Grégoire Orlyk
Encyclopedia
Grégoire Orlyk, also Hryhor Orlyk ' onMouseout='HidePop("20729")' href="/topics/Baturyn">Baturyn
– November 14, 1759, Minden
), was a French military commander, special envoy and member of Louis XV's secret intelligence service
. Grégoire Orlyk was born in Ukraine
, the son of Ukrainian hetman
in exile Pylyp Orlyk
received good education in Sweden, served in Poland and Saxony
, participated in secret efforts of France to restore on the Polish throne Stanisław Leszczyński. He later commanded the king's regiment of Royal suedois
. For his intelligence work and military exploits was given the title of a comte
and promoted to the general's rank of Maréchal de camp. Grégoire Orlyk was an acquaintance of French philosopher Voltaire
, championed Ukrainian cause in France and other countries.
, the capital of Cossack Hetmanate
in the family of Cossacks' General scribe Pylyp Orlyk
. The family was very well connected with the then hetman Ivan Mazepa
, who became Hryhor's godfather. After Mazepa's defeat at Poltava
in 1709 him and his allies, including the family of Pylyp Orlyk fled Ukraine for the Ottoman territory — Bendery, (present day Moldova
), where Orlyk and his family together with other Ukrainian émigrés and the defeated Swedish king Charles XII
had lived for five years. Upon Mazepa's death, Pylyp Orlyk was proclaimed the hetman of Ukraine in exile and by agreement between Tsardom of Russia
and the Ottoman Empire
in 1714 Charles XII and his allies were allowed safe passage to Sweden.
In Sweden the young Orlyk was signed up in the Swedish royal guard until in 1716 he began his studies at the Lund University
. There he spent two years and received good education: studied philosophy
and metaphysics
, became fluent in Latin
and several other European languages. After two more years in king's service in 1720 his father moved to Germany and took his son with him. There with the help of his father in 1721 he received a lieutenant's post in the cavalry guard of Saxony. His service there didn't last long, as in 1726 Russia demanded from Saxony his extradition and the young officer moved first to Austria and then to Poland, where he became an adjutant of the crown hetman. Eventually Orlyk allied himself with the pro-French party within the court that was trying to restore on the Polish throne Stanisław Leszczyński. Orlyk acted as a secret liaison between Joseph Poniatowski and the French ambassador in Warsaw.
the exiled former king Stanisław Leszczyński from France to Poland. For this mission he was issued false travel documents and disguised as a Swedish officer Gustav Bartel went to Paris. In Fontainebleau
he met Leszczyński and got a promise from him to restore his father Pylyp Orlyk as a hetman of Ukraine in exchange for his services. In Paris he also met Cardinal Flery, the first minister of Louis XV and discussed with him the prospects of Stanisław Leszczyński's restoration in Poland. In 1730 he entered into French diplomatic service and was sent on a secret mission to Istanbul to set up an anti-Russian coalition with the Turks and the Crimean Tatars. Two years later he was dispatched again to Istanbul and from there to the Crimean khan Qaplan I Giray, where he urged Tatars to attack Russia and help him in his cause.
After the death of Polish King August August II
in 1733 as per his agreement with the French we brought from Paris to Warsaw Stanisław Leszczyński and a million florins necessary to secure Leszczyński's election with the bribes. On his return to Paris Louis XV rewarded him with a diamond ring and the queen, the daughter of Stanisław Leszczyński gave him her portrait adorned with precious stones. However, in less than 3 years Leszczyński lost the throne of Poland and had to flee to Königsberg
, from where Grégoire Orlyk, as he became known, brought him back to France. In 1734 and 1735 he made further trips to Turkey and to Crimea and in 1737 to Sweden fostering the anti-Russian alliance, which in spite of his efforts did not materialize. Louis XV contemplated appointing him French ambassador to Turkey, but under pressure from St. Petersburg he changed his mind. In 1740s Grégoire Orlyk offered to the king an ambitious plan of resettling Ukrainian Cossacks to the Rhine region under French protection, but with Turkey's objections it was dropped too. Later on Orlyk belonged to the special intelligence service of Luis XV — Secret du Roi
and went on clandestine missions to many European countries, for which he received numerous praise, including highest decorations from France, Poland and Sweden.
. He fought in the Seven Years' War in Europe, distinguished himself in the battle of Rosbach and the siege of Charleroi
. For his exploits in the battle he was given the title of a comte
and was promoted to the junior general's rank of Maréchal de camp. In 1759 he commanded an army corp under the marshal of France comte de Broglie
and was further promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. On November 14, 1759 at the battle near German town of Minden he was fatally wounded in the chest and died on the same day.
, Grégoire Orlyk became the unofficial leader of Ukrainian emigrees in Europe. During his life in France he met several times Voltaire
and advised him on his work History of Charles XII, King of Sweden (1731). History of Grégoire Orlyk was first researched by a historian Elie Borschak, who made many interesting and new discorveries on this personality in the book Hryhor Orlyk, France's Cossack General (1956). In that book, however, was made an erroneous claim that a commune Orly
nearby Paris was named after Grégoire Orlyk, who had his estate in the area. This proved to be untrue, since that name was in use since Roman times. Currently voluminous new records of Orlyk's clandestine correspondence with Louis XV within the Secret du Roi have been discovered in the French archives and are being studied further.
Baturyn
Baturyn , is a historic town in the Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine. It is located in the Bakhmatskyi Raion of the oblast, on the banks of the Seym River...
– November 14, 1759, Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
), was a French military commander, special envoy and member of Louis XV's secret intelligence service
Secret du Roi
For a period of over twenty years, King Louis XV split his diplomacy into official and secret channels. The secret channels became collectively known as the King's Secret , established in 1745...
. Grégoire Orlyk was born in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, the son of Ukrainian hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
in exile Pylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (born on October 11, 1672 in Kosuta, Ashmyany county, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (today in Vileyka Raion, Belarus), died on May 26, 1742 in Jassy, Principality of Moldavia (today Iaşi, Romania) was a Zaporozhian Cossack...
received good education in Sweden, served in Poland and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, participated in secret efforts of France to restore on the Polish throne Stanisław Leszczyński. He later commanded the king's regiment of Royal suedois
Royal Suédois
The Royal-Suédois was an infantry regiment in the French Army during the Ancien Régime. It was created in 1690 from Swedish prisoners taken during the Battle of Fleurus. The regiment was very successful and eventually earned the right and privilege to be called a Royal regiment. Thus it was named...
. For his intelligence work and military exploits was given the title of a comte
Comte
Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl...
and promoted to the general's rank of Maréchal de camp. Grégoire Orlyk was an acquaintance of French philosopher Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, championed Ukrainian cause in France and other countries.
Background
Hryhor Orlyk was born on November 5, 1702 in BaturynBaturyn
Baturyn , is a historic town in the Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine. It is located in the Bakhmatskyi Raion of the oblast, on the banks of the Seym River...
, the capital of Cossack Hetmanate
Cossack Hetmanate
The Hetmanate or Zaporizhian Host was the Ruthenian Cossack state in the Central Ukraine between 1649 and 1782.The Hetmanate was founded by first Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising . In 1654 it pledged its allegiance to Muscovy during the Council of Pereyaslav,...
in the family of Cossacks' General scribe Pylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (born on October 11, 1672 in Kosuta, Ashmyany county, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (today in Vileyka Raion, Belarus), died on May 26, 1742 in Jassy, Principality of Moldavia (today Iaşi, Romania) was a Zaporozhian Cossack...
. The family was very well connected with the then hetman Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa , Cossack Hetman of the Hetmanate in Left-bank Ukraine, from 1687–1708. He was famous as a patron of the arts, and also played an important role in the Battle of Poltava where after learning of Peter I's intent to relieve him as acting Hetman of Ukraine and replace him...
, who became Hryhor's godfather. After Mazepa's defeat at Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
in 1709 him and his allies, including the family of Pylyp Orlyk fled Ukraine for the Ottoman territory — Bendery, (present day Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
), where Orlyk and his family together with other Ukrainian émigrés and the defeated Swedish king Charles XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
had lived for five years. Upon Mazepa's death, Pylyp Orlyk was proclaimed the hetman of Ukraine in exile and by agreement between Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1714 Charles XII and his allies were allowed safe passage to Sweden.
In Sweden the young Orlyk was signed up in the Swedish royal guard until in 1716 he began his studies at the Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
. There he spent two years and received good education: studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, became fluent in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and several other European languages. After two more years in king's service in 1720 his father moved to Germany and took his son with him. There with the help of his father in 1721 he received a lieutenant's post in the cavalry guard of Saxony. His service there didn't last long, as in 1726 Russia demanded from Saxony his extradition and the young officer moved first to Austria and then to Poland, where he became an adjutant of the crown hetman. Eventually Orlyk allied himself with the pro-French party within the court that was trying to restore on the Polish throne Stanisław Leszczyński. Orlyk acted as a secret liaison between Joseph Poniatowski and the French ambassador in Warsaw.
In French secret service
In 1729 Orlyk was entrusted with the mission to bring upon the death of king August IIAugustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
the exiled former king Stanisław Leszczyński from France to Poland. For this mission he was issued false travel documents and disguised as a Swedish officer Gustav Bartel went to Paris. In Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
he met Leszczyński and got a promise from him to restore his father Pylyp Orlyk as a hetman of Ukraine in exchange for his services. In Paris he also met Cardinal Flery, the first minister of Louis XV and discussed with him the prospects of Stanisław Leszczyński's restoration in Poland. In 1730 he entered into French diplomatic service and was sent on a secret mission to Istanbul to set up an anti-Russian coalition with the Turks and the Crimean Tatars. Two years later he was dispatched again to Istanbul and from there to the Crimean khan Qaplan I Giray, where he urged Tatars to attack Russia and help him in his cause.
After the death of Polish King August August II
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
in 1733 as per his agreement with the French we brought from Paris to Warsaw Stanisław Leszczyński and a million florins necessary to secure Leszczyński's election with the bribes. On his return to Paris Louis XV rewarded him with a diamond ring and the queen, the daughter of Stanisław Leszczyński gave him her portrait adorned with precious stones. However, in less than 3 years Leszczyński lost the throne of Poland and had to flee to Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, from where Grégoire Orlyk, as he became known, brought him back to France. In 1734 and 1735 he made further trips to Turkey and to Crimea and in 1737 to Sweden fostering the anti-Russian alliance, which in spite of his efforts did not materialize. Louis XV contemplated appointing him French ambassador to Turkey, but under pressure from St. Petersburg he changed his mind. In 1740s Grégoire Orlyk offered to the king an ambitious plan of resettling Ukrainian Cossacks to the Rhine region under French protection, but with Turkey's objections it was dropped too. Later on Orlyk belonged to the special intelligence service of Luis XV — Secret du Roi
Secret du Roi
For a period of over twenty years, King Louis XV split his diplomacy into official and secret channels. The secret channels became collectively known as the King's Secret , established in 1745...
and went on clandestine missions to many European countries, for which he received numerous praise, including highest decorations from France, Poland and Sweden.
Military leader
In 1747 through marriage Grégoire Orlyk acquired substantial wealth and bought a colonel's commission in the king's regiment Royal suedoisRoyal Suédois
The Royal-Suédois was an infantry regiment in the French Army during the Ancien Régime. It was created in 1690 from Swedish prisoners taken during the Battle of Fleurus. The regiment was very successful and eventually earned the right and privilege to be called a Royal regiment. Thus it was named...
. He fought in the Seven Years' War in Europe, distinguished himself in the battle of Rosbach and the siege of Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
. For his exploits in the battle he was given the title of a comte
Comte
Comte is a title of Catalan, Occitan and French nobility. In the English language, the title is equivalent to count, a rank in several European nobilities. The corresponding rank in England is earl...
and was promoted to the junior general's rank of Maréchal de camp. In 1759 he commanded an army corp under the marshal of France comte de Broglie
Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie
Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie was a French soldier and general.The son of François-Marie, comte de Broglie, he served under Condé, Turenne, and other commanders of the age of Louis XIV in the Franco-Dutch War and other conflicts.He was named maréchal de camp in 1676, lieutenant-general in 1688,...
and was further promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. On November 14, 1759 at the battle near German town of Minden he was fatally wounded in the chest and died on the same day.
Legacy
Upon the death of his father Pylyp OrlykPylyp Orlyk
Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk Pylyp Stepanovych Orlyk (born on October 11, 1672 in Kosuta, Ashmyany county, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (today in Vileyka Raion, Belarus), died on May 26, 1742 in Jassy, Principality of Moldavia (today Iaşi, Romania) was a Zaporozhian Cossack...
, Grégoire Orlyk became the unofficial leader of Ukrainian emigrees in Europe. During his life in France he met several times Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
and advised him on his work History of Charles XII, King of Sweden (1731). History of Grégoire Orlyk was first researched by a historian Elie Borschak, who made many interesting and new discorveries on this personality in the book Hryhor Orlyk, France's Cossack General (1956). In that book, however, was made an erroneous claim that a commune Orly
Orly
Orly is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The name of Orly came from Latin Aureliacum, "the villa of Aurelius"....
nearby Paris was named after Grégoire Orlyk, who had his estate in the area. This proved to be untrue, since that name was in use since Roman times. Currently voluminous new records of Orlyk's clandestine correspondence with Louis XV within the Secret du Roi have been discovered in the French archives and are being studied further.
Literature
- Iryna Dmytrychyn. Grégoire Orlyk - Un Cosaque ukrainien au service de Louis XV. L'Harmattan, Paris. ISBN 2-296-00188-2
- Orest Subtelny. Ukraine. A history. University of Toronto press. 1994. ISBN 0-8020-0591-0.
- Borschak Е. Hryhor Orlyk, France's Cossack General, Toronto, 1956