Adam Brand (explorer) facts for kids

Adam Brand was a German merchant and explorer who lived a long time ago, from before 1692 until 1746. He was born in a city called Lübeck in Germany. As a young man, he traveled a lot for his business, especially to Moscow, the capital of Russia.

In 1692, something very exciting happened! The Russian ruler, Peter the Great, chose a special person named Eberhard Isbrand Ides to go on an important trip to China. Their goal was to meet the Chinese emperor, Kangxi Emperor. Adam Brand went along on this journey as the secretary, which meant he helped with writing and keeping records.

This trip was huge! The group had more than 250 people, including important advisors, merchants, and soldiers. They traveled for 18 months, which is a year and a half, before finally reaching Beijing, the capital city of China, in 1693. The most important thing they achieved was getting permission for Russian merchants to trade in Beijing. They could send a large group of up to 200 people every three years to do business.

After his big trip, Adam Brand received special honorary titles in 1697, like "court councillor" and "commercial councillor." These were important titles given by the Prussian state. He was even chosen to be an envoy (a kind of official representative) to Persia, but this trip never happened because the King of Prussia, Frederick I of Prussia, passed away in 1713.

Adam Brand later moved to Königsberg, where he lived out the rest of his life. He passed away in 1746.

Adam Brand's Book

Adam Brand wrote a very important book about the journey he took to China with Eberhard Isbrand Ides. His book is one of only two eyewitness accounts of that famous trip! The other one was written by Ides himself.

Brand's report was first published in 1698 in Hamburg, Germany. It was written in German and also included another small book about interesting things found in Russia. This book became super popular all over Western Europe! People loved reading about the faraway lands of China and Russia.

Because it was so popular, the book was quickly translated into many different languages. You could find it in English (in 1698 and again in 1707), French (in 1699), and Dutch (in 1699). Parts of his report were also included in bigger collections of travel stories published in English in 1705 and in Spanish in 1701.

Adam Brand even sent a part of his handwritten book to a very famous thinker named Leibniz. Leibniz translated it into Latin and included it in his own work called Novissima Sinica in 1697. This shows how important and interesting Brand's observations were to scholars at the time.