Biography

German mineralogist who contributed to the industrialisation of Brazil, becoming known as the father of Brazilian geology. Eschwege was born into a noble family in Auer Wasserburg, Hesse, and studied law and economics at the University of Göttingen, then geology at Marburg. He gained experience in the mining industry in Hesse before moving to Portugal in 1803 to direct an ironworks in Estremadura. He was elected to the Academy of Science in Lisbon in 1810 and was appointed by the Portuguese government to travel to Brazil and develop ironworks there. He lived in Brazil for 11 years, during which time he established 28 ironworks, mostly in Minas Gerais, and was appointed general director of goldmining and of the imperial mineralogy cabinet. In the course of his geological explorations he also made natural history collections with the Russian consul in Rio de Janeiro, Baron G.H. von Langsdorff, and the German naturalist Georg Freyreiss (1813-1815). Returning to Europe, Eschwege published several accounts of his time in Brazil and the country's natural resources and culture. He was one of the first to speak out against the destruction of Brazil's tropical forests. He divided the rest of his life between Portugal and Germany, where he was active as a mining expert. He died in Kassel, Germany.

Sources:
H. Beck, 1959, Neue Deutsche Biographie, 4: 652
H.P. Brogiato, in: T. Adam (ed.), 2005, Germany and the Americas: 318.
W. von Gümbel, 1877, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, 6: 373.