Johan Gustaf Renat (1682–1744) was a Swedish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and cartographer. He is primarily known for his role in bringing detailed maps of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

to Europe after close to two decades in captivity.

Early career and Russian captivity

Renat was the son of Dutch Jewish immigrants to Sweden, who converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and took Swedish citizenship in 1681, the year before his birth. During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, he served in the army of

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

as a warrant officer () in the artillery. He was taken prisoner after the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

in 1709. In 1711, Renat was sent to

Tobolsk Tobolsk (, ) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1587, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and was the historic capita ...

then the capital of Russian Siberiawhere many Swedish officers were kept as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. He entered Russian military service on the condition of not fighting against Sweden. Renat helped produce maps of Siberia for the

Russian government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

. In 1716, Renat and other Swedish prisoners of war took part in Ivan Buchholz [ ru]'s expedition to explore the gold deposits around Lake Yamysh on the

Irtysh River The Irtysh is a river in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob and is also the longest tributary in the world. The river's source lies in the Mongolian Altai in Dzungaria (the northern part of Xinjiang, China) cl ...

. The expedition was ambushed by a Dzungar force, and Renat spent the following seventeen years as an Oirat

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

Dzungarian captivity and return to Sweden

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...

, Renat helped the khans

Tsewang Rabtan Tsewang Rabtan (from ''Tsewang Rapten''; ; Mongolian: ; 1643–1727) was a Choros prince and the Khong Tayiji of the Dzungar Khanate from 1697 (following the death of his uncle and rival Galdan Boshugtu Khan) until his death in 1727. He w ...

and Galdan Tseren organize their campaigns against

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

rule in Central Asia. Among other things, he organized an artillery regiment and helped the Dzungars to cast cannons. Renat also met a Swedish woman who was also a Dzungar captive. This was Brigitta Scherzenfeldt, who hailed from

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. Twice widowed, she had married a German prisoner who had taken Russian service and been assigned to Siberia. Their convoy was seized by Dzungar raiders in 1716, who killed her husband. She later married Renat. In 1733, Renat and his wife were allowed to leave. They returned the following year to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, accompanied by four Dzungar female servants, who were baptized when they arrived in Sweden. Renat's family bought a house in

Gamla stan Gamla Stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla Stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...

, where they settled down. In 1739, Renat was promoted to the rank of captain in the Swedish army. The same year, he remarried the industrialist

Elisabet Fritz Elisabet Fritz née ''Lenström'', also known as Elisabet Renat (died 1752) was a Swedish industrialist.Du Rietz, Anita, Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år, 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013 She managed the Fritz Silk Factory in Stockho ...

Central Asian maps

Renat brought two detailed maps of Central Asia back to Sweden. But these maps were left in relative obscurity for many years. In 1878, copies of the maps were discovered by the Swedish author

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

, then an assistant librarian at the Swedish Royal Library. He sponsored their republication in Russia in 1881. A decade later, the originals were discovered in the library of

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, where they are still held. Strindberg remained interested in the maps for many years.

Media

* His book is not available in English. * He appears in a Russian film called ''The Conquest of Siberia'' ("Tobol"), but it completely changes his story.

References

Sources

* Baddeley, John F. ''Russia, Mongolia, China ...''. vol. 1-2, London: Macmillan and Company, 1919. Reprinted New York: Burt Franklin, 196-. Reprinted Mansfield Centre, Conn.: Martino Pub., 2006. . * Perdue, Peter C. ''China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia''. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005. * Poppe, Nicholas. "Renat's Kalmuck Maps." ''Imago Mundi'' 12 (1955): 157-59. Available through

JSTOR JSTOR ( ; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...

.
Selling, Gösta. "Artur Hazelius födelsehus I." ''Fataburen: Kulturhistorisk tidskrift'' (1926): 65-118. (in Swedish)
*Åberg, Alf, and Göte Göransson. ''Karoliner.'' Höganäs: Bra böcker, 1976. (In Swedish.)

Work

*Renat, Johan Gustaf. ''Carte de la Dzoungarie: dressée par le suédois Renat pendant sa captivité chez les kalmouks de 1716-1733.'' St. Petersburg: Societé Impériale Russe de Géographie, 1881.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renat, Johan Gustaf Swedish cartographers Swedish Jews 1682 births 1744 deaths 18th-century cartographers Swedish people of Dutch-Jewish descent Swedish people of Jewish descent Battle of Poltava Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War Swedish prisoners of war Prisoners of war held by Russia Explorers of Siberia History of Kalmykia Explorers of Central Asia Caroleans