Elias Hesse

Elias Hesse

Elias Hesse (born 1630) was a German man who travelled through Southeast Asia in the 17th century, and the author of an account on the topic, "Ost-Indische Reise-Beschreibung".

Hesse was the son of a miller, born in Saxony. In 1680, he was recruited by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a clerk in Benjamin Olitzsch's ill-fated gold mining expedition, where they were sent, along with 20 miners, to investigate the reserves at Sillida (south of Padang) in Sumatra. [ [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UJJVYZ0q8UAC&pg=RA1-PA539&dq=elias+hesse&ei=9VO0R42kD4zGyASb46zOBQ&sig=5uj3hRxXfi8qaXCK4xS09qKvYic#PRA1-PA539,M1] Google Books preview of "Asia in the Making of Europe", Donald F. Lach, Edwin J. Van Kley] The operation suffered heavily from a variety of misfortunes. The operating costs were too high, and the company had to employ the assistance of a large number of slaves for labour; although they did not need to pay them, feeding and providing for them proved costly. They also had to pay military posts for protection. This, coupled with a shortage of supplies and various tropical diseases which the Europeans were not prepared for made the operation slow going.The gold reserves themselves were not worth the effort, there was hardly any worth mining, no rich veins. Mining stopped in 1694, although Hesse left in 1683.

On his return, Hesse wrote his account of the trip, and it was published in 1687 in Dresden. Three years later, a revised and improved edition was released in Leipzig. This was then reprinted in 1735.

The current issue of the travel description is titled "Gold Mines in Sumatra 1680-1683" (Haag, Martinus Nijhoff, 1931) and is based on the second edition of 1690.

References

* Gold-Bergwerke in Sumatra 1680–1683 (Haag, Martinus Nijhoff, 1931)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Elias Hesse — war ein deutscher Asienreisender des 17. Jahrhunderts, der einen Bericht über seine Reise nach Südostasien (Ostindien) hinterließ. Hesse wurde als Sohn eines Müllers in der heutigen Pietzschmühle in Ottendorf im Kurfürstentum Sachsen geboren. Mit …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hesse — bezeichnet: einen Einwohner des Bundeslandes Hessen einen Ort im Elsass, siehe: Hesse (Elsass) einen Ort in Lothringen, siehe: Hesse (Moselle) küchensprachlich die Unterschenkel von Rindern, siehe Hesse (Fleisch) eine Pferderasse, siehe:… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elias Eoban — par Dürer. Elias Eoban, de son nom latin Eobanus Hessus (6 janvier 1488 5 octobre 1540), est un poète allemand. Il est l un des plus grands poètes latins de l Allemagne du XVIe siècle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Elias Canetti — im Oktober 1970 auf der Tagung Forum für Entwicklungspolitik in der Bonner Beethovenhalle; als Zuhörer links vom Pult …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elias Gottlob Haussmann — Infobox Painting image size=220px title=Johann Sebastian Bach artist=Elias Gottlob Haussman year=1746 type=Oil on canvas city=Leipzig museum=Altes RathausElias Gottlob Haussmann (also Haußmann or Hausmann) (1695 ndash; 11 April 1774) was a German …   Wikipedia

  • Hermann Hesse — in Rüschlikon im April 1926[1] …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Walter Elias Disney — Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney Walt Disney Naissance 5 décembre 1901 Chicago …   Wikipédia en Français

  • BLAUBAUM, ELIAS — (1847–1904), Australian Jewish minister. Born in rural Hesse, Germany, Blaubaum immigrated to Australia in 1873, learning English on the boat en route, and served as minister of Melbourne s St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation until his death. Learned… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Heße — Mit Hesse bezeichnet man: einen Einwohner des Bundeslandes Hessen einen Ort im Elsass, siehe: Hesse (Elsass) einen Ort in Lothringen, siehe: Hesse (Moselle) küchensprachlich die Unterschenkel von Rindern, siehe Hesse (Fleisch) eine Pferderasse,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Hes–Hez — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”