Anthony Jenkinson English diplomat and traveller Date of Birth: 08.10.1529 Country: Great Britain

1. Anthony Jenkinson
2. Mission to Moscow
3. Negotiations and Explorations
4. "Description of Muscovy, Russia, and Tartary"
5. Caspian Sea Voyage

Anthony Jenkinson

Anthony Jenkinson (c. 1529-1611) was an English diplomat and explorer who served as the first official ambassador of England to Russia. Between 1557 and 1571, he traveled to Russia four times as an envoy for the English monarchs and the Muscovy Company, a group of London merchants founded in 1551.

Mission to Moscow

After the death of the first British ambassador to Russia, Captain Richard Chancellor, in the fall of 1556, Queen Mary Tudor appointed Jenkinson as his official successor in Moscow. In 1557, Jenkinson sailed aboard his ship, the "Primrose," to deliver Osip Grigoryevich Nepeya, the first Muscovite envoy to the British Isles. He also brought two letters, lavish gifts (including live lions), and valuable professionals such as a physician and an apothecary.

Negotiations and Explorations

During his negotiations with Tsar Ivan IV in 1557 and 1561, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I, Jenkinson's primary goal was to secure safe passage and trading rights along the Volga River to the Caspian Sea. In 1558-1560, he embarked on an expedition to Bukhara, becoming the first Western European to describe the Caspian Sea coast and Central Asia.

"Description of Muscovy, Russia, and Tartary"

Jenkinson's observations resulted in detailed official reports and his famous map of Russia, the Caspian Sea, and Central Asia. Published in London in 1562 under the title "Description of Muscovy, Russia, and Tartary," this map shed light on regions previously inaccessible to Europeans.

Caspian Sea Voyage

For his voyage across the Caspian Sea, Jenkinson purchased a busa (a sharp-nosed, round-bottomed vessel) in Astrakhan. This ship carried a cargo that would have required a caravan of 1,000 camels.