Review of Frank-Ulrich Gast, Chairman of the German-Speaking Evangelical-Lutheran
Church Congregation in Hong Kong, in Gemeindebrief, 1/2013:
Michael Jebsen: Shipowner and Politician
Bert Becker’s biography on the shipmaster and shipowner Michael Jebsen offers a portrayal
of the customs and morals of the second half of the nineteenth century drawing from the rich
treasure of the Jebsen and Jessen Historical Archives in Hong Kong and Apenrade, Denmark.
A life full of contrasts which might be filmed one day. (…)
The nineteenth century was the great time of writing letters. Their evaluation by Bert Becker
demonstrates impressively the transformations caused by Industrialisation: the downfall of
big sailing ships and the rise of steamships; the ups and downs of commerce and of shipyards
in Hamburg and Kiel; and the beginning of world politics to better protect merchant ships and
acquire colonies as base for raw materials and trading. In the follow-up of an economic
depression in the Baltic Jebsen, since 1881, searched in Hong Kong for a new field of
business with coastal shipping along the China coast.
As politician the shipowner Michael Jebsen engaged himself to make his own experiences
fruitful and to promote sea trading. In this context the author makes clear that this
engagement was a first globalisation which results and impact have not yet been described
comprehensively. Especially to mention is Jebsen’s support in setting up a Chinese trading
network in Asia. Development of prices in the monthly chartering of ships, development of
salaries of captains and machinists, extension of the product range, and tough competition in
the charter business with England, France, Japan, America, and China have global
importance. Because of its comprehensive presentation the biography of Michael Jebsen has
a high importance for research on European and East Asian commercial history. (…)