An Historical Sketch of the portuguese Settlements in China and of the Roman Catholic Church and Mission in China & Description of the City of Canton by Anders Ljungstedt, 1836

The first authoritative history of Macau. A reprint of the full text of the 1836 edition printed in Boston.

Macaus history contains an intriguing collection of adventurers, traders, missionaries, Portuguese and papal envoys. Over the centuries Macau has been a focal point in China trade and Sino-Western contacts. This book was unique for the author's repudiation of the Portuguese claim of sovereignty of Macau.

The chapter on Canton in the early 19th century is a fascinating story of a thriving city and its fast developing trade with the outside world. The book also describes in great detail the East India trade at the time.

Anders Ljungstedt arrived in Canton in 1798 on a Swedish East Indiaman. A vacancy at the Swedish factory in Canton gave him the possibility to stay on as resident supercargo. After the closing of the Swedish East India Company in 1813 he moved to Macau where he remained until his death in 1835.

He established a trading company and was appointed Swedish Consul General in 1820.

The last twenty years he devoted to a study of the history of Macau. His study first published in 1832 and then in a revised edition one year after his death, in 1836, is acknowledged as having been the first scientific historical study of Macau.

Although Ljungstedt would never return to Sweden, in 1824 he donated a large sum of money to build a school in his hometown Linköping. The school carries Ljungstedts name and still cherishes the memory of its philanthropic and learned founder.

280 pages. 1 color illustration of Anders Ljungstedt, 1 b&w illustration of his tomb in Macau, 2 Folding maps of the town and port of Macao, 1 folding map of the city of Canton.

Price US $ 30 $ + shipping

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Copyright © Jan-Erik Nilsson, Göteborg 1999.