Kelemen Mikes was a Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

n-born Hungarian political figure and essayist, noted for his rebellious activities against the Habsburg Monarchy

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

. Mikes is referred to as the "Hungarian Goethe", made famous by his Letters from Turkey. With these, Mikes laid the foundations of Hungarian literary prose, and he is regarded as one of the first Hungarian prose authors.

He was born in Zágon

Zagon

Zagon is a commune in Covasna County, Romania composed of two villages:*Păpăuţi / Papolc*Zagon- History :It formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. Until 1918, the village belonged to...

 and grew up in Zabola

Zabala

Zabala may refer to:*Zabala , a city of ancient Mesopotamia*Zabala , a neighborhood in the Ibaiondo district of Bilbao, Spain*Zăbala, a commune in Covasna County, Romania*Zabala fruit...

 (present-day Covasna County

Covasna County

Covasna is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Sfântu Gheorghe.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 222,449 and the population density was 60/km².*Hungarians – 73.79% *Romanians – 23.28%...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

). He fought the Habsburg until being forced to flee to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and eventually 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...

. While in Tekirdağ

Tekirdag

Tekirdağ , the ancient Bisanthi , is a city in Eastern Thrace, in the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province, felt by the local people to be a quieter and more pleasant town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The city population as of 2009 was...

, where he lived in exile with the Transylvanian Prince Ferenc Rákóczi, Mikes completed and published his essays. After Rákóczi's death in 1735, he stayed in exile until his own death.