncio he was also ennobled, being raised to the
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Quellen z. Geschichte d. deutschen
Kaiserpolitik Oesterreichs während d. französ Revolutions-Krieg
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on 3 December 1800 made his position untenable. He retired from public life, and left Vienna for
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annexed large parts of Poland. Austria, entangled in the war with France, was left empty-handed.
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It seems to be tolerably certain that at a later period he made a clean breast to the Emperor
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of lieutenant-colonel, and a promise of a safe refuge in case of necessity from the king of
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and Spielmann, who wished to have him out of the way. But he never went, for at this time
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In 1778 he was the agent through whom Maria Theresa entered into direct negotiations with
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626:. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 896–897.
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568:. Vienna: Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. 1882. p. 2.
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would have given him a promise of employment. His pension was continued.
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at Constantinople and was actively engaged, under the direction of
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
332:, a daughter of Maria Theresa. In 1790 he was sent by the Emperor
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Knights Commander of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
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at headquarters, largely, it is said, by the intrigues of
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After the defeats of Austria in Italy in 1796–97 and the
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565:Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich
274:. His services at Constantinople were approved by
163:(24 May 1736 – 28 May 1818) was an
161:Johann Amadeus Franz de Paula Freiherr von Thugut
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328:, and showed great tact in managing the queen,
618:Thugut, Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula, Baron
586:"Johann Amadeus Franz de Paula Thugut"
543:"Johann Amadeus Franz de Paula Thugut"
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228:during the negotiations connected with the
702:Austrian people of German Bohemian descent
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392:director of the foreign affairs of Austria
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288:. After 1775 he travelled in France and
67:27 March 1793 – 16 January 1801
431:, with a good excuse for keeping them.
324:. From 1787 to 1789 he was minister at
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484:List of Austrian ambassadors to Turkey
364:, for which he was afterwards famous.
356:Until 1792 he was much in France and
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340:, nominally as commissioner with the
677:Politicians from the Austrian Empire
552:. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
454:deprived him of a friend at court.
308:. In 1780 he was Austrian envoy in
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633:Thugut und sein politisches System
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540:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913).
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722:Diplomats of the Austrian Empire
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589:. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
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292:, partly on diplomatic service.
367:In 1792 he was associated with
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100:Ferdinand von Trauttmansdorff
16:Austrian diplomat (1736–1818)
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434:The correspondence of
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468:battle of Hohenlinden
444:peace of Campo Formio
641:(Vienna, 1873–1885).
631:Alfred von Vivenot,
452:Catherine of Russia
400:Order of St Stephen
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628:This cites:
285:Ritterstand
237:internuncio
142:28 May 1818
83:Preceded by
651:Categories
577:References
272:Francis II
174:Early life
122:1736-03-31
76:Francis II
687:Dragomans
472:Pressburg
346:Wallachia
338:Bucharest
334:Joseph II
265:Louis XVI
224:from the
63:In office
478:See also
362:Jacobins
342:hospodar
280:treasons
261:Louis XV
245:Bukovina
208:dragoman
168:diplomat
165:Austrian
102:(acting)
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464:England
448:British
425:Suvarov
420:Rastadt
412:Germany
385:Prussia
358:Belgium
192:Bohemia
188:Budweis
72:Monarch
53:of the
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466:. The
408:Europe
381:Russia
326:Naples
310:Warsaw
257:France
253:brevet
249:livres
196:Vienna
149:Vienna
490:Notes
314:Paris
290:Italy
226:Turks
383:and
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180:Linz
139:Died
129:Linz
116:Born
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344:of
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