 After being proclaimed emperor in Madagascar, and bearing letters of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin and funds from a descendant of Ferdinand Magellan, Maurice Benyovszky whose origin is regarded as a mix of Slovak, Hungarian and Polish came to America and fought with American troops in the War for Independence.He joined a cavalry corps led by General Pulaski and fought in the siege of Savannah.He died in Madagascar in 1786, but his wife, Zuzana Honsch, stayed in the United States from 1784 until her death in 1815.