Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Portrait of Tasman
Portrait of Tasman

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 - October 10, 1659), was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant. Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Introduction This is a list of notable maritime explorers throughout the History of Humanity. Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit.

Tasman is best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC (United East India Company). The Dutch East India Company ( Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in old-spelling Dutch, literally "United East Indian He was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands, which he did in 1643. Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Tasman, his navigator Visscher, and his Merchant Gilsemans also mapped substantial portions of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Pacific Ocean contains an estimated 20000 to 30000 Islands (the exact number has yet to be precisely determined

Contents

Early life

Abel Tasman was born in 1603 in Lutjegast, the Netherlands, a village in the province of Groningen. Lutjegast is a Village in the Westerkwartier area of Groningen in the Netherlands. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Groningen is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. He was first heard of at the end of 1631 when, as a widower living at Amsterdam, he married Jannetjie Tjaers. He was shortly afterwards in the service of the (Dutch) United East India Company and by 1634 was mate of a ship trading from Batavia (now Jakarta) to the Moluccas. Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands or simply Maluku) are an Archipelago In July of that year he was appointed master of a small ship, the Mocha. He visited Holland in 1637 and returned to Batavia in October 1638, taking his wife with him.

First Pacific voyage

In 1634 Tasman was sent as second in command of an exploring expedition in the north Pacific. His fleet included the ships Heemskerck and Zeehaen. After many hardships Formosa (now Taiwan) was reached in November, 40 out of the crew of 90 having died. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. Other voyages followed, to Japan in 1640 and 1641 and to Palembang in the south of Sumatra in 1642, where he made a friendly trading treaty with the Sultan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Palembang is a city of 1286000 in the south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two In August 1642 Tasman was sent in command of an expedition for the discovery of the "Unknown Southland", which was believed to be in the south Pacific but which had not been seen by Europeans. Strange as it may seem to us today, Tasman sailed first to Mauritius. Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République The reason for this was that his ships were sailing ships and the best route from one place to another was not always the direct route; of more importance was the direction of the wind. Tasman had some knowledge of the prevailing winds and so he chose Mauritius as a turning point and from there a course was set towards what was presumed to be the southern coast of Australia. (At least part of the western shore of the continent was already known to the Dutch, but the shape of the southern coast was unknown).

Murderers' Bay, 1642
Murderers' Bay, 1642

Tasmania

On 24 November 1642 Tasman sighted the west coast of Tasmania near Macquarie Harbour. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal See also West Coast Council for the local government of the region Macquarie Harbour is a large shallow inlet on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia. He named his discovery Van Diemen's Land after Anthony van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Anthony van Diemen (also Antonie, Antonio, Anton, Antonius) ( Culemborg, 1593&ndash Batavia, 19 April 1645 The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies represented the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia Proceeding south he skirted the southern end of Tasmania and turned north-east until he was off Cape Frederick Hendrick on the Forestier Peninsula. The Forestier Peninsula is a Peninsula of the Australian island state of Tasmania. An attempt at landing was made but the sea was too rough; however, the carpenter swam through the surf, and, planting a flag, Tasman claimed formal possession of the land on 3 December 1642. Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French

New Zealand

After some exploration, Tasman had intended to proceed in a northerly direction but as the wind was unfavourable he steered east. On 13 December they sighted land on the north-west coast of the South Island, New Zealand, becoming the first Europeans to do so. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. Tasman named it Staten Landt on the assumption that it was connected to an island (Staten Island, Argentina) at the south of the tip of South America. Isla de los Estados (Dutch Stateneiland) is an Argentine island that lies 29 km off the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Proceeding north and then east one of his boats was attacked by Māori in waka, and four of his men were killed. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. It has recently been suggested that some of Tasman's sailors briefly landed here on 18 December 1642. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Tasman named it Murderers' Bay (now known as Golden Bay) and sailed north, but mistook Cook Strait for a bight (naming it Zeehaen's Bight). This is about Golden Bay in New Zealand For other uses see Golden Bay (disambiguation. Cook Strait is a Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Cook Strait is a Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Two names that he bestowed on New Zealand landmarks still endure: Cape Maria van Diemen and Three Kings Islands (Cabo Pieter Boreels is now known as Cape Egmont). Cape Maria van Diemen is the westernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand. The Three Kings Islands ( Manawa-tawhi or Ngā Motu Karaka in Māori) are a group of Cape Egmont is the westernmost point of Taranaki, on the west coast of New Zealand 's North Island.

The return voyage

En route back to Batavia, Tasman came across the Tongan archipelago on 20 January 1643. The Kingdom of Tonga is an Archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean comprising 169 islands 36 of them inhabited stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. While passing the Fiji Islands Tasman's ships came close to being wrecked on the dangerous reefs of the north-eastern part of the Fiji group. Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य He charted the eastern tip of Vanua Levu and Cikobia before making his way back into the open sea. Vanua Levu (βanua leβu formerly known as Sandalwood Island is the second largest Island of Fiji. He eventually turned north-west to New Guinea, and arrived at Batavia on 15 June 1643. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history

Tasman's routes
Tasman's routes

Second Pacific voyage

With three ships on his second voyage (Limmen, Zeemeeuw and the tender Braek) in 1644, he followed the south coast of New Guinea eastward. He missed the Torres Strait between New Guinea and Australia, and continued his voyage along the Australian coast. The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. He mapped the north coast of Australia making observations on the land and its people.

From the point of view of the Dutch East India Company Tasman's explorations were a disappointment: he had neither found a promising area for trade nor a useful new shipping route. For over a century, until the era of James Cook, Tasmania and New Zealand were not visited by Europeans - mainland Australia was visited, but usually only by accident. Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and

Later life

On 2 November 1644 Abel Tasman was appointed a member of the Council of Justice at Batavia. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 He went to Sumatra in 1646, and in August 1647 to Siam (now Thailand) with letters from the company to the King. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj In May 1648 he was in charge of an expedition sent to Manila to try to intercept and loot the Spanish silver ships coming from America, but he had no success and returned to Batavia in January 1649. The City of Manila In November 1649 he was charged and found guilty of having in the previous year hanged one of his men without trial, was suspended from his office of commander, fined, and made to pay compensation to the relatives of the sailor. On 5 January 1651 he was formally reinstated in his rank and spent his remaining years at Batavia. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. He was in good circumstances, being one of the larger landowners in the town. He died at Batavia in October 1659 and was survived by his second wife and a daughter by his first wife. His discoveries were most important but led to nothing for more than 100 years.

The Abel Tasman map 1644, also known as the Bonaparte Tasman map. This map is part of the collection of the State Library of New South Wales, Australia.
The Abel Tasman map 1644, also known as the Bonaparte Tasman map. This map is part of the collection of the State Library of New South Wales, Australia. The State Library of New South Wales (also known as the Mitchell Library) is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia

Tasman's legacy

As with many explorers, Tasman's name has been honoured in many ways. These include:

References

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic