Bartholomäus

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

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

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. Born in the Pera district of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

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

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, 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 Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

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 (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

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 Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

. 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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. 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 known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

. 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

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

in 1863.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuermer, Bartholomaus von 1787 births 1863 deaths Diplomats of the Austrian Empire Austrian barons Diplomats from Vienna