Memorandum des Privatsekretärs (Driesch?) des österreichischen Großbotschafters Virmont am osmanischen Hof über die damaligen europäischen Angelegenheiten, Istanbul, 26. Jänner 1720

Hüve 961 Ḥālā der Devlet-i ʿAliyyede iḳāmet üzere olan Nemçe çāsārınuñ sır kātibiniñ taḳrīridür. 15 RāRebiülevvel 1132 Māh-ı Eylülüñ on ikinci günle müverraḫ Beçden mektūblarum gelüb devletlü ve ʿināyetlü ṣāḥib-i devlet efendimüz ḥażretlerine daḫı başvekīlden başḳa mektūb gelüb cenāb-ı ʿālīlerine selām ve duʿāların tebliġinden ṣoñra bu bendelerini bi-nefsihī teslīmine meʾmūr eylemişlerdür. Şevketlü ve ʿaẓametlü şehinşāh-ı muʿaẓẓam efendimüz ḥażretleriniñ cenāb-ı hümāyūnlarına ve müşārün ileyḥ devletlü efendimüz ḥażretlerine ḥaşmetlü çāsār efendimüñ ṭarafından nāmeler daḫı bi-lā-teʾḫīr ṭaraf-ı bendelerine irsāl olunmak üzeredürler. Lākin şimdik e i ḥālde işbu mektūb-ı meveddet-üslūbıyla bi-lā resm-i tekellüf ḫākipāy-ı ʿaliyyelerinde şeref-yāb buyurılmaḳ mercū ve müteżarriʿdür. Ve bundan māʿadā bundan aḳdem ilçi Virmond dāʿīlerine taḥrīr buyurılan mektūbdan ḳānevizler makbūl-ı şerīfleri olacaġına müşārün ileyh çāsār efendim ḫaber almaġla dostluḳ ve muvādaʿaya bināʾen merḳūm ḳānevizleri örnekleri ve taḥrīr buyurılan miḳdārı mūcebince tedārük itdirüb bu bendelerine irsāl eylediler. Maḳbūl-ı ʿaliyyeleri olduḳda ne vech-ile fermān buyurılur ise ḥāẓır ve āmādedirler. Ḥavādis olmaḳ üzere taḥrīr eyledikleri budur ki Mosḳov çārınuñ donanması İsveç ḳrālınuñ donanmasıyla Baḥr-i Balṭıḳda muḳābil olub Mosḳovlunuñ ince donanması ziyāde olub ḳıyıda bulunmaġla ve İsveçlünüñ ḳalın donanması ḳıyıya yaḳlaşmaḳ mümkün olmamaġla bir miḳdār cenk ve cidālden ṣoñra İsveçlünüñ dört pāre fırkaṭeleri Mosḳovludan aḫz olunub küṣūrı çekilüb gitmişlerdür. Bundan ġayri ol ṭaraflarda bir şey vāḳiʿ olduġını yazmıyorlar. Şimālde vāḳiʿ ḳrāllaruñ ʿumūmen muṣālaḥaları içün maḥall-i mükāleme taʿyīn olunan Brūvunçuvk(?) nām mahalde egerçe henüz mükālemeye şürūʿ olunmamışdur; lākin Mosḳov çārı maḥall-i mezbūreye muraḫḫaṣ gönderüb mükālemeye aġāz olunmaḳ üzere idi. Beçde olan ilçisi daḫı çārı ṭarafından çāsār efendime kemāl-i dostluḳ iẓhār idüb tecdīd-i muṣālaḥaya mübāşeret olunmaḳ üzeredir. Ve Leh cumhūrınun kadīmī istiḳlāli ve serbestiyeti ḥusūsı-çün başḳa mādde ʿaḳd olunmaḳ üzere karār virmüşlerdür. İspanya ḳrālı ile olan muṣālaḥa mükālemesi ḳuvvet-i ḳurbiyyeye gelüb Nemçe çāsārı ve Françe ḳrālı ve İspānya ḳrālı ve İngiltere ḳrālı ve Nederlande Estātı cānerālleri bu cümle ʿale’l-ittifāḳ muṣālaḥa eylemek üzeredürler. Lākin Françede beyne’l-ricāl ve’n-nās ʿazīm iḫtilāl olub ḳrāllıḳ vekīli olan Düḳa de Orliyens kemāl mertebede intibāh ve ġāile üzeredür. Zīrā İspānya ḳrālı yine gendü ḥālinde olmayub Françe ricālinden baʿżılarını el altından iżlāl idüb ṭarafına cezb itmekdedür. Bu aḥvāliñ niḥāyeti neye varacaġı maʿlūm deġildür diyü ḫatm-ı kelām eyledi. Osmanlı Arşivi İ.E. HR 10-961 2 urk

An official note by the Austrian emperor's private secretary who resides in the Sublime State at the moment.25 February 1720 My letters dated September 12 have arrived from Vienna. A seperate letter has also come to our excellency, the most excellent and gracious holder of state [grand vizier], from the chief minister, who, after declaration of greetings and good wishes, appointed this humble servant to deliver his letter in person. The letters from my majestic lord, caesar, addressed to the imperial excellency of our lord his highness, the majestic, august, esteemed king of kings, and to the exalted personage of the aforementioned most excellent lord are also about to be dispatched without delay to this humble servant of yours. However, for now, it is requested and expected to be honored at the exalted noble dust of your presence, along with the current affectionately written letter [by the chief minister Prince Eugene], without the observance of official ceremonial formalities. In addition, my aforementioned lord caesar, having been informed through the letter that was previously written to your well-wisher Virmond that the canovaccios(?) will be deemed acceptable, had the canovaccio(?) samples procured in the amount specified in writing and, as per friendship and reconciliation, dispatched to this servant of yours. As soon as the sublime permission is granted, in whichever fashion it is decreed, they are ready and available. The following have been written as news: The fleet of the Russian tsar came accross the fleet of the Swedish king in the Baltic Sea. As the light fleet of the Muscovites was bigger in size and docked by the coast, the major fleet of the Swedish was not able to approach to the coast. After a little bit of combat and fighting, four Swedish frigates were captured by the Muscovites and the rest of the fleet retreated and left. Other than this, they are not reporting anything else that took place in those quarters. Nothing else has been written in addition to these news. Even though negotiations have not yet begun in Brūvunçuvk, the place that had been designated as the location of negotiations for the conclusion of a peace among the kings quartered in the north, nonetheless, the Muscovite tsar dispatched a plenipotentiary to that said location and the talks were about to begin. [The tsar's] envoy in Vienna also displayed a perfect friendliness from his tsar to my lord caesar, and the peace negotiations are set to begin. And they decided that a separate article will be concluded concerning the ancient freedom and independence of the Polish nation. The peace talks with the Spanish king is close to the moment of conclusion. The Austrian emperor, the French king, the Spanish king, the English King, and the state general of the Netherlands are all about to sign a peace unanimously. However, there is a great unrest in France among the aristocracy and people; the Duke of Orléans, the deputy of kingship, is fully vigilent and in great anxiety. The dukes of Orleans were not "deputies of kingship" (ḳrāllıḳ vekīli) as the Turkish text implies; they only stood next in the order of succession to the throne if members of the senior branch ceased to exist. Likewise, the Spanish king is also not standing still; he secretly corrupts some of the French noblemen and attracts them to his own side. The letter ended stating that it is unknown where the fate of these affairs will lead to.