Basil Zaharoff
Encyclopedia
Basil Zaharoff, GCB
, GBE
(October 6, 1849, Muğla
, Ottoman Empire
– November 27, 1936, Monte Carlo
, Monaco
), born Zacharias Basileios Zacharoff, was an arms dealer and financier. Although he often lied about his origins, he formally became a French citizen in 1908, and worked for the Vickers
munitions firm from 1897 to 1927.
n town of Muğla
. The name Zaharoff was adopted when the family was in exile in Russia
as a result of the anti-Greek "Easter pogroms" of 1821. The family returned to Turkey
in the 1840s. By 1855, the family was back in Constantinople
(modern-day Istanbul
), where they lived in the modest Greek neighborhood of Tatavla.
Young Basileios' first job was as a guide for the tourists to the Galata
. He then reputedly became an arsonist for the Constantinople firefighters. The 19th century firemen of Constantinople were not so effective at extinguishing fires, but quite effective at rescuing or salvaging the treasures of the rich for a healthy commission.
in the midst of a controversy that had him in court over irregular commercial actions involving the export of certain goods from Constantinople to London. The Constantinople Greeks
in London preferred that matters involving members of their community were not settled by English courts. He was released on the payment of £100 on condition that he pay restitution to the claimant, and remain within the jurisdiction of the court. He immediately went to Athens. Once there the 24-year-old Zaharoff was befriended by a political journalist Etienne Skouloudis. The eloquent Zaharoff succeeded in convincing Skouloudis of the rightness of his case in the London legal conflict.
By a stroke of good fortune, another friend of Skouloudis, a Swedish
captain, was leaving his job as representative of arms manufacturer Thorsten Nordenfelt
’s company for a more important posting. Skouloudis meanwhile had risen in politics and was able to recommend Zaharoff to fill the vacancy. Zaharoff was hired on October 14, 1877, beginning a spectacular career. The prevailing political and military circumstances involving the Balkan states, Turkey and Russia provided an excellent opportunity for the young salesman. Each state was ready to spend to cope with the perceived aggressive intentions of its neighbours, even after the Treaty of Berlin of 1878.
, Zaharoff was known for his crafty, aggressive and corrupt business tactics. These included selling arms to both sides of conflicts, selling fake or faulty machinery to clients, and sabotaging demonstrations. Zaharoff sold munitions to many nations of his day, including Great Britain
, Germany
, the Russian Empire
, the Ottoman Empire
, Greece
, Spain
, Japan
, and the United States
. Despite his reputation for corruption, he helped popularize a number of famous weapons and vehicles, such as the Maxim gun
(one of the first fully automatic machine guns) and the first true submarine
.
, Italy
before a distinguished audience that included the Duke of Genoa
. Maxim's representatives did not show up; an unknown person had provided them a guided tour of La Spezia
's nocturnal establishments leaving them in no condition to go anywhere the next day.
Round 2 took place in Vienna
. Here the contestants had been asked to modify their weapons so that they could use the standard size of cartridge used by the Austria
n infantry. After shooting a few hundred rounds Maxim's apparatus became erratic then stopped altogether. When Maxim took the weapon apart to see what had happened, he discovered that it had been sabotaged, but it was too late to recover. The third trial was also in Vienna, and here the gun worked perfectly. But an unknown person went through the gathering of senior officers convincing them that the workmanship required to produce such a marvellous weapon could only be done by hand, one at a time, and that without the means for mass production Maxim could never produce the machine gun in sufficient quantities to satisfy the needs of a modern army. Nordenfelt and Zaharoff had won. Maxim, who knew he had a good product, successfully sought a merger with Nordenfelt, with Zaharoff as the principal salesman with a fat commission rate. )
's submarine; although these facts are less known. Zaharoff and Nordenfelt tried, for those years, to develop a submarine to increase their businesses.
One of the most notorious sales by Zaharoff was that of the Nordenfelt I, a faulty steam-driven submarine model based on a design by the English inventor and clergyman Rev. George Garrett, which U. S. Navy intelligence characterized as capable of "dangerous and eccentric movements." Thorsten Nordenfelt had already demonstrated his vessel at an international gathering of the military elite, and the major powers would have none of it, but smaller nations interested by the prestige were a different matter.
It was thus that, with a promise of liberal payment terms, Zaharoff sold the first model to the Greeks. He then convinced the Turks that the Greek submarine posed a threat and sold them two. After that, he persuaded the Russians that there was now a new significant threat on the Black Sea, and they bought two.
None of these submarines ever saw battle. The apparatuses, with steam propulsion, completely inadequate for underwater navigation, failed boisterously when the sea trials were made by the respective navies that acquired them.
Besides the derived problems of the faulty propulsion system, they suffered of a serious problem of lack of stability and, in fact, the Turkish Navy submarine was unbalanced when shooting a test torpedo, put it in vertical position and sunk by stern.
At the same time, a Spanish inventor developed the first properly called submarine of the history, solving the propulsion, stability and armament problems at the same time. Isaac Peral
designed and built the first submarine of the history that navigated submerged, with good command and the ability to shoot torpedoes, submerged and on the surface. Peral
's submarine had electric propulsion, periscope, target practice apparatus, compensated compass needle, gyroscope, sliding electric, torpedo tube launcher and servomotor (to maintain the stability and the trim of the ship in all circumstances).
Zaharoff had knowledge, with astonishing speed, of the young inventor and Spanish Navy officer's works. Previously in shipbuilding, he had already inspected the plans and the memorandum reports that the inventor had sent to Spanish Navy ministry headquarters.
Later on and during Isaac Peral
's visit to London, he tried to interview with him unsuccessfully, with the help of a Peral's Spanish Navy fellow officer. Peral refused twice, but after several attempts, he had a meeting with the Nordenfelt company owner, who offered him to associate him and purchase the patent of the stability servomotor. Isaac Peral rejected both offers and signed his sentence in that same instant, without knowing it.
Zaharoff has his own evil skills to operate. The Spanish inventor, as Maxim, suffered four sabotages during the tests: the first of them, in the previous test, in presence of the head of the Spanish State, but, Peral, more cautious than the North American inventor, had success in all of them.
In spite of it, Zaharoff used perverted methods, well-known later on, and was able to made controversy between the inventor and his own government and obtained, in the end, the Spanish government's disapproval of the invention of the submarine, which would have been a formidable weapon in the conflict with the United States, several years after.
Zaharoff traveled to Spain on several occasions from 1886 to 1890 with three objectives: boycott Peral's submarine, sell weapons to the Spanish armies and acquire a Spanish factory of weapons. He was successful in all three of them, mainly because he had a loving relationship with Pilar de Muguiro y Beruete that opened him many doors.
Pilar was the daughter of a powerful banker, Fermín Muguiro, a strongman of the regime and the boss of the conservative Spanish party, a personal friend and niece of Segismundo Moret, commander of the Spanish progressive thinking and the boss's of the liberal party's right hand. Also, she was unhappily married to a cousin of the king Alfonso XII: Francisco de Borbón, Duke of Marchena and Grande de España; a title that allowed her access without previous notice to the Royal Palace. During one of these trips, the presence of Zaharoff was detected in the shipyard where the Spanish submarine was built, but the Spanish authorities "covered" the matter.
By the purchase of one of the better Spanish armament companies, Euscalduna located in the north of Spain which they named as “The Placencia de las Armas Co. Ltd”; and thanks to his loving affair (he always attributed, the key of his professional success to his loving skills) and by the creation of a powerful kernel inside Spain, of influential politicians, journalists and military high officials that served him in a perfect way in his personals interest. This influential group of people took sides against the development of Isaac Peral
's submarine, and the Spanish Government, in spite of the notorious success of the official tests, finally closed the project.
After the “Placencia de Armas Co. Ltd”; company, which swindled the Spanish Government selling useless and rather useless utility arms for Spain during the 1898 war (also, this company, provided to Maxim outstanding and "sensitive" information that passed to his government during the conflict), the Constructora Naval came and few years later, the Sociedad Española de Construcciones Navales, branch of Vickers
in Spain were awarded, by the Spanish Government, the monopoly of the naval construction for the Spanish Navy
.
The shade of the swindle, the prevarication and the bribe flew over above this fabulous business for the dangerous trafficker of weapons. A law officer of the Spanish Navy denounced the Spanish Government for two presumed prevarication crimes. The Spanish Government acted expeditiously and with special cruelty against these navy officers who made public their discontent with the ordinance. The Central Chief of Staff and the Boss of the Armada Juridic Service were fired and hundred of officers were imprisoned were meade to lose their jobs.
Zaharoff's power and influence in Spain lasted until his death in 1936. when Spanish Civil War began.
Also, the 1934 United States Senate Nye Committee
Memorandum shows that Zaharoff was paid with considerable money commissions in the transactions that were made between foreign companies and the Spanish Government (for example, he got paid among a 5 and 7% commission of the price of the American submarines sold to Spain, during all these years).
Although very little could be documented, Zaharoff was viewed as a master of bribery and corruption, but the few incidents that did become public, such as the large bribes received by Japanese
Admiral Fuji, suggested that a lot more was going on behind the scenes. In 1890, the Maxim-Nordenfelt association broke up and Zaharoff chose to go with Maxim. With his commissions, Zaharoff bought shares in Maxim’s company until he was able to tell Maxim that he was no longer an employee but an equal shareholder. )
By 1897, the Maxim company had become important enough that it received a buyout offer from Vickers, one of the then giants of the armaments industry. This involved substantial settlements in both cash and shares for Maxim and Zaharoff. From then until 1911, while Maxim's business enthusiasm waned, Zaharoff's enthusiasm and portfolio of Vickers
shares grew. With Maxim's retirement, Zaharoff joined the Vickers board of directors.
The first decade of the twentieth century was a time for many European armies to rebuild and modernize. Germany
and the United Kingdom
both saw an especial need for improved naval units. Vickers and Zaharoff were there, willing and able to accommodate both sides. After its disastrous defeat by Japan in 1905, Russia too had a need to rebuild its navy, but the nation was beset by a wave of chauvinism that required a domestic industry for the rebuilding. Zaharoff’s response was to build a huge Russian arms production complex at Tsaritsyn as a subsidiary of Vickers.
The opening of Russian Tsarist archives after World War I
led to some insights into thtsine tactics of the arms industry. One 1907 letter, in particular, was written from the Paul von Gontard factory (a secretly controlled Vickers company in Germany) to a Vickers associate in Paris
recommending that press releases go out to the French press with suggestions that the French improve their military to meet the threats of military buildup in Germany. These French newspaper articles were read into the record of the Reichstag
and were followed by a vote to increase military spending, all of which worked to the advantage of Zaharoff. )
Zaharoff’s fortunes grew in other areas to support his arms business. By purchasing the Union Parisienne Bank (which was traditionally associated with heavy industry) he was better able to control financing arrangements. By gaining control of the daily newspaper, Excelsior, he could be assured of editorials favorable to the arms industry. To gain public recognition and honours he set up a retirement home for French sailors, while a chair in aerodynamics at the University of Paris gave him the rank of an officer. On July 31, 1914, coincidentally the same day that the noted antimilitarist
Jean Jaurès
was assassinated, Raymond Poincaré
signed a decree making Zaharoff a commander of the Legion of Honour.
In March 1914, Vickers announced the coming of a new era of prosperity. During the course of the war Vickers would produce 4 ships of the line, 3 cruisers, 53 submarines, 3 auxiliary vessels, 62 light vessels, 2,328 cannon, 8,000,000 tonnes of steel ordnance, 90,000 mines, 22,000 torpedoes, 5,500 airplanes and 100,000 machine guns. By 1915, Zaharoff had close ties with both David Lloyd George
and Aristide Briand
. It is reported that, on the occasion of one visit with Briand, Zaharoff quietly left an envelope on Aristide Briand’s desk; the envelope contained a million francs for war widows.
One of Zaharoff’s tasks during the war was to ensure that Greece became involved in the war on the Allied side, helping to reinforce the eastern front. On the surface, this seemed impossible since King Constantine
was himself a brother-in-law to the Kaiser. Setting up a press agency in Greece to spread news favorable to the allies led, within a few months, to Constantine’s being deposed in favour of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos
.
With the end of World War I
, The Times estimated that Zaharoff had sacrificed £50 million for the Allied cause; however this was but a small fraction of his commissions.)
to the Greek state
for the Greek
cause (Megali Idea
). Zaharoff convinced Venizelos to attack but, after some impressive initial success, the Greek army was eventually driven back. In the elections that followed, Constantine’s loyalists managed to force Venizelos to flee, but Zaharoff stayed around and persuaded the same king that he had to attack Turkey again, but with Mustafa Kemal
now in charge of Turkey, this venture was bound to fail. Zaharoff’s war adventures were not well received by the press in Paris and London.
At the same time that he was carrying on his war, Zaharoff was also involved in two more significant financial ventures in October 1920, he became involved in the incorporation of a company that was a predecessor to oil giant, British Petroleum. He saw that there was a great future in the oil business.
His association with Louis II of Monaco
led to his purchase of the debt-ridden Société des Bains de Mer which ran Monte Carlo’s famed casino, and the principal source of revenue for the country. He succeeded in making the casino profitable again. At the same time, Zaharoff had prevailed upon Clemenceau
to ensure that the Treaty of Versailles
included protection of Monaco
’s rights as established in 1641. Louis had noted their gradual erosion in the nearly three centuries since.
Zaharoff was fascinated by aviation, and gave donations and support to pioneers in England, France and Russia. He encouraged Hiram Maxim in his attempt to build a flying machine, and later claimed that he and Maxim were the first men to be lifted off the earth, when Maxim tested his first "flying machine" at Bexley
in 1894.
In September 1924, Zaharoff, almost 75 years old, remarried. (He had been married to an English
woman much earlier in life—primarily, it was believed as of middle February 2011, to obtain a British passport
. ) He had met María del Pilar Antonia Angela Patrocinio Simona de Muguiro y Beruete, some three decades earlier on the business travel in Spain, when she was married with her new husband, the unbalanced Prince Francisco de Bourbon, Duke de Villafranca de los Caballeros. She was unable to divorce her husband, because of his relation of the royal Spanish family, despite his documented insanity. The Duchess and Zaharoff had to wait until the Duke's natural death. Some eighteen months after their marriage, Lady Zaharoff succumbed to an infection.
Afterwards, Zaharoff began a liquidation of his business assets, and undertook to compose his memoirs. When the memoirs were completed, they were stolen by a valet who had perhaps hoped to make his fortune by revealing embarrassing secrets about the greats of Europe. The police found the memoirs and returned them to Zaharoff. On payment of a cheque to the policemen, Zaharoff re-acquired the manuscript, which he then consigned to the fireplace.
He was interested in promoting aviation and study: he funded chairs of aviation at the universities of the Sorbonne
, Petrograd
and Imperial College
and a chair of French literature at Oxford University.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, GBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(October 6, 1849, Muğla
Mugla
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
– November 27, 1936, Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
), born Zacharias Basileios Zacharoff, was an arms dealer and financier. Although he often lied about his origins, he formally became a French citizen in 1908, and worked for the Vickers
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a famous British engineering conglomerate that merged into Vickers-Armstrongs in 1927.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
munitions firm from 1897 to 1927.
Early life
Zacharias Basileios was the only son and eldest of four children of Basilius Zacharoff of Constantinople, born in the AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n town of Muğla
Mugla
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
. The name Zaharoff was adopted when the family was in exile in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
as a result of the anti-Greek "Easter pogroms" of 1821. The family returned to Turkey
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the 1840s. By 1855, the family was back in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
(modern-day Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
), where they lived in the modest Greek neighborhood of Tatavla.
Young Basileios' first job was as a guide for the tourists to the Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
. He then reputedly became an arsonist for the Constantinople firefighters. The 19th century firemen of Constantinople were not so effective at extinguishing fires, but quite effective at rescuing or salvaging the treasures of the rich for a healthy commission.
Legal difficulties
Zaharoff appeared in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the midst of a controversy that had him in court over irregular commercial actions involving the export of certain goods from Constantinople to London. The Constantinople Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
in London preferred that matters involving members of their community were not settled by English courts. He was released on the payment of £100 on condition that he pay restitution to the claimant, and remain within the jurisdiction of the court. He immediately went to Athens. Once there the 24-year-old Zaharoff was befriended by a political journalist Etienne Skouloudis. The eloquent Zaharoff succeeded in convincing Skouloudis of the rightness of his case in the London legal conflict.
By a stroke of good fortune, another friend of Skouloudis, a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
captain, was leaving his job as representative of arms manufacturer Thorsten Nordenfelt
Thorsten Nordenfelt
Thorsten Nordenfelt , was a Swedish inventor and industrialist.Nordenfelt was born in Örby outside Kinna, Sweden, the son of a colonel. The surname was and is often spelt Nordenfeldt, though Thorsten and his brothers always spelt it Nordenfelt, and the 1881 Census shows it as Nordenfelt...
’s company for a more important posting. Skouloudis meanwhile had risen in politics and was able to recommend Zaharoff to fill the vacancy. Zaharoff was hired on October 14, 1877, beginning a spectacular career. The prevailing political and military circumstances involving the Balkan states, Turkey and Russia provided an excellent opportunity for the young salesman. Each state was ready to spend to cope with the perceived aggressive intentions of its neighbours, even after the Treaty of Berlin of 1878.
Arms dealing
As a salesman for the Swedish inventor Thorsten NordenfeltThorsten Nordenfelt
Thorsten Nordenfelt , was a Swedish inventor and industrialist.Nordenfelt was born in Örby outside Kinna, Sweden, the son of a colonel. The surname was and is often spelt Nordenfeldt, though Thorsten and his brothers always spelt it Nordenfelt, and the 1881 Census shows it as Nordenfelt...
, Zaharoff was known for his crafty, aggressive and corrupt business tactics. These included selling arms to both sides of conflicts, selling fake or faulty machinery to clients, and sabotaging demonstrations. Zaharoff sold munitions to many nations of his day, including Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Despite his reputation for corruption, he helped popularize a number of famous weapons and vehicles, such as the Maxim gun
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest".-Functionality:...
(one of the first fully automatic machine guns) and the first true submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
.
Maxim's machine gun
The next person to enter Zaharoff's story was Hiram Maxim. Maxim's automatic machine gun was a significant improvement over the hand-cranked models then in use. Maxim’s gun was certainly better than anything that Nordenfelt had on the shelf at the time. Zaharoff is believed to have had a hand in the events surrounding Maxim's attempts to demonstrate his invention between 1886 and 1888. In the first, Maxim's and Nordenfelt's machine guns were to be demonstrated at La SpeziaLa Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
before a distinguished audience that included the Duke of Genoa
Duke of Genoa
The Royal Dukedom of Genoa was a subsidiary title of the King of Sardinia. It was first awarded in 1831 to Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, second son of King Charles Albert of Sardinia. The title became extinct on the death of Prince Eugenio, grandson of King Charles Albert in 1996.-External links:...
. Maxim's representatives did not show up; an unknown person had provided them a guided tour of La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
's nocturnal establishments leaving them in no condition to go anywhere the next day.
Round 2 took place in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Here the contestants had been asked to modify their weapons so that they could use the standard size of cartridge used by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n infantry. After shooting a few hundred rounds Maxim's apparatus became erratic then stopped altogether. When Maxim took the weapon apart to see what had happened, he discovered that it had been sabotaged, but it was too late to recover. The third trial was also in Vienna, and here the gun worked perfectly. But an unknown person went through the gathering of senior officers convincing them that the workmanship required to produce such a marvellous weapon could only be done by hand, one at a time, and that without the means for mass production Maxim could never produce the machine gun in sufficient quantities to satisfy the needs of a modern army. Nordenfelt and Zaharoff had won. Maxim, who knew he had a good product, successfully sought a merger with Nordenfelt, with Zaharoff as the principal salesman with a fat commission rate. )
Corrupt business tactics
From 1886 to 1889, at the same time than Zaharoff got the machine gun Maxim, he managed to appropriate Isaac PeralIsaac Peral
Isaac Peral y Caballero , was a Spanish engineer, sailor and designer of the Peral Submarine .-Career:...
's submarine; although these facts are less known. Zaharoff and Nordenfelt tried, for those years, to develop a submarine to increase their businesses.
One of the most notorious sales by Zaharoff was that of the Nordenfelt I, a faulty steam-driven submarine model based on a design by the English inventor and clergyman Rev. George Garrett, which U. S. Navy intelligence characterized as capable of "dangerous and eccentric movements." Thorsten Nordenfelt had already demonstrated his vessel at an international gathering of the military elite, and the major powers would have none of it, but smaller nations interested by the prestige were a different matter.
It was thus that, with a promise of liberal payment terms, Zaharoff sold the first model to the Greeks. He then convinced the Turks that the Greek submarine posed a threat and sold them two. After that, he persuaded the Russians that there was now a new significant threat on the Black Sea, and they bought two.
None of these submarines ever saw battle. The apparatuses, with steam propulsion, completely inadequate for underwater navigation, failed boisterously when the sea trials were made by the respective navies that acquired them.
Besides the derived problems of the faulty propulsion system, they suffered of a serious problem of lack of stability and, in fact, the Turkish Navy submarine was unbalanced when shooting a test torpedo, put it in vertical position and sunk by stern.
At the same time, a Spanish inventor developed the first properly called submarine of the history, solving the propulsion, stability and armament problems at the same time. Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral y Caballero , was a Spanish engineer, sailor and designer of the Peral Submarine .-Career:...
designed and built the first submarine of the history that navigated submerged, with good command and the ability to shoot torpedoes, submerged and on the surface. Peral
Peral
Peral is a freguesia of Cadaval, Portugal. One of its villages is Barreiras....
's submarine had electric propulsion, periscope, target practice apparatus, compensated compass needle, gyroscope, sliding electric, torpedo tube launcher and servomotor (to maintain the stability and the trim of the ship in all circumstances).
Zaharoff had knowledge, with astonishing speed, of the young inventor and Spanish Navy officer's works. Previously in shipbuilding, he had already inspected the plans and the memorandum reports that the inventor had sent to Spanish Navy ministry headquarters.
Later on and during Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral y Caballero , was a Spanish engineer, sailor and designer of the Peral Submarine .-Career:...
's visit to London, he tried to interview with him unsuccessfully, with the help of a Peral's Spanish Navy fellow officer. Peral refused twice, but after several attempts, he had a meeting with the Nordenfelt company owner, who offered him to associate him and purchase the patent of the stability servomotor. Isaac Peral rejected both offers and signed his sentence in that same instant, without knowing it.
Zaharoff has his own evil skills to operate. The Spanish inventor, as Maxim, suffered four sabotages during the tests: the first of them, in the previous test, in presence of the head of the Spanish State, but, Peral, more cautious than the North American inventor, had success in all of them.
In spite of it, Zaharoff used perverted methods, well-known later on, and was able to made controversy between the inventor and his own government and obtained, in the end, the Spanish government's disapproval of the invention of the submarine, which would have been a formidable weapon in the conflict with the United States, several years after.
Zaharoff traveled to Spain on several occasions from 1886 to 1890 with three objectives: boycott Peral's submarine, sell weapons to the Spanish armies and acquire a Spanish factory of weapons. He was successful in all three of them, mainly because he had a loving relationship with Pilar de Muguiro y Beruete that opened him many doors.
Pilar was the daughter of a powerful banker, Fermín Muguiro, a strongman of the regime and the boss of the conservative Spanish party, a personal friend and niece of Segismundo Moret, commander of the Spanish progressive thinking and the boss's of the liberal party's right hand. Also, she was unhappily married to a cousin of the king Alfonso XII: Francisco de Borbón, Duke of Marchena and Grande de España; a title that allowed her access without previous notice to the Royal Palace. During one of these trips, the presence of Zaharoff was detected in the shipyard where the Spanish submarine was built, but the Spanish authorities "covered" the matter.
By the purchase of one of the better Spanish armament companies, Euscalduna located in the north of Spain which they named as “The Placencia de las Armas Co. Ltd”; and thanks to his loving affair (he always attributed, the key of his professional success to his loving skills) and by the creation of a powerful kernel inside Spain, of influential politicians, journalists and military high officials that served him in a perfect way in his personals interest. This influential group of people took sides against the development of Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral y Caballero , was a Spanish engineer, sailor and designer of the Peral Submarine .-Career:...
's submarine, and the Spanish Government, in spite of the notorious success of the official tests, finally closed the project.
After the “Placencia de Armas Co. Ltd”; company, which swindled the Spanish Government selling useless and rather useless utility arms for Spain during the 1898 war (also, this company, provided to Maxim outstanding and "sensitive" information that passed to his government during the conflict), the Constructora Naval came and few years later, the Sociedad Española de Construcciones Navales, branch of Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
in Spain were awarded, by the Spanish Government, the monopoly of the naval construction for the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
.
The shade of the swindle, the prevarication and the bribe flew over above this fabulous business for the dangerous trafficker of weapons. A law officer of the Spanish Navy denounced the Spanish Government for two presumed prevarication crimes. The Spanish Government acted expeditiously and with special cruelty against these navy officers who made public their discontent with the ordinance. The Central Chief of Staff and the Boss of the Armada Juridic Service were fired and hundred of officers were imprisoned were meade to lose their jobs.
Zaharoff's power and influence in Spain lasted until his death in 1936. when Spanish Civil War began.
Also, the 1934 United States Senate Nye Committee
Nye Committee
The Nye Committee, officially known as the Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, was a committee of the United States Senate which studied the causes of United States' involvement in World War I...
Memorandum shows that Zaharoff was paid with considerable money commissions in the transactions that were made between foreign companies and the Spanish Government (for example, he got paid among a 5 and 7% commission of the price of the American submarines sold to Spain, during all these years).
Although very little could be documented, Zaharoff was viewed as a master of bribery and corruption, but the few incidents that did become public, such as the large bribes received by Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
Admiral Fuji, suggested that a lot more was going on behind the scenes. In 1890, the Maxim-Nordenfelt association broke up and Zaharoff chose to go with Maxim. With his commissions, Zaharoff bought shares in Maxim’s company until he was able to tell Maxim that he was no longer an employee but an equal shareholder. )
By 1897, the Maxim company had become important enough that it received a buyout offer from Vickers, one of the then giants of the armaments industry. This involved substantial settlements in both cash and shares for Maxim and Zaharoff. From then until 1911, while Maxim's business enthusiasm waned, Zaharoff's enthusiasm and portfolio of Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
shares grew. With Maxim's retirement, Zaharoff joined the Vickers board of directors.
The first decade of the twentieth century was a time for many European armies to rebuild and modernize. Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
both saw an especial need for improved naval units. Vickers and Zaharoff were there, willing and able to accommodate both sides. After its disastrous defeat by Japan in 1905, Russia too had a need to rebuild its navy, but the nation was beset by a wave of chauvinism that required a domestic industry for the rebuilding. Zaharoff’s response was to build a huge Russian arms production complex at Tsaritsyn as a subsidiary of Vickers.
The opening of Russian Tsarist archives after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
led to some insights into thtsine tactics of the arms industry. One 1907 letter, in particular, was written from the Paul von Gontard factory (a secretly controlled Vickers company in Germany) to a Vickers associate in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
recommending that press releases go out to the French press with suggestions that the French improve their military to meet the threats of military buildup in Germany. These French newspaper articles were read into the record of the Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
and were followed by a vote to increase military spending, all of which worked to the advantage of Zaharoff. )
World War I
In the years immediately preceding World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Zaharoff’s fortunes grew in other areas to support his arms business. By purchasing the Union Parisienne Bank (which was traditionally associated with heavy industry) he was better able to control financing arrangements. By gaining control of the daily newspaper, Excelsior, he could be assured of editorials favorable to the arms industry. To gain public recognition and honours he set up a retirement home for French sailors, while a chair in aerodynamics at the University of Paris gave him the rank of an officer. On July 31, 1914, coincidentally the same day that the noted antimilitarist
Antimilitarism
Antimilitarism is a doctrine commonly found in the anarchist and, more globally, in the socialist movement, which may both be characterized as internationalist movements. It relies heavily on a critical theory of nationalism and imperialism, and was an explicit goal of the First and Second...
Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
was assassinated, Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
signed a decree making Zaharoff a commander of the Legion of Honour.
In March 1914, Vickers announced the coming of a new era of prosperity. During the course of the war Vickers would produce 4 ships of the line, 3 cruisers, 53 submarines, 3 auxiliary vessels, 62 light vessels, 2,328 cannon, 8,000,000 tonnes of steel ordnance, 90,000 mines, 22,000 torpedoes, 5,500 airplanes and 100,000 machine guns. By 1915, Zaharoff had close ties with both David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
and Aristide Briand
Aristide Briand
Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...
. It is reported that, on the occasion of one visit with Briand, Zaharoff quietly left an envelope on Aristide Briand’s desk; the envelope contained a million francs for war widows.
One of Zaharoff’s tasks during the war was to ensure that Greece became involved in the war on the Allied side, helping to reinforce the eastern front. On the surface, this seemed impossible since King Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
was himself a brother-in-law to the Kaiser. Setting up a press agency in Greece to spread news favorable to the allies led, within a few months, to Constantine’s being deposed in favour of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
.
With the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, The Times estimated that Zaharoff had sacrificed £50 million for the Allied cause; however this was but a small fraction of his commissions.)
Post-war dealings
In the years that follow, Zaharoff involved himself in the affairs of the lesser powers, which the Big Four that were remaking Europe would have happily ignored. In particular, he set out to ensure that Greece and Venizelos received a proper share of the spoils from a badly weakened Turkey. In 1920 he donated half a billion Gold francGold franc
The gold franc was the unit of account for the Bank for International Settlements from 1930 until April 1, 2003. It was replaced with the Special Drawing Right...
to the Greek state
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
for the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
cause (Megali Idea
Megali Idea
The Megali Idea was an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism that expressed the goal of establishing a Greek state that would encompass all ethnic Greek-inhabited areas, since large Greek populations after the restoration of Greek independence in 1830 still lived under Ottoman rule.The term...
). Zaharoff convinced Venizelos to attack but, after some impressive initial success, the Greek army was eventually driven back. In the elections that followed, Constantine’s loyalists managed to force Venizelos to flee, but Zaharoff stayed around and persuaded the same king that he had to attack Turkey again, but with Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
now in charge of Turkey, this venture was bound to fail. Zaharoff’s war adventures were not well received by the press in Paris and London.
At the same time that he was carrying on his war, Zaharoff was also involved in two more significant financial ventures in October 1920, he became involved in the incorporation of a company that was a predecessor to oil giant, British Petroleum. He saw that there was a great future in the oil business.
His association with Louis II of Monaco
Louis II, Prince of Monaco
Louis II was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 27 June 1922 until 9 May 1949.-Early years:Born Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi in Baden-Baden, Germany, he was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco , and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton...
led to his purchase of the debt-ridden Société des Bains de Mer which ran Monte Carlo’s famed casino, and the principal source of revenue for the country. He succeeded in making the casino profitable again. At the same time, Zaharoff had prevailed upon Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
to ensure that the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
included protection of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
’s rights as established in 1641. Louis had noted their gradual erosion in the nearly three centuries since.
Personal life
Zaharoff was a friend of both the actress Sarah Bernhardt and her greek husband Jacques Damala who was once described as the handsomest man in Europe. When Damala's mistress (who injected him with heroin between Acts of plays he was appearing in), had an illegitimate daughter by him in 1889 she left the baby in a basket (with a note, on Sarah Bernhardt's doorstep. The baby who was baptised Teresa was given into the care of Zaharof who found a family to raise her in Eastern Thrace in Adrianpole. In 1920 she posed for Picasso and she had affairs with the American novelist Ernest Hemmingway and Gabriel D'Annunzio who was an early Italian Fascist. The story of her life is told in the historical novel Terese by Fredy Germanos (1997).Zaharoff was fascinated by aviation, and gave donations and support to pioneers in England, France and Russia. He encouraged Hiram Maxim in his attempt to build a flying machine, and later claimed that he and Maxim were the first men to be lifted off the earth, when Maxim tested his first "flying machine" at Bexley
Bexley
Bexley is an South East London]] in the London Borough of Bexley, London, England. It is located on the banks of the River Cray south of the Roman Road, Watling Street...
in 1894.
In September 1924, Zaharoff, almost 75 years old, remarried. (He had been married to an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
woman much earlier in life—primarily, it was believed as of middle February 2011, to obtain a British passport
British passport
British passports may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of British nationality, and are used as evidence of the bearer's nationality and immigration status within the United Kingdom or the issuing state/territory.-Issuing:...
. ) He had met María del Pilar Antonia Angela Patrocinio Simona de Muguiro y Beruete, some three decades earlier on the business travel in Spain, when she was married with her new husband, the unbalanced Prince Francisco de Bourbon, Duke de Villafranca de los Caballeros. She was unable to divorce her husband, because of his relation of the royal Spanish family, despite his documented insanity. The Duchess and Zaharoff had to wait until the Duke's natural death. Some eighteen months after their marriage, Lady Zaharoff succumbed to an infection.
Afterwards, Zaharoff began a liquidation of his business assets, and undertook to compose his memoirs. When the memoirs were completed, they were stolen by a valet who had perhaps hoped to make his fortune by revealing embarrassing secrets about the greats of Europe. The police found the memoirs and returned them to Zaharoff. On payment of a cheque to the policemen, Zaharoff re-acquired the manuscript, which he then consigned to the fireplace.
He was interested in promoting aviation and study: he funded chairs of aviation at the universities of the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, Petrograd
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
and Imperial College
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
and a chair of French literature at Oxford University.
Cultural references
- In the TintinThe Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
album The Broken EarThe Broken EarThe Broken Ear is the sixth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
, Zaharoff is parodied as the weapon trader Basil Bazarov, who sells to both parties of a single conflict that he helps provoke.
- Zaharoff was portrayed by Leo McKernLeo McKernReginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian-born British actor who appeared in numerous British and Australian television programmes and movies, and more than 200 stage roles.-Early life:...
(of Rumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
fame) in the 1983 ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Reilly, Ace of SpiesReilly, Ace of SpiesReilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies to ever work for the British. Among his exploits in the early 20th century were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of...
.
- Zaharoff was depicted in the "Lanny Budd" series by reformer Upton SinclairUpton SinclairUpton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
.
- Zaharoff's adventures in the arms trade (particularly the machine gun sales) resemble those of the main character, Hector Sarek, in Gerald KershGerald KershGerald Kersh was a British writer. Born in 1911, he began to write at the age of 8. After leaving school he worked as, amongst other things, a cinema manager, bodyguard, debt collector, fish & chip cook, travelling salesman, French teacher and all-in-wrestler whilst attempting to 'make it' as a...
's short storyShort storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"Comrade Death". Sarek also sells arms to two (fictitious) South American countries while inciting their leaders against each other.
- Rayt Marius in Knight Templar and The Misfortunes of Mr. TealThe Misfortunes of Mr. TealThe Misfortunes of Mr. Teal is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton and the United States by The Crime Club...
, featuring Leslie CharterisLeslie CharterisLeslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...
' the SaintSimon TemplarSimon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
, appears to be based on Zaharoff, with the last referring specifically to the theft of his explosive memoirs.
- Zaharoff's Machiavellian ethic as an arms dealer was a cultural influence on Church of SatanChurch of SatanThe Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.- History :...
founder Anton LaVeyAnton LaVeyAnton Szandor LaVey , born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician...
. LaVey included Zaharoff on the dedication page to The Satanic BibleThe Satanic BibleThe Satanic Bible is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It contains the core principles of LaVeyan Satanism, and is considered the foundation of its philosophy and dogma. It has been described as the most important document to influence contemporary...
.
- In his novel A Coffin for Dimitrios, Eric AmblerEric AmblerEric Clifford Ambler OBE was an influential British author of spy novels who introduced a new realism to the genre. Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda.-Life:...
is claimed to have patterned Dimitrios on Sir Basil Zaharoff, although Ambler denied having first-hand knowledge of him.
- Zaharoff appears in Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
novel Against the DayAgainst the DayAgainst the Day is a novel by Thomas Pynchon. The narrative takes place between the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the time immediately following World War I and features more than a hundred characters spread across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Central Asia, and "one or two places not strictly...
.
- In Ezra Pound's "Canto XVIII" and "Canto XXXVIII," Zaharoff makes numerous appearances under the name "Metevsky."
- Zaharoff was one of the inspirations for the unscrupulous arms manufacturer Andrew Undershaft in George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's play Major Barbara.
- Zaharoff is a character in the novel The King's Commisar by Duncan KyleDuncan KyleJohn Franklin Broxholme is an English thriller writer who published fifteen novels in a little over twenty years using the pen name of Duncan Kyle....
.
- 'Zaroff' is an unscrupulous arms dealer in the Tom Mix serial "The Miracle Rider".
- Some aspects of Zaharoff's life were used as the basis for elements of Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
.
External links
Further reading
- Robert Neumann, Zaharoff the Armaments King (1935, revised 1938) London: George Allen & Unwin
- Dimitri KitsikisDimitri KitsikisDimitri Kitsikis is a Greek Turkologist, Professor of International Relations and Geopolitics. He has also published poetry in French and Greek.-Life:D...
, Propagande et pressions en politique internationale. La Grèce et ses revendications à la Conférence de la Paix 1919-1920. (1963) Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. (Chapter on Sir Basil Zaharoff) - Anthony Allfrey, Man of Arms: the Life and Legend of Sir Basil Zaharoff. (1989) London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-79532-5
- Donald McCormick, Peddler of Death: the Life and Times of Sir Basil Zaharoff. (1965) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, ISBN 1-112-53688-4
- John T. Flynn extract from Men of Wealth The Merchant of Death: Basil Zaharoff pp 337–372
- Dr. Richard Lewinsohn The Man Behind the Scenes: The Career of Sir Basil Zaharoff, 'The Mystery Man of Europe London, Gollancz (1929)
- Dominique Venner, Le plus grand marchand d'armes de l'Histoire: Sir Basil Zaharoff. Historia N° 368 - juillet 1977 (French periodical).
- Javier Sanmateo, El submarino Peral La gran conjura (2008) Cartagena: Divum & Mare, ISBN 978-84-936502-0-9
- Bohumír Polách, Muž v pozadí (Basil Zacharov) - (Man in the background - Basil Zaharoff). (1948) Prague: A. Neubert. Drama by Czech author.
- Paul De Mont : De Internationale der Wapenfabrikanten (1934).