Bartholomäus

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

von Stürmer (26 December 1787 – 8 July 1863) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

diplomat. Born in the Pera district of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, Bartholomäus was the son of Ignatz Lorenz Freiherr von Stürmer, an Austrian diplomat in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and the Baroness Elisabeth of Testa. In order to ensure a quality education, he was registered with the Akademie für Orientalische Sprachen (Academy of Eastern Languages) in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1796. He rejoined his father in Constantinople in 1806. He was soon sent to the embassy in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

where he was made secretary of the legation in 1811. There he met Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg, whom he followed on trips to over 8000 places, including the important Congress of Châtillon (5 February–19 March 1814). In the spring of 1814 he met his future wife, a Frenchwoman, Ermance de Boutet. The convention of 2 August 1815, which confirmed that

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

was a British prisoner, stipulated that Austria had a right to send a representative to wherever the British decided to imprison the deposed emperor. The British chose the island of Saint Helena. Stürmer requested to be the Austrian official on the island and the emperor accepted. He arrived on Saint Helena on 17 June 1816 with his young wife on board HMS ''Orontes''. His arrival was not appreciated by the British, and he soon saw the impossibility of fulfilling his mission, which was to ensure with his own eyes the presence of Bonaparte on the island, to denounce any attempt to escape and to write every month a report in agreement with the Prussian and Russian representatives. (From British records, a day-by-day record of Stürmer and his wife's lives on the island could be constructed.) In his letters, Stürmer returns on several occasions to the "uselessness" of his mission. During the two years he was on the island, he could never directly see Bonaparte. Although Bonparte's entourage frequently sought him out, Stürmer was under orders to avoid contact. Stürmer finally was eventually recalled and named ambassador plenipotentiary to the United States in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Before taking up his station, he obtained for his wife, "after two years and half of exile, of dislikes and sacrifices", the right to see her parents in France. After his American mission, he was sent to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. He then returned to Austria and remained without an assignment until 1832, when he was appointed ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, on account of his knowledge of the

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

. His eminent service got its reward in 1842, when he received the title of

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. In 1850, Stürmer left Constantinople, retired to Italy and died in

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in 1863.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuermer, Bartholomaus von 1787 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Austrian people Austrian diplomats Ambassadors of Austria to Turkey Ambassadors of Austria to the United States Austrian expatriates in Turkey Austrian expatriates in Russia Austrian expatriates in the United Kingdom Barons of Austria Diplomats from Vienna