Bessarabia in the First Half of the 19th Century: Visions of Europeans

The article examines various issues related to European travel to Bessarabia in the first half of the 19th century. The primary sources for this study are travelogues by British, German, and French visitors to the region during this period, including works byA. Haxthausen, J. G. Kohl, W. McMichael, C. Elliot, K.-O. de Hell, and E. Henderson, among others. These works are characterized by their subjective descriptions, lack of clear structure, and inconsistency in the presentation of material. Nevertheless, they sometimes provide information that is difficult or impossible to obtain from other sources. In describing the region, European travellers incorporated geographical, historical, and statistical materials, often borrowing from authors of various ethnic backgrounds or official reports obtained from Russian officials. Their accounts served as a basis for articles on Bessarabia, which editors and publishers subsequently included in en- cyclopaedias and reference works, shaping readers'perceptions of these distant and relatively unknown lands. This study does not aim to provide a comprehensive or detailed examination of the regions'history or culture. Instead, the authors sought to reconstruct the general image of Bessarabia based on what Europeans saw, heard, and read. The research revealed that travelogue authors emphasized specific aspects of Bessara- bia, notably general descriptions of landscapes, economic development features, and urban spaces. Of particular interest to travellers was the ethnic and social composition of the regions'population, though this was discussed primarily in terms of cultural interactions and mutual influences, as well as the unique sta- tus and rights ofBessarabias' inhabitants. The study also found that the cities of Chisin & abreve;u, Soroca, Khotyn, and Bender were of particular interest to foreigners.