Eric Laxman
Encyclopedia
Erik Gustavovich Laxmann (July 27, 1737 – January 6, 1796) was a Finnish-Swedish clergyman, explorer and natural scientist born in Nyslott in Finland
, then part of Sweden
. He is remembered today for his taxonomic work on the fauna of Siberia and for his attempts to establish relations between Imperial Russia and Tokugawa Japan
.
In 1757, Laxmann started his studies at the Academy of Åbo and was subsequently ordained a priest in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. In 1764, he was appointed as a preacher in a small parish in Barnaul
in central Siberia
, whence he undertook a number of exploratory journeys, reaching Irkutsk
, Baikal
, Kiakhta and the border to China
. His collection of material on the fauna of Siberia made him famous in scientific circles and in 1770, he was appointed professor of chemistry and economy at the Russian Academy of Sciences
. In 1769, Laxmann was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
.
Laxmann also ran a glass factory in a suburb of Irkutsk
, around 6 verst
s(24 kilometers) away from the center of the city with a famous merchant Alexander Andreyevich Baranov as a business partner; the factory was roughly 36 metres (20 ken) square. Products were not only sold domestically, but also to northeastern China.
Although he had many connections to local people of importance, Laxmann developed an antagonistic relationship with Grigory Shelikhov
, a seafarer and merchant. Laxmann noticed that Shelikhov, along with the Irkutsk Governor-General's Office had tried to pressure Daikokuya Kōdayū
, a Japanese castaway, into staying in Russia and serving as a translator for the merchant. The fact that Shelikhov also had strong connections with some Russian bureaucrats made the situation more complex. After Laxmann went to St.Petersburg on Kodayu's behalf, he began to send letters directly to Grand Chancellor Alexander Bezborodko
(due to the Chancellor's high position, the use of intermediaries was normally required).
, with whom Laxmann had some communication.
, one of the Aleutian Islands, by Russian furriers whose leader was a person called Nivizimov. Laxmann escorted the castaways to St. Petersburg, where Daikokuya Kōdayū
, their nominal leader, pleaded with Empress Catherine the Great to be allowed to return to Japan. During this stay in the capital, Laxmann began discussions on various matters with Alexander Bezborodko, but succumbed to a bout of typhoid fever
which left him incapacitated for three months.
Laxmann recovered consciousness in early May when Catherine had just moved to Tsarskoye Selo
for the summer. Laxmann sent Kodayu to Tsarskoye Selo ahead of him, and Kodayu was able to meet with the Empress several times over six months, as a result of Laxman's dedicated efforts among the Russian bureaucracy, especially with Alexander Bezborodko and chancellor Alexander Vorontsov
. At each presentation at Tsarskoye Selo, Laxmann walked along with Kodayu in order to assist him in the proper etiquette required in the Empress' presence.
In 1791, Catherine agreed to a plan conceived by Laxman, under which Laxman's son, Lt. Adam Laxman would command a voyage to Japan, where he would exchange the castaways for economic agreements and concessions. Grigory Shelikhov had proposed another plan that would make the Japanese castaways Russian citizens so that they would be Japanese teachers and translators, but Catherine chose Laxmann and Bezborodko's plan. The elder Laxmann remained in Russia while his son traveled with the castaways.
, at the recommendation of Carl Peter Thunberg, their teacher. There is no record that the letters ever reached the scholars, even though Adam Laxmann handed the letters to Ishikawa Tadafusa, a staff member of Tokugawa Shogunate, in Matsumae, Hokkaidō
. Erik Laxmann had showed Kodayu the letters before Kodayu left Okhotsk
.
Katsuragawa Hoshu had lots of communication with Kodayu after Kodayu lived in Yedo so Hoshu edited some books on Russia and Kodayu's experience. It would be possible to think that Hoshu may have known that Laxmann had sent him a letter.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, then part of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. He is remembered today for his taxonomic work on the fauna of Siberia and for his attempts to establish relations between Imperial Russia and Tokugawa Japan
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
.
In 1757, Laxmann started his studies at the Academy of Åbo and was subsequently ordained a priest in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. In 1764, he was appointed as a preacher in a small parish in Barnaul
Barnaul
-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
in central Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, whence he undertook a number of exploratory journeys, reaching Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
, Baikal
Baikal
Baykal commonly refers to Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia.Baykal or Baikal may also refer to:-Russia:*Baykal, Irkutsk Oblast, an urban-type settlement*Baykal, Aurgazinsky District, Republic of Bashkortostan, a village...
, Kiakhta and the border to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. His collection of material on the fauna of Siberia made him famous in scientific circles and in 1770, he was appointed professor of chemistry and economy at the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. In 1769, Laxmann was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
.
Irkutsk
In 1780, Laxmann settled in Irkutsk, where he would spend much of the rest of his life. In 1782, Laxmann founded a museum in Irkutsk, which is the oldest in Siberia.Laxmann also ran a glass factory in a suburb of Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
, around 6 verst
Verst
A verst or werst is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to 1.0668 kilometres ....
s(24 kilometers) away from the center of the city with a famous merchant Alexander Andreyevich Baranov as a business partner; the factory was roughly 36 metres (20 ken) square. Products were not only sold domestically, but also to northeastern China.
Although he had many connections to local people of importance, Laxmann developed an antagonistic relationship with Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov (Григорий Иванович Шелехов in Russian; (1747–July 20, 1795 (July 31, 1795 N.S.)) was a Russian seafarer and merchant born in Rylsk....
, a seafarer and merchant. Laxmann noticed that Shelikhov, along with the Irkutsk Governor-General's Office had tried to pressure Daikokuya Kōdayū
Daikokuya Kōdayū
was a Japanese castaway who spent eleven years in Russia.His ship landed at Amchitka, Aleutian Islands. They managed to escape to the Russian mainland and had Catherine the Great allow them to go back to Japan by Kirill Laxman's effort with Alexander Bezborodko and Alexander Vorontsov...
, a Japanese castaway, into staying in Russia and serving as a translator for the merchant. The fact that Shelikhov also had strong connections with some Russian bureaucrats made the situation more complex. After Laxmann went to St.Petersburg on Kodayu's behalf, he began to send letters directly to Grand Chancellor Alexander Bezborodko
Alexander Bezborodko
Prince Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko was the Grand Chancellor of Russia and chief architect of Catherine the Great's foreign policy after the death of Nikita Panin.-Ukrainian origins:...
(due to the Chancellor's high position, the use of intermediaries was normally required).
Carl Peter Thunberg
Laxmann already had some knowledge about Japan before he met Japanese castaways, reading books written by Carl Peter ThunbergCarl Peter Thunberg
Carl Peter Thunberg aka Carl Pehr Thunberg aka Carl Per Thunberg was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. He has been called "the father of South African botany" and the "Japanese Linnaeus"....
, with whom Laxmann had some communication.
Daikokuya Kodayu
In 1789, while doing research in Irkutsk, Laxmann came across six Japanese who had been found in AmchitkaAmchitka
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...
, one of the Aleutian Islands, by Russian furriers whose leader was a person called Nivizimov. Laxmann escorted the castaways to St. Petersburg, where Daikokuya Kōdayū
Daikokuya Kōdayū
was a Japanese castaway who spent eleven years in Russia.His ship landed at Amchitka, Aleutian Islands. They managed to escape to the Russian mainland and had Catherine the Great allow them to go back to Japan by Kirill Laxman's effort with Alexander Bezborodko and Alexander Vorontsov...
, their nominal leader, pleaded with Empress Catherine the Great to be allowed to return to Japan. During this stay in the capital, Laxmann began discussions on various matters with Alexander Bezborodko, but succumbed to a bout of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
which left him incapacitated for three months.
Laxmann recovered consciousness in early May when Catherine had just moved to Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
for the summer. Laxmann sent Kodayu to Tsarskoye Selo ahead of him, and Kodayu was able to meet with the Empress several times over six months, as a result of Laxman's dedicated efforts among the Russian bureaucracy, especially with Alexander Bezborodko and chancellor Alexander Vorontsov
Alexander Vorontsov
Count Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov was the Russian imperial chancellor during the early years of Alexander I's reign....
. At each presentation at Tsarskoye Selo, Laxmann walked along with Kodayu in order to assist him in the proper etiquette required in the Empress' presence.
In 1791, Catherine agreed to a plan conceived by Laxman, under which Laxman's son, Lt. Adam Laxman would command a voyage to Japan, where he would exchange the castaways for economic agreements and concessions. Grigory Shelikhov had proposed another plan that would make the Japanese castaways Russian citizens so that they would be Japanese teachers and translators, but Catherine chose Laxmann and Bezborodko's plan. The elder Laxmann remained in Russia while his son traveled with the castaways.
Letters to Japanese scholars
Laxmann wrote letters to two Japanese scholars, Nakagawa Junan and Katsuragawa HoshūKatsuragawa Hoshu
was a Japanese physician and scholar of rangaku . He served the Tokugawa shogunate as a physician and as a translator of Dutch. He was the older brother of author and rangaku scholar Morishima Chūryō....
, at the recommendation of Carl Peter Thunberg, their teacher. There is no record that the letters ever reached the scholars, even though Adam Laxmann handed the letters to Ishikawa Tadafusa, a staff member of Tokugawa Shogunate, in Matsumae, Hokkaidō
Matsumae, Hokkaido
is a town located in Matsumae District, Oshima, Hokkaidō, Japan. The former home of the Matsumae Han, it has an Edo period castle, Matsumae Castle, the only one in Hokkaidō, and Ryūun-in.The total area of the town is .-Geography:...
. Erik Laxmann had showed Kodayu the letters before Kodayu left Okhotsk
Okhotsk
Okhotsk is an urban locality and a seaport at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk, in Okhotsky District, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Population: 4,470 ;...
.
Katsuragawa Hoshu had lots of communication with Kodayu after Kodayu lived in Yedo so Hoshu edited some books on Russia and Kodayu's experience. It would be possible to think that Hoshu may have known that Laxmann had sent him a letter.