New Zealand in 1642 by Abel Tasman. What did Abel Tasman discover? contribution to geography. New voyages - new dangers
Tasman (Tasman) Abel Janszon - (1603 1659) Dutch navigator, explorer of Oceania and Australia (1644). In 1640, Tasman again led one of the 11 Dutch ships headed for the shores of Japan. Around 1651, Abel Tasman retired and moved on to trade in Batavia.
Abel Janszoon Tasman was born in 1603 in the village of Lütjegast near Groningen (now the municipality of Grotegast in the province of Groningen) in the Netherlands. This time he spent Japanese port Hirado is about three months old.
During this voyage, on November 24, 1642, Tasman discovered a large island (Tasmania) off the coast of Australia and named it in honor of the governor of the Netherlands East Indies, Van Diemen's land. After following several tens of miles along the coast of the island, Tasman turned east and on December 13 he saw the outlines of another unfamiliar land. It was the South Island of New Zealand. Continuing along the west coast of the North Tasman Island, he reached its tip and turned to the northeast.
After the expedition returned to Batavia, Tasman was promoted to the rank of commander and raised his salary, and he himself was appointed a member of the Legal Council of Batavia. The expedition did not solve the assigned tasks, but Tasman gained additional experience and authority. One of the ships is assigned to command Abel Tasman. At the beginning of his first expedition, Tasman made a "big detour" into the Indian Ocean, reached the island of Mauritius, and from there turned east.
Dutch explorer Tasman discovered New Zealand
On January 21, 1643, the Tonga archipelago was discovered, and on February 6 of the same year, the Fiji Islands. From there, Tasman turned back, walked along north coast New Guinea and returned to Batavia on 15 June.
Tasman proved that Australia is a single landmass. A sea, a bay and an island are named after him. Named after Tasman: the sea to the west of Nov. Zealand, the bay and the glacier on its South Island, the tip of the north-west of Australia, the Tasmanian Peninsula.
Tasman was a strong-willed, hardy and physically strong man with a strong physique, to a certain extent inclined towards scientific research. During this voyage, Tasman proved himself to be a brilliant helmsman and an excellent commander. After 6 months at sea, the Tasman ship, having lost almost 40 out of 90 crew members, returned to the Dutch fort Zeelandia on the island of Formosa (Taiwan).
Tasman discovered Tasmania, New Zealand and the Fiji Islands in 1642.
Van Diemen showed considerable interest in Zeidlandt, and he was not disappointed by the failures of the expedition of Gerrit Pohl. In 1641 he decided to send to this land new expedition and appointed Tasmana as its commander. Tasman supplied detailed instructions, which summarized the results of all voyages made in the waters of Zeidlandt and the western part Pacific Ocean. On November 24, 1642, a very high bank was noticed. It was southwest coast Tasmania, an island that Tasman considered part of the Zeidlandt and called Van Diemen's Land.
Passing by the islands of Schaugen and the Frey-sine peninsula (Tasman decided that this was an island), the ships on December 5 reached 4G34' south latitude. During the period from 5 to 13 December 1642, the expedition crossed the sea separating Tasmania and Australia from New Zealand. At noon on December 13, Tasman and his companions discovered New Zealand land - a cape on the northwestern tip of the South Island of New Zealand, later named Cape Ferwell by Cook.
On January 19, the ships entered the waters of the Tonga archipelago. Tasman was more fortunate here than Schouten and Lemaire. Tasman stayed on the islands of Tonga until February 1, 1643. The islanders received him warmly and cordially.
In 1642, Tasman was appointed commander of a detachment of two ships of the East India Company sent to explore the southern and eastern waters Pacific Ocean. According to the hypotheses of geographers and navigators of that era, it was these waters that were supposed to wash the shores of the mythical Unknown Southern Land, about the possible wealth of which several generations told. During the stop at this island, Europeans first met with the Maori, the original inhabitants of New Zealand.
Abel Tasman - Dutch navigator
Frustrated by this incident, Tasman named the place Killer Bay (now Golden Bay). On January 21, 1643, the expedition reached the Tonga archipelago, discovering here several previously unknown islands. As a result, a significant part of the coast was mapped for the first time northern australia. The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries is coming to an end in Tasman. Came from a poor family. In the early 30s of the seventeenth century, he entered the service of the Dutch East India Company as a simple sailor.
Abel Tasman discovered a large island south of Australia
In 1642, Dutch merchants equipped 2 ships to explore the South Pacific Ocean, search for the legendary Yuzhnaya Zemlya (Southern Continent) in order to find new points of application for commerce. The Dutch at that time had already firmly “entrenched themselves” in Batavia, so the expedition started from there. It was the South Island of the New Zealand archipelago. The natives behaved aggressively and even killed several members of the team who landed on the shore. The expedition passed along the western coast of the islands and then turned to the northeast.
See what "Tasman" is in other dictionaries:
After returning to Batavia, Tasman receives the rank of commander, becomes an influential person in the colony. In order to find out about the events that took place on the day you are interested in, select the date in the calendar. Only in 1853 did the present, more fair name, Tasmania, appear on the maps. Tourism in New Zealand, Jesse Russell. Departs from the Dutch East Indies to the south in search of the Unknown Southern Continent.
On December 13, 1642 - 370 years ago - the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman set foot on New Zealand for the first time. They explored the western coast of New Guinea and the northern coast of Australia. In the same year, 1643, Abel Tasman led a flotilla of three ships of the East India Company. In 1643, Tasman led a detachment of three East India Company ships along the western coast of New Guinea and the northern coast of Australia.
Abel Jansson Tasman (born around 1603 - death October 10, 1659) - a famous Dutch navigator, explorer and merchant who discovered New Zealand, Tasmania, the islands of Tonga, Fiji, the Bismarck archipelago, etc. In addition to the island of Tasmania, they are named after him sea between Australia and New Zealand, a group of small islands north of about. Ontong Java.
early years. What is known
The name of Abel Tasman, the legendary discoverer of New Zealand, is quite widely known, but almost no documents have been preserved that shed light on his biography, only a sailing diary of 1642-1643 written by him. and individual letters. The place of birth, the village of Lütgegast in the Dutch province of Groningen, became known only in 1845, when Tasman's will, which he made two years before his death, was found in the Dutch archives. It is not known who the sailor's parents were. We know only the name of the father, since the second name of Tasman Janszon means "son of Jans." There is no information where Tasman was educated and how he became a sailor. It is only known that until the age of 30 he was a sailor and sailed on merchant ships in European waters.
Looking for legendary islands
1633 - he moves to the Netherlands East Indies, where he becomes a skipper on the ships of the East India Company. 1639 - Tasman takes part in an expedition sent in search of the legendary islands of Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata, which abounded in gold and silver. These islands were allegedly found by the Spaniards in 1583 to the east of Japan. The search turned out to be fruitless, but on this and other voyages, Tasman was able to gain extensive experience in navigation in the Asian seas.
Tasman with his wife and daughter
New voyages
Governor General Anton Van Diemen, in 1640–1642 more than once sent the captain with various assignments to Japan, Cambodia, China and other countries of the South and East Asia. On an expedition to Taiwan, Tasman miraculously survived: during a strong typhoon, all the ships of his flotilla sank, only the flagship could survive.
In an effort to expand its influence, the Dutch East India Company consistently organized expeditions to discover new lands. 1642 - Van Diemen equipped another expedition to an as yet unexplored southern part indian ocean to find sea routes to avoid encountering Portuguese warships.
Discovery of Tasmania
Abel Tasman, who was considered perhaps the best captain in the Dutch East India. The 60-ton flagship was named Hemsmerk. He was accompanied by a three-masted Zeehan vessel with a displacement of 100 tons. 110 people took part in the expedition.
During this voyage, on November 24, 1642, Tasman discovered off the coast of Australia vast land(Tasmania), which he named Van Diemen's Land in honor of the governor. 
Discovery of New Zealand
Continuing the voyage, after some time, the sailors discovered another land. It was the west coast big island, which later became known as New Zealand.
Having found shelter in the bay, now known as Golden Bay, the sailors decided to replenish their water supplies. When they landed, they met native Maori, tall, with a swarthy yellow complexion, at first glance friendly. But the very next day, the very first sailors who stepped ashore were attacked. Three sailors were killed, and the rest were barely able to escape with the support of the boats that arrived in time from the ships.
Abel Tasman later called Golden Bay "Killer's Bay". He weighed anchor and headed further along the shore. The cape that ended the island, he called Cape Maria Van Diemen.
After surveying part of the coast of New Zealand, Tasman decided to return. The ships moved north and along the way they discovered a group of Fiji islands, the islands of New Ireland and New Britain, the Tonga archipelago, etc. It should be noted that the next time Europeans appeared here only after 130 years. The expedition testified that the people of Tonga still remembered visiting the Dutch.
After a 10-month voyage on June 15, 1643, the ships safely entered the port of Batavia. The officers were given a 2-month salary in the form of a bonus, the sailors - a month.
First meeting with the Maori. Drawing from the travel journal of Abel Tasman (1642)
Exploring the north coast of Australia
In the same year, 1643, Abel Tasman led an expedition of three ships of the East India Company that sailed along the western coast of New Guinea and the northern coast of Australia. As a result, a significant part of the coast of northern Australia was mapped for the first time.
Very little is known about this voyage, mainly from a single letter from the governor-general of the East India Company and Tasman maps. Not discovering the Strait discovered by Torres, the existence of which the Dutch did not know at that time, Abel decided that all the lands he discovered were one. However, he did survey 3,500 km of the northern coast of Australia, which in those days was called New Holland. Abel Tasman proved with his swimming that this is the mainland.
1644, August 4 - all three ships of the expedition returned to Batavia. Despite the fact that this expedition did not bring material benefits to the company, Tasman's merits as a sailor were not questioned. 1645, May 4 - he was promoted to the rank of commander and he was appointed a member of the council of justice of Batavia.
Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand
More expeditions. Last years. Death
The high position did not force Abel Tasman to give up swimming. In 1645-1646 he went to Malay Archipelago for military, hydrographic and commercial purposes, in 1647 he was in Siam (Thailand), in 1648-1649 - in the Philippines. 1653 - Abel retired and for several years lived in Batavia, quiet and quiet life. It is known that he was married a second time, but who his wife was remains unknown. Tasman died in 1659 at the age of 56.
Heritage
His voyages were the first large expeditions to the waters of Australia and Oceania. Their results put Dutch navigator in a number of great travelers of the 17th century, who significantly enriched geographic Maps of that era.
The manuscript of Tasman's diary, highly valuable for history, is kept in state archive in The Hague. The archives of Holland and England are proud of its two abridged copies. The originals of the ship's logs, which are of exceptional interest to science, have not been found to this day.
The full text of the diary was first published in 1860 by the Dutchman Jacob Schwartz. The diary is supplemented by magnificent drawings made by Tasman himself, by which one can judge the extraordinary artistic abilities.
The name of Abel Tasman, the famous discoverer of New Zealand, is known quite widely, but almost no documents have survived that would shed light on his biography, only a sailing diary written by him in 1642-1643. and individual letters. We do not know the exact date of birth of the navigator. Even the place of birth, the village of Lutgegast in the Dutch province of Groningen, became known only in 1845, when Tasman's will, drawn up by him two years before his death, was discovered in the Dutch archives. No one knows who the traveler's parents were. Only the father's name is known, as Tasman's middle name Janszon means "son of Jans". There is no information about where Tasman was educated and how he became a sailor. It is only known that until the age of 30 he was a sailor and sailed on merchant ships in European waters.
In 1633 or 1634, Tasman sailed to the Dutch East Indies on the Banda ship and began to serve as a skipper on the ships of the Dutch East India Company, where he accumulated vast experience in navigation. Already in 1634, the navigator visited the Malay Archipelago, where he performed hydrographic work. In 1635 and 1636 served as guard duty in the area Moluccas. Apparently, Tasman has proven himself well, since in 1638 he was appointed captain of the ship "Angel". For the appointment, he went to Holland, where he signed a contract with the company for 10 years and, with her permission, returned to India with his wife. The name of his first life partner could not be ascertained. However, it is known that she gave her husband a daughter who, after the death of her mother, lived for a long time with her father in Batavia (Jakarta), and then got married and left for Ams-terdam.
Abel Tasman with his wife and daughter
In 1639, Tasman was forced to set sail in search of the origins of the legend that excited the minds of the Spaniards and the Dutch. For a long time and unsuccessfully, they searched in the ocean for the islands of Rico de Oro and Rico de Plata - “Golden” and “Silver” - with innumerable reserves of precious metals. I decided to find these islands and the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Anton Van Diemen. According to him, they must have been somewhere east of Japan. Two ships were allocated, one of which, Graft, was commanded by Abel Tasman. A total of 90 people were sent on the way. In addition to searching for the islands, travelers had to barter with the natives, for which various goods were loaded into the holds.
On June 2, 1639, the expedition left Batavia and headed northeast. On Philippine Islands carried out work to refine the map of the Philippines. Then we moved on, again to the northeast, discovered and mapped several islands from the Bonin archipelago. From here we went north, then turned east. However, the epidemic that broke out on the ships forced the sailors to turn back. On the way home, Tasman charted the coasts of the East China Sea.
They arrived in Batavia on February 19, 1640. Only 7 people survived from the Graft team. The cargo of valuable Chinese goods brought did not please Van Diemen - after all, the expedition did not find any traces of the legendary islands. However, the governor fully appreciated the seafaring art of Tasman. In 1640-1642. he repeatedly sent the captain with various assignments to Japan, Cambodia, China and other countries of South and East Asia. On an expedition to Taiwan, Tasman almost died: during a strong typhoon, all the ships of his flotilla sank, only the flagship survived. Barely keeping afloat, with broken masts and water in the hold, with a damaged rudder, the ship drifted across the ocean for a long time, and only a chance meeting with a Dutch ship saved the navigators. The ship was towed to Taiwan and returned to Batavia after four months of repairs.
In an effort to expand its influence, the Dutch East India Company consistently organized expeditions to discover new lands. In 1642, Van Diemen sent a new expedition to the as yet unexplored southern part of the Indian Ocean in order to find sea routes to avoid encounters with Portuguese warships. It was supposed to find the lost Mendanya and until then not yet found the Solomon Islands and go further east in search of a convenient route to Chile. It was also necessary to find out the outlines of the discovered in 1606 by Willem Janszon southern land.
Abel Tasman, who was considered perhaps the best captain in the Dutch East Indies, was appointed the head of the expedition, which left Batavia on August 14, 1642. True, the legend reports the presence of personal motives in the governor. Tasman, who seemed to have been widowed by that time, dared to ask for the hand of his daughter Mary, for which he was sent on a long journey on two dilapidated ships. At first glance, the version does not stand up to criticism. Van Diemen had no daughter, at least not a legitimate one. However, the mysterious Maria could also be one of the relatives of the governor. As for the state of the ships, then the legend is absolutely reliable. According to the captain himself, their decks are completely rotten.
The sixty-ton flagship was named Hemsmerk. He was accompanied by a three-masted Zeehan vessel with a displacement of 100 tons. 110 people took part in the voyage. Tasman understood that sailing across the ocean to Chile was impossible on small and unreliable ships, therefore, at his own peril and risk, he decided to limit himself to exploring the southern land and nearby areas. From the island of Mauritius, he headed southeast and on November 24 discovered a vast land, which he named Van Diemen's Land in honor of the governor.
Continuing the voyage, after a while the expedition discovered another land. It was the western coast of a large island, later called New Zealand. But Tasman, trusting the data of Le Mer and Schouten, decided that this East Coast They discovered the Land of the States (Island of Estados at the southern tip of America), so I did not explore its southern coast, but walked along the northern and eastern shores. However, he did have some doubts. An interesting detail testifies to this. As already mentioned, among other things, the expedition was looking for the Solomon Islands. It is known that the captain specifically learned a few words of the language of their inhabitants, known to the Dutch. In New Zealand, he tried to address them to the natives, but they did not understand him. So Tasman was convinced that before Solomon Islands did not get. And meeting with local residents happened in this way.
Having found shelter in the bay, now known as Golden Bay, the travelers decided to replenish their water supplies. Having landed on the shore, they met the native Maori, tall, with a swarthy-yellow complexion, at first glance friendly. However, the very next day, the very first sailors who stepped ashore were attacked. Three were killed, and the rest barely escaped with the support of the boats that arrived in time from the ships. Tasman named Golden Bay "Killer's Bay", weighed anchor and headed further along the coast. The cape, which ended the island, was named Cape Maria Van Diemen, as if confirming the authenticity of the legend known to us. True, some biographers claim that this was the name of Van Diemen's wife, but this also does not exclude the presence of a romantic story.
After exploring part of the coast of New Zealand, Tasman decided to return. The ships moved north and along the way they discovered a group of Fiji islands, the islands of New Ireland and New Britain, the Tonga archipelago, etc. It is noteworthy that the next time Europeans appeared here only after 130 years. J. Cook's expedition testified that the inhabitants of Tonga still remembered visiting the Dutch. But the expedition did not find the Solomon Islands: it passed very close, but due to poor visibility, it did not notice.
On one of the small islands, one of the local residents shot an arrow and wounded one of the sailors. The natives, as the Dutch decided, were so frightened that they brought the culprit to the ship. Most likely, they assumed that the aliens should deal with him. However, Tas-man, who was not sure that the arrow was fired on purpose, released the prisoner, which testifies to his tolerance and sense of justice. Few of his contemporaries would have done so. Let us remember the Spaniards of Mendaña, who were ready to kill even because of a sideways glance or a sudden movement. Apparently, it was these qualities of the captain that contributed to the fact that the sailors of the ships commanded by Tasman loved him. And high professionalism instilled in them complete confidence in his knowledge and experience.
After a ten-month voyage, on June 15, 1643, the ships safely entered the port of Batavia. The officers were given a two-month salary in the form of a bonus, the sailors - a month. However, the leadership of the East India Company was unhappy that Tasman did not complete the entire program outlined in the instructions. In addition, swimming did not give any profit either. Trade exchange was not established, and gold was not found.
Unlike others, Van Diemen believed that all was not lost. In his opinion, it was necessary to explore New Guinea, the territory of which hid much useful resources. He was also interested in establishing links between New Guinea, New Ireland and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). In the same year, he equipped a new expedition, again opting for Tasman as its leader.
Very little is known of this journey, mainly from a single letter from the Governor-General of the East India Company and Tasman maps. Not finding the Strait discovered by Torres, the existence of which the Dutch at that time did not know, the navigator decided that all the lands he had discovered constituted a single whole. However, he made a survey of 3.5 thousand km of the northern coast of Australia, which at that time was called New Holland. Tasman proved by his swimming that this is the mainland.
On August 4, 1644, all three ships of the expedition returned to Batavia. Despite the fact that this trip did not bring material benefits to the company, Tasman's merits as a sailor were not questioned. On May 4, 1645, he was promoted to the rank of commander and appointed a member of the council of justice of Batavia. Now he had to look through all the ship's logs of the ships and give an opinion on the voyages.
The high post did not force Tasman to give up sailing. In 1645-1646. he went to the Malay archipelago for military, hydrographic and commercial purposes, in 1647 he visited Siam (Thailand), in 1648-1649. — in the Philippines. In 1653, the navigator retired and lived a quiet and peaceful life in Batavia for several years. It is known that he was married a second time, but who his wife was, and whether she was alive at that time, remains unknown. Tasman died in 1659 at the age of 56.
His voyages were the first large expeditions to the waters of Australia and Oceania. Their results put the Dutch commander among the greatest travelers of the 17th century, who significantly enriched the geographical maps of that time.
The manuscript of Tasman's diary, highly valuable for history, is kept in the State Archives in The Hague. The archives of Holland and England are proud of its two abridged copies. The originals of the ship's logs, which are of exceptional interest to the sciences, have not been found so far.
The full text of the diary was first published in 1860 by the Dutchman Jacob Schwartz. The diary is supplemented by magnificent drawings made by Tasman himself, by which one can judge that he has an outstanding talent as an artist.
Abel Janszon Tasman (born around 1603 - death October 10, 1659) - a famous Dutch navigator, explorer and merchant who discovered New Zealand, Tasmania, the islands of Tonga, Fiji, the Bismarck archipelago, etc. In addition to the island of Tasmania, they are named after him sea between Australia and New Zealand, a group of small islands north of about. Ontong Java.
Early years. What is known
The name of Abel Tasman, the legendary discoverer of New Zealand, is quite widely known, but there are almost no documents that shed light on his biography, only a sailing diary of 1642-1643 written by him. and individual letters. The place of birth, the village of Lütgegast in the Dutch province of Groningen, became known only in 1845, when Tasman's will, which he made two years before his death, was found in the Dutch archives. It is not known who the sailor's parents were. We know only the name of the father, since the second name of Tasman Janszon means "son of Jans." There is no information where Tasman was educated and how he became a sailor. It is only known that until the age of 30 he was a sailor and sailed on merchant ships in European waters.
In search of the legendary islands
1633 - he moves to the Netherlands East Indies, where he becomes a skipper on the ships of the East India Company. 1639 - Tasman takes part in an expedition sent in search of the legendary islands of Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata, which abounded in gold and silver. These islands were allegedly found by the Spaniards in 1583 to the east of Japan. The search turned out to be fruitless, but on this and other voyages, Tasman was able to gain extensive experience in navigation in the Asian seas.
New voyages
Governor-General Anton Van Diemen, in 1640-1642 more than once sent the captain with various assignments to Japan, Cambodia, China and other countries of South and East Asia. On an expedition to Taiwan, Tasman miraculously survived: during a strong typhoon, all the ships of his flotilla sank, only the flagship could survive.
In an effort to expand its influence, the Dutch East India Company consistently organized expeditions to discover new lands. 1642 - Van Diemen sent another expedition to the still unexplored southern part of the Indian Ocean in order to find sea routes to avoid meeting with Portuguese warships.
Discovery of Tasmania
The head of the expedition, which consisted of two ships of the East India Company, which left Batavia on August 14, 1642, was appointed Abel Tasman, who was considered perhaps the best captain in the Dutch East Indies. The 60-ton flagship was named Hemsmerk. He was accompanied by a three-masted Zeehan vessel with a displacement of 100 tons. 110 people took part in the expedition.
During this voyage, on November 24, 1642, Tasman discovered a vast land (Tasmania) off the coast of Australia, which he named Van Diemen's Land in honor of the governor.
Discovery of New Zealand
Continuing the voyage, after some time, the sailors discovered another land. It was the west coast of a large island, which later became known as New Zealand.
Having found shelter in the bay, now known as Golden Bay, the sailors decided to replenish their water supplies. When they landed, they met native Maori, tall, with a swarthy yellow complexion, at first glance friendly. But the very next day, the very first sailors who stepped ashore were attacked. Three sailors were killed, and the rest were barely able to escape with the support of the boats that arrived in time from the ships.
Abel Tasman later called Golden Bay "Killer's Bay". He weighed anchor and headed further along the shore. The cape that ended the island, he called Cape Maria Van Diemen.
After surveying part of the coast of New Zealand, Tasman decided to return. The ships moved north and along the way they discovered a group of Fiji islands, the islands of New Ireland and New Britain, the Tonga archipelago, etc. It should be noted that the next time Europeans appeared here only after 130 years. James Cook's expedition testified that the people of Tonga still remembered visiting the Dutch.
After a 10-month voyage on June 15, 1643, the ships safely entered the port of Batavia. Officers were given a 2-month salary in the form of a bonus, sailors - a month.
Exploring the north coast of Australia
In the same year, 1643, Abel Tasman led an expedition of three ships of the East India Company that sailed along the western coast of New Guinea and the northern coast of Australia. As a result, a significant part of the coast of northern Australia was mapped for the first time.
Very little is known about this voyage, mainly from a single letter from the governor-general of the East India Company and Tasman maps. Not discovering the Strait discovered by Torres, the existence of which the Dutch did not know at that time, Abel decided that all the lands he discovered were one. However, he did survey 3,500 km of the northern coast of Australia, which in those days was called New Holland. Abel Tasman proved with his swimming that this is the mainland.
1644, August 4 - all three ships of the expedition returned to Batavia. Despite the fact that this expedition did not bring material benefits to the company, Tasman's merits as a sailor were not questioned. 1645, May 4 - he was promoted to the rank of commander and he was appointed a member of the council of justice of Batavia.
More expeditions. Last years. Death
The high position did not force Abel Tasman to give up swimming. In 1645-1646 he went to the Malay Archipelago for military, hydrographic and commercial purposes, in 1647 he was in Siam (Thailand), in 1648-1649 - in the Philippines. 1653 - Abel retired and lived a quiet and peaceful life in Batavia for several years. It is known that he was married a second time, but who his wife was remains unknown. Tasman died in 1659 at the age of 56.
Heritage
His voyages were the first large expeditions to the waters of Australia and Oceania. Their results put the Dutch navigator among the great travelers of the 17th century, who significantly enriched the geographical maps of that era.
The manuscript of Tasman's diary, highly valuable for history, is kept in the State Archives in The Hague. The archives of Holland and England are proud of its two abridged copies. The originals of the ship's logs, which are of exceptional interest to science, have not been found to this day.
The full text of the diary was first published in 1860 by the Dutchman Jacob Schwartz. The diary is supplemented by magnificent drawings made by Tasman himself, by which one can judge the extraordinary artistic abilities.
IN centuries of history great geographical discoveries many paradoxes. For example, why is America called "America"? After all, everyone knows that it was discovered by Christopher Columbus, but it is named after Amerigo Vespucci, who never claimed that he landed there first. For the sake of historical justice open mainland should have been called Columbia. But it happened differently...
There are many paradoxes in the centuries-old history of great geographical discoveries. For example, why is America called "America"? After all, everyone knows that it was discovered by Christopher Columbus, but it is named after Amerigo Vespucci, who never claimed that he landed there first. For the sake of historical justice, the open mainland should have been called "Columbia". But it happened differently...
Stefan Zweig said it well in the story “Amerigo”: “His name will never be deleted from the book of human glory, and, perhaps, his merits in the history of world discoveries can be most accurately determined by the paradox: Columbus discovered America, but did not know this, Vespucci did not open it, but he was the first to understand that America - new continent. This is the only achievement of Vespucci associated with his whole life, with his name. For a feat in itself is never decisive, but the realization of a feat and its consequences is of decisive importance. A person who talks about a feat and explains it can become more significant for posterity than the one who performed it.
The person about whom will be discussed, is one of the most prominent navigators of Holland - this is Abel Janseon Tasman. A ledge of the Australian mainland, an island located south of Australia, the sea between this island and the West coast of New Zealand, a bay and a glacier on the southern island of the same country are named after him.
Christopher Columbus, even on his deathbed, remained convinced that, having landed on the islands of Guanahani and Cuba, he set foot on the land of India. Abel Tasman died, being sure that Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania Island) he had discovered was the southern tip of Australia and that New Guinea is the northern tip of the same continent, and New Zealand is nothing more than the western tip of the unknown big continent, which extends to Tierra del Fuego. Moreover, he believed that New Zealand was a single island.
Abel Tasman was born in 1603 in the Dutch town of Lutgegast. Entering the service of the Dutch East India Company, he soon enough became the captain of one of its ships. In June 1639, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Anton Van Diemen, appointed Tasman the head of an expedition to explore the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the expedition was to find the legendary "Golden Island", allegedly located to the east of Japan. However, it was not possible to discover the treasure island, but they accidentally discovered Bonin Island, which Tasman put on his map.
In 1642, Van Diemen again appoints Tasman as head of the expedition, this time to search for "the unknown southern mainland". Tasman had two ships at his disposal, the Heemskirk and the Zehain. Leaving Batavia (Jakarta), he headed for Mauritius and, after a short stop off the coast of this island, moved south. Having reached the region of the "roaring forties" latitudes, Tasman changed course to the east. Before him, none of the navigators dared to descend so far to the south. In November 1642, he saw the land, which he named Van Diemen's Land in honor of his patron. He was unaware that she was an island. The first to understand this were the English sailors Matthew Flinders and George Bass, who rounded it on the Norfolk sloop only in September 1798. In 1853, the island was named Tasmania.
Continuing your swim in eastbound, Tasman reached the west coast eight days later south island New Zealand. This land he called the Land of the States, considering it the western extremity of an unknown large continent, which is connected with the Isle of the States, about: covered to the south of Tierra del Fuego by Le Mer and Schouten.
Tasman headed along West coast New Zealand to the north. The strait, which today bears the name of Cook, he mistook for a large bay, not realizing that there were two islands. Further rounded the upper end north island, which he gave the name of Cape Mary and Dimena, and headed north-northeast, discovering several islands in the Tonga group of islands and in the eastern part of the Fiji archipelago.
Tasman returned to Batavia ten months later, rounding New Gwenea from the north. He decided that this was the northern tip of a new large continent that did not connect with the "unknown southern continent." This expedition was the first in history great research in the waters of Australia and Oceania. She placed Tasman among the greatest explorers of the 17th century.
In the next expedition, also organized by Van Diemen in 1644, Tasman was tasked with finding out whether New Guinea and Van Diemen's Land were part of Australia or islands. This time he had three ships at his disposal - Limmen, Seemeau and Brak.
First, Tasman, leaving Batavia, went to west bank New Guinea, but, apparently, taking the Torres Strait for a bay, headed south and entered the Gulf of Carpentaria. He incorrectly concluded that Australia and New Guinea form one entity. After that, he surveyed the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria and north coast Australia to 22 degrees south latitude. Upon his return to Batavia, Tasman was met with a cold reception: he did not fulfill one of the two main points of the task assigned to him. Reluctantly, Van Diemen left him the title of flagship of the East India Company. In 1647, Tasman was appointed commander of a squadron in a merchant voyage to Siam. A year later, he commanded a squadron of warships sent to the Philippines to drive off the Spanish fleet, encroaching on the Dutch possessions in the East Indies.
In 1653, Tasman, who by that time had made a huge fortune, retired from the service of the East India Company and became one of the most respected citizens of Batavia, where he died in 1659, never knowing that Van Diemen's Land, which he had discovered, was huge island who would later be given his name.
Sources:
Journal "Marine Fleet"
