Matthias Christian Sprengel (24 August 1746, in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

– 7 January 1803, in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

) was a German geographer and historian. He was notably the author of works on North American history, the American Revolution and Maratha history. He studied history at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

as a pupil of

August Ludwig von Schlözer August Ludwig von Schlözer (5 July 1735, in Gaggstatt – 9 September 1809, in Göttingen) was a German historian and pedagogist who laid foundations for the critical study of Russian medieval history. He was a member of the Göttingen schoo ...

. In 1778 he became an associate professor, and during the following year, relocated to the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

as a full professor of history. At Halle he worked closely with

Johann Reinhold Forster Johann Reinhold Forster (; 22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Tczew, Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Po ...

, who in time, became Sprengel's father-in-law. From 1800 onward, he was editor o
''Bibliothek der neuesten und wichtigsten Reisebeschreibungen''
("Library of the latest and most important travelogues").

Selected works

* ''Vom Ursprung des Negerhandels: Ein Antrittsprogramm'', 1779 – From the origin of the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

. * ''Geschichte der Europäer in Nordamerika'', 1782 – History of Europeans in North America. * ''Geschichte der Falkland-Inseln'', 1781 – History of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

. * ''Geschichte und Beschreibung der Philippinischen Inseln'', 1782 – History and description of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. * ''Neuester Zustand von Connecticut'', 1782 – The recent state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. * ''Geschichte der Revolution von Nord-Amerika'', 1785 – History of the Revolution in North America. * ''Geschichte der Maratten'', 1786 – History of

Maratha empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. * ''Geschichte der wichtigsten geographischen Entdeckungen bis zur Ankunft der Portugiesen in Japan 1542'' (2nd edition, 1792) – History of the most important geographical discoveries until the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan in 1542. * ''Auswahl der besten ausländischen geographischen und statistischen Nachrichten zur Aufklärung der Völker- und Länderkunde'' (14 volumes, 1784–1800) – Selection of the best foreign geographical and statistical notices for the explanation of geography and

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

* ''Mathias Christian Sprengels Erdbeschreibung von Ostindien'', 1802 – Sprengel's geography of

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

.Matthias Christian Sprengel
de.Wikisource

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprengel, Matthias Christian 1746 births 1803 deaths People from Rostock University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Halle German geographers 18th-century German historians