Elias Hesse
Encyclopedia
Elias Hesse 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
.
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.
Hesse was the son of a miller, born in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. In 1680, he was recruited by the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(VOC) as a clerk in Benjamin Olitzsch's ill-fated gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
expedition, where they were sent, along with 20 miners, to investigate the reserves at Sillida (south of Padang
Padang, Indonesia
Padang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 833,000 people at the 2010 Census.-History:...
) in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
.
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
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. Three years later, a revised and improved edition was released in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. 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.