Anders Ljungstedt (; 23 March 1759 – 10 November 1835) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

merchant and historian.

Early career

Ljungstedt was born to a poor family in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

and attended

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

for a time, but was forced to withdraw for lack of funds. In 1784, he went to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, where he worked as a teacher for ten years. Following his return to Sweden, he obtained employment in the Swedish government and served as

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

interpreter for king

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

during his journey to Russia.

Career in Macau

Ljungstedt was later hired by the

Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company ( sv, Svenska Ostindiska Companiet or ''SOIC'') was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East ...

, but after it folded, he moved to

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

, where he resided for the rest of his life working as a merchant. The King of Sweden later made him a Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

, and in 1820 he was also appointed Sweden's first

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in China. Ljungstedt took great interest in the

history of Macau Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. In 1557 it was leased to Portugal as a trading post in exchange for a symbolic annual rent of 500 tael in order to stay in Macau, it remained under Chinese ...

and he is famous for being the first Westerner to refute the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

claim that the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

had formally ceded sovereignty over

. Ljungstedt never returned to his native country and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Macau. Today, a in Linköping bears his name and an avenue in Macau (Avenida Sir Anders Ljungstedt, 倫斯泰特大馬路, pinyin Lúnsītàitè dàmǎlù) was named in his honor in 1997 by the local Portuguese government.

Sources

Short biographic sketch from Projekt Runeberg

Work

*Ljungstedt, Anders. ''An Historical Sketch of the Portuguese Settlements in China, and of the Roman Catholic Church and Mission in China; a Supplementary Chapter, Description of the City of Canton.'' Boston: James Munroe & Co., 1836. Reprint, Hong Kong: Viking Hong Kong Publications, 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ljungstedt, Anders 1759 births 1835 deaths People from Linköping History of Macau 19th-century Swedish historians Knights of the Order of Vasa Swedish merchants Swedish emigrants to Macau 18th-century Swedish businesspeople 19th-century Swedish businesspeople