In the 16th century Hungary was divided in three regions: Transylvania, the royal territory and the territories that were occupied by the Turks. In 1669 Transylvania passed to the Austrian territory and the Turks lost in 1687 the territories they occupied. Thus, as Hungary constituted an important part of the Hapsburg monarchy, the presence and action of the Greeks on its territories is directly linked with the favourable conditions - the ones cited in other chapters - for commercial transactions that the Hapsburg monarchy offered to the Balkan merchants. As in Austria and Transylvania, the Greeks took over the transit trade in Hungary too. Among the Serbs, the Albanians and the Macedon-Vlachs, the Hungarian king Leopold I invited some Greeks also to reinforce the population of the Hungarian territories after the end of the Turkish occupation But the basic wave of Greek migrants moved to Hungary in 1718 and the second, the largest, in 1760-1770.

The Communities (Companies)

Privileges - Community organization - Church foundation

As in Vienna, the term Greeks included in Hungary also not only those that were of Greek descent, but also the orthodox Balkan peoples who spoke the Greek language, that is the Macedon-Vlachs, the Serbs and Bulgarians while sometimes the word was used to name all the Balkan merchants. Thus, the privileges were conferred to all the orthodox Balkan merchants that came from the Ottoman Empire.

In 1667 king Leopold I granted the first special privileges to the orthodox Ottoman subjects - mainly Serbs - that lived in the royal fields of northern Hungary. In 1690, the emperor invited Serbs to come to settle in evacuated regions of Hungary and promised them complete liberty. Among these Serbs were some Greeks. In 1725 the council of royal Hungary issues a decree according to which Serbs, Greeks and Vlachs were allowed to sell their products in retail in the city street-markets. When there was no market they had to sell their merchandise in wholesale to the corporations of the natives while they were also obliged to trade Turkish products only. A new decree in 1741 defined that only those orthodox who had settled permanently with their families in Hungary could trade freely, the others were obliged to sell the Turkish products only in wholesale. Finally, in 1769 Maria Teresa demanded on decree from the orthodox Ottoman subjects that their families be transferred to Hungary and that they take the vow of allegiance to the Austrian emperor. This decree, along with the one of Joseph II in 1784, which hindered the development of eastern trade, marked the beginning of the decline of the commercial activity of the orthodox Balkan merchants in Hungary.

The organization of the Communities and the foundation of orthodox churches

The Greeks settled in various regions of Hungary. The most important settlement centre was Pest while significant Greek Communities were created in the cities Kecskemet, Eger, Miskolc, Tokaj, Gyoengyoes, Nagyvarad, Arad, and in the region of Temesvar. These Communities were initially founded as Companies - merchant mergers - of a financial character. Gradually, by means of the various privileges conferred to them by the authorities they obtained the right of independence and self-administration as the Greek Companies of Transylvania.

The first Greek company of Hungary was created in the city Tokaj in 1667 on an imperial privilege that gave permission to its members to trade. They enjoyed tax exemptions and had the possibility of self-administration. In 1790, the Company founded a temple which had its own priests and the possibility to render justice to its members in certain cases of offenses.

The other Greek Companies in Hungary were founded and operated on a similar organization model. The Company of Gyoengyoes which was founded in the early 18th century seems to have managed to develop and thrive despite the restrictions related to the foundation of a church and school. The Company of Eger was created in the second half of the 18th century with restricted possibilities of self-administration However, it had a school and church. The Company of Miskolc was founded in 1687 and was exceptionally prosperous and significant. Its members enjoyed tax exemptions and were exempted of the obligation to lodge the Hungarian soldiers; they had the right of self-administration and in the first half of the 18th century they had their own church which they had consecrated to Saint Naum. However, the largest Company of Hungary in the 18th century was the Company of Kecskemet which was founded in 1708 and numbered the most members. It obtained the right of self-administration and a notable was elected for the management of the internal matters of the Company. Finally, other important Serbian and Greek-Serbian Companies were founded in the cities Novi Sad, Pest, Disszeg and in the Bacs region, all organized according to the same model. We suppose that most of them ensured orthodox temples but we do not have details on the foundation and operation of these churches, with the exception of the temple of the Assumption of the Vigin in Pest, where the eminent scholars of that time, Polyzois Kontos and Charisios Megdanis were vicars.

Demographic trends

The number of the Greeks and Vlachs that had settled in Hungary was large. It is estimated that in the second half of the 18th century there were 10.000 Greeks and Vlachs in Hungary. The great majority came from Macedonia and the Albanian territories but there were also settlers from Epirus, Thessaly and Thrace. Specifically, the cities they came from were mainly Moschopolis (it is noteworthy that the Company of Miscolc was composed of Greeks and Vlachs, almost all from Moschopolis), Kozani, Siatista, Servia, Doirani, Vogatsiko, Melenoiko, Monastiri, Selitsa, Beles, Kleisoura, Naousa and other cities. The number of the independent orthodox merchants according to the census of 1754 shows the power of the various Companies in Hungary that derived from the large number of their members. If we add the members of the merchants' families and the assistant personnel of the commercial businesses the total number of the Company members increases significantly.

The relationships between the orthodox merchants - Greeks, Vlachs and Serbs - but also with the native Hungarian population present great interest. The evidence we have reveals constant and increasing controversies and discords between the Greeks and the Serbs of Hungary that are related to the orthodox churches and the schools of the Companies. The language of the liturgy, the time it should begin as well as the sort and orientation of the education provided by the Company schools often brought the Greeks and the Serbs in opposition. In some orthodox Communities - as the Community of Pest in 1788 - the Greeks were divided from the Serbs. Similar disputes occurred between the Greeks and the Vlachs in various Companies of Hungary -e.g. the distinctive case of the orthodox Community of Pest where Greeks and Vlachs disputed over the operation of the orthodox church of the Community. Nevertheless, the controversies between the Greeks and Vlachs did not end in any case in the their separation. In fact, the Vlachs constituted a steadily important constituent part of the orthodox Communities of Hungary.

On the other hand, the relations of the orthodox Balkan merchants with the native populations of Hungary were not always harmonic. The native habitants of the Hungarian cities were disturbed by the extensive commercial activities of the orthodox. Furthermore, the fact that many of them were Ottoman subjects created the suspicion that they may be spies of the Turks while the natives were also afraid of the transfer of epidemics from the Balkans. As a result, the municipal authorities of the cities often took restrictive measures against the orthodox merchants and thus made their settlement on the Hungarian territory difficult. However, the Greek and Vlach merchants managed to surpass the obstacles and settle in many cities. In fact, many of them were elevated to high offices in the political life and in the social hierarchy, obtaining noble titles and considerable power (e.g. the Sina family, Georgios Taikatzis, Nikolaos Armenoulis and others). Thus, they composed the thriving bourgeois class of the country, which introduced the principles of the capitalistic economy in the mainly agricultural economy of Hungary.

Education

The most Companies of Hungary must have had orthodox schools for the education of their members' children. It is estimated that the Companies of Hungary had 26 schools in total. However, the Community school of Pest which was founded with a donation of the scholar G. Zavira and had a library, seemed to be the most important. At the same time, there was a school of higher education in Pest. This school educated teachers for the Greek schools of Austria-Hungary. The school of Novi Sad, founded in 1782, was also significant. Until that time, it seems that the children of the Greeks were educated at home by private Greek teachers or were sent to the common school for all the orthodox people in Novi Sad. The Greek school of Novi Sad gained great reputation and gathered Serbian students who wanted to obtain higher education; it operated until 1870.

We do not have detailed information on the existence, the operation and the syllabus of other Greek schools in the Hungarian cities but we suppose that, apart from the schools of Pest and Novi Sad, the Greek schools of Hungary did not have the effect of other Greek schools, such as the school of Vienna.

There were also printing houses in Hungary that printed Greek books, such as the printing house of the University of Buda, that of Thomas Tratner in Pest, etc. However, the publishing and printing activity of the Greeks in Hungary is of minor importance in comparison to that of Vienna, as the important Greek newspapers and periodicals that one could find in Vienna were not distributed in Hungary.

Charity

The members of the Greek Companies of Hungary developed significant charitable activity in the Companies but also in the Hungarian cities. They founded hospitals, poor-houses, old people's homes and orphanages for the relief of their members while they also offered money for the needs of war and the the hospitalization of injured soldiers. At the same time, many members left amounts of money for the operation of charitable foundations whereas others contributed to the construction of works of public benefit. The example of G. Sinas who financed the whole construction of the hanging bridge of Budapest is distinctive. Finally, the Greeks and Vlachs sent large amounts of money to their unredeemed countries for the foundation of schools, churches, charitable foundations and public buildings (e.g. the observatory of Athens which was constructed on the expenses of G. Sina).

Economy

Trade and merchants

The main occupation of the orthodox migrants in Hungary was trade. The basic types of Balkan merchants were the following: a) the pedlars, that is the ones that moved from one region to another, b) the merchants that had settled permanently in an urban centre of Hungary, and c) the merchants that transported the merchandise, that is those that travelled from Hungary to the Ottoman Empire and vice-versa carrying the Turkish products; their final destination was Vienna. The orthodox merchants were mainly grocers: they sold in their stores many products and of different kind. There were grocers who traded only one or two sorts of products exclusively. The cattle dealer - the merchant who bought big animals (cattle, pigs, etc.) from the Hungarian plain and transferred them to Vienna - had an important role in trade.

Routes

The Greeks and Vlachs who started their journey from Macedonia and travelled to Hungary followed the big roads that led to the Hapsburg territories (they have been described in the chapter of Transylvania and Vienna). Specifically, in order to reach the heart of Hungary (Buda and Pest), most Greeks took the following routes: Zimony-Ujvidil-Kecskemet, Mehadia-Temesvar-Kecskemet and Brasov-Szeben-Arad-Kecskemet. These merchants travelled in caravans which started from Kozani, Siatista and Ioannina. Their journeys lasted approximately two months and were repeated 5-6 times a year. In the course of the journey they stopped in khans and caravansaries. When they reached the custom-houses they would go through the quarantine procedure. This means that they were examined by a doctor to see if they were carriers of an epidemic and were isolated. If they were carriers of an epidemic they stayed in the special hospitals for treatment. If they were healthy they obtained a health certificate which ensured them the unimpeded entry in the country.

Merchandise

The orthodox Balkan merchants were obliged to trade only eastern products. But, in fact, they often violated this restriction and sold the local Hungarian products too. The goods they transferred from and to Hungary were mainly all the products that reached the other markets of the Hapsburg Empire. Apart from these goods the merchants exported from Hungary its famous wines, especially the wine from the cities Tokaj and Eger, as well as big animals and animal products.

Trading techniques

The majority of the orthodox merchants that had settled in Hungary worked initially as independent merchants. They kept stores in cities where they sold various products while apprentices, assistants and slaves constituted their assistant personnel. Some of them had a partner. Later, the creation of the so-called Companies began. These were commercial associations that aimed at offering support to all parties and carrying out commercial transactions. But, very soon they turned into a sort of community associations for the representation of the orthodox in the local authorities. Finally, a new advanced form of Company appeared in 1770. It was the stock company which was composed of two or three merchant-shareholders. One of the merchants had to live permanently in Hungary and be a Hungarian citizen, the other, an Ottoman subject, transferred the merchandise. In this way the shareholders enjoyed the privileges of both the Hungarians (free trade, no restrictions) and the Ottoman subjects (only 3% custom tariff) in their trading actions. Such stock companies were often family businesses, such as the stock companies of the Nakos family, the Popovic and the Takatsis families.

Mentality

According to various descriptions, when the Greeks first arrived in Hungary they wore the Turkish costume while in the course of time and after their permanent settlement in the country they adopted the Hungarian national costume. Their principle virtues were their dynamism and their agility, while their inclination to trade often made them dishonest.

Moreover, their life was moderate and constituted a model for all, especially after taking the oath of allegiance on the arrival of the families of many Greeks from the Ottoman Empire. Their main entertainment was gathering in different coffee stores owned by Greeks or Vlachs. They had very little contact with the native Hungarians because certain Hungarians disliked the foreign merchant profiteers. In addition, there were cohabitation problems and often conflicts, as pre-mentioned, between the Greeks, the Vlachs and the Serbs. The merchants used the Greek language in speaking and writing. When speaking they also used the Romanian language. They enriched their speech by many words of the Hungarian dialect. Their assiduity to the orthodox religion was distinctive (e.g. erection of churches, their Christian names, etc). But, from the middle of the 19th century the assimilation power of the Hungarian society was extremely strong and thus the Greeks and Vlachs were assimilated in the Hungarian society until the early 20th century.

Political activity

The foreigners and the international condition (15th-19th centuries)

The Greeks of Hungary, as those of Vienna, supported and assisted the Austrian army in its confrontations with the Ottomans and the French at the end of the 18th and the early 19th century. The emperor conferred honorary titles and land to many Greeks that had offered their services to the Austrian army (e.g. Taikatzis, Nakos, Armenoulis, and others). These Greeks and Vlachs, like their copatriots in Vienna, gained information on the new ideological trends of Europe; they learnt and adopted the ideas of the French Revolution through the Greek books that were published in Hungary and became familiarized with the ideology of that period.

The Greeks and the War of Greek Independence

The Greeks and Vlachs of Hungary participated in the ideological and practical preparation of the War of Greek Independence. Initially, they financed the foundation of schools and the provision of their unredeemed regions with books for the enlightenment of the Greek nation. At the same time, they had knowledge of the activity of Rigas Pheraios and supported his action; many of them became partisans of Rigas. Many Greeks were introduced in the Philiki Etaireia and took part in the movement of Ypsilantis in the Danubian principalities. After the failure of the movement, the Greek-Vlach Companies of Hungary hospitalized a great number of fighters and helped others reach the revolted Greek region.