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Eberhard Isbrand Ides

Eberhard Isbrand Ides (1657-1708/9?) was a merchant and ambassador in the Russian Empire. He organized and headed the Russian embassy sent to the Chinese court in Beijing in 1792. He is also known for writing his own travel account of the embassy called Drie Jaarige Reize naar China.

Early life, Name and Nationality

Eberhard Isbrand Ides or Evert Ysbrants Ides (Ideszoon) born 1657 in Glückstadt died in Moscow between 1708 and early 1709. His nationality has been considered to be Dutch, German or Danish. These conflicting views arose due to his family history and the political status of Holstein. Ides family had migrated to Glückstadt in 1630 from the Netherlands. Due to his Dutch ancestry his name was often spelled differently. Due to the concept of family names being unknown in the Netherlands during this time period he was called Idesz meaning "son of Ides". Glückstadt had been founded by the Danish king Christian VII and was part of the territory of the Danish crown. However, Holstein was , at that point, despite its personal union with Denmark, also part of the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, he was sometimes considered Dutch, due to his ancestry, and German or Danish due to his home country . Starting 1677, Ides began to trade with the Russian city of Arkhangelsk through a north sea trade-route. In 1679 Ides married Anna Mütner. Together with her he had one son, Peter Ides and one , unknown, daughter. At some point between 1687 and 1690 he settled in the German suburb of Moscow .

The Embassy

After he went into personal bankruptcy in 1691 he requested the right to conduct a trading mission with China from the Czar. He received the right to trade with China but was also made an official royal ambassador and sent to the court in Beijing.The embassy was ratified by the Czar in the aftermath of the Treaty of Nerchinsk. The Russian Czar still needed a ratification document for the treaty and planned to reach a trade agreement with the Chinese Empire. The Czar used the opportunity of Ides plea for the ratification of trading mission to send a full embassy with him to Beijing without risking to much of his own assets . In the march of 1692 Ides and the rest of the embassy were sent to Beijing with the aim of exploring the products available on Chinese markets, possible trading routes and the possible existence of mines in Chinese territory. Furthermore Ides was supposed to negotiate the status of Russian traitors and their possible return to Russia and acquisition of a patch of land in Beijing to build a orthodox church . The embassy had 21 members. These encompassed 12 Germans and 9 Russians. Known German members are Adam Brand ,who also composed a written account of the embassy, Philipp Schultz, the apocethary Christoph Karstens and the painter Johann Georg Weltzel. The known Russian members were the two officer candidates Ivan Kramar and Petr Rambach, the embassy´s writer Semen Precij and Ides´s servant Semen Galaktionov. They were, after Tobolsk, joined by the writer Ivan Sumorockij, the translator Spiridon Bezrjadnov, the bojar´s son Edokim Kurdjukov and the cadets Andrej Beijton and Andrej Krjukov. Together with the escort and the merchant that joined after Nerchisnk the embassy numbered 400 persons .

The embassy travelled largely by sled and boat. The last portion of the journey, after traversing Lake Baikal, however was travelled by wagon and horseback. Major cities passed on the journey to Beijing were Solikamsk, Tobolsk, Nerchinsk, Zhangjiakou, Shalingzi, Xuanhua and Tongzhou. While Ides was in China Franz Lefort managed his enterprise for him . The embassy to China was a financial success for Ides himself, the negotiations in Beijing were largely unsuccessful.. Nonetheles, Ides was considered to be highly dependable after his return.

Life after the Embassy

After 1695 he terminated his activities as a merchant and instead started to build up several industrial manufactures. By 1698 he owned a gun factory and a powder mill which were considered to be the most advanced in Russia. Furthermore, he was invested in the construction of ships. He constructed these, under order of the Czar, in Arkhangelsk were Ides was acting as Commissioner of the Admiratly for the Czar. In 1704 he also received the right to administer the export-tolls. In 1708, after the death of his first wife, he married Gertrud Fademrechts. It is believe that he died shortly afterwards, somewhere between 1708 and early 1709.

Driejaarige Reize naar China

The book Driejaarige Reize naar China is Ides first and only work as an author. It is based on notes written by Ides in Low German which he sent to Nicolaes Witsen. Witsen translated these notes into Dutch and arranged them in the books final form . It was also Witsen that handed the text to Francois Halm, a printer from Amsterdam, who had printed Witsens first work Noord en Oost Tartareye. The first version of the book was printed by Halma in 1704. In 1707 the book was translated into German and English. The last printed version was an unaltered reprint of the original Dutch book was published in 1710.

The content of the book mainly describes Ides journey through Inner Asia. It describes the travelroute and indigenous tribes and cities visited along the way. The last part of Ides travel account describes his stay in China, his audiences with the Chinese emperor and his return journey to Moscow. The last part of the book was not written by Ides himself but is a general text written Dionysius Kao about China. This text by Kao, a born Chinese, was found by Ides during his stay in China and included in the printed version of his book.