Maurice Benyovszky

Maurice Benyovszky or Benyowsky, (Hungarian: Benyovszky Móric, Polish: Maurycy Beniowski, Slovak: Móric Beňovský) born as Benyovszky Móric Ágost (20 September 1746, Vrbau (Vrbové), Kingdom of Hungary – 23 May 1786, Madagascar), was a Hungarian count with Hungarian, Polish and Slovak ancestry. He was an explorer, writer, ruler of a community in Madagascar, and military officer in the French, Polish, Austrian and American armies. In his memoirs he described himself on several occasions as a "Hungarian and Polish nobleman".

Benyovszky was born and raised in Verbó, Slovakia, in what was then the northern Kingdom of Hungary. Regardless of his nationality, he is a pride of three nations: Hungarian, Slovak, and Polish. His career began as an officer of the Habsburg army in the Seven Years' War during the reign of Empress Maria Theresia. In 1768 he joined the Confederation of Bar, a Polish national movement against Russian intervention. He was captured by the Russians, interned in Kazan, and later exiled in Kamchatka. Subsequently, he escaped and returned to Europe via Macau and Madagascar. In 1772 Benyovszky arrived in Paris where he met King Louis XV of France and was offered the opportunity to act on behalf of France to colonize Madagascar. After establishing the settlement of Louisburg, in 1776 Benyovszky was elected by a group of local tribal chiefs as their Ampanjakabe (ruler). In 1779 Benyovszky came to America, where he tried to obtain support for a proposal to use Madagascar as a base against the British in aid of the American War of Independence. He died in 1786 while fighting with the French on Madagascar.