In August 1642, Anthony van Diemen, the Dutch East India Company headquarters in Batavia on Java Island, was located in the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company, Anthony van Diemen, the governor of the Dutch India, sent a subordinate "staff" named Abel Janszoon Tasman 1603–1659 , leading two small sailboats and embarking on a new expedition.
Today, Batavia has long been replaced by another well-known name, that is Indonesia capital: Jakarta. , located in the southeast of the Australian continent, the Tasmanian island , which echoes the entire Australian continent from Jakarta, and the Tasman Sea east of the island, are the highest respect for the "staff" named Tasman back then.
If you look at the world maps of the big names we introduced before, whether it is Mercator, Hondis, Fisher, Plancius, etc., we will find that until the first half of the 17th century, the southern hemisphere on the human world map was basically just a "unknown southern continent" depicted by imagination. People do not have the concept of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, etc., but based on the popular "continental balance" theory that was in that era, firmly believed that there must be a whole "unknown southern continent" that goes straight to the South Pole and balances the earth. , and Tasman's two exploration journeys have added a large section of clear shoreline to the puzzle of this unknown continent.
Abel Tasman was born in a small town in Groningen, North Nederland. He and his family must be ordinary mortals. Because after he became the "Tasman" of the Tasman Sea, people found that the first person who could follow his "growth footprints" was on December 27, 1631. The 28-year-old Tasman married a 21-year-old wife. At that time, he was already an Amsterdam seaman. In that era when the tricolor flag of the Dutch merchant ship was flying all over the world, seamen were an enviable industry on the "salary list". As an employee of the famous "Dutch state-owned enterprise" East India Company, he joined several times on the voyage from the Netherlands to the faraway Java Island. In 1637, Tasman, who had proved himself an excellent navigator, renewed his 10-year "labor contract" with the East India Company. Two years later, Tasman served as deputy commander of the North Pacific Expedition Team of the Dutch East India Company. He also arrived in the Netherlands in the Far East (now Anping Castle in Tainan, Taiwan), Nagasaki Trading Station in Japan and other places. However, every expedition in the Sailing Age was an extreme sport, and Tasman became one of the 7 survivors of the 45 expedition team members who set out.
Tasman portrait In 1903 J M Donald compiled paintings based on predecessors
The scene at the beginning of this article was the first expedition voyage in which Tasman was appointed as the commander and leader of the tour. It was also because of this expedition that he "appeared" from countless outstanding but unknown voyagers in the sailing era and became the famous Dutch explorer "Tasman" remembered by future generations.
The expedition led by Tasman was tasked with: starting from Mauritius, explores the "unknown southern continent" in the sea area as high as possible, and then passes through a series of islands in the Solomon Islands , and finally returns to Batavia ; at the same time, Tasman must also try his best to explore a feasible route from India to Chile ; if possible, he should also find out the natural resources of the southern continent he "visited".
As mentioned earlier, the Europeans at that time did not have complete and clear geographical concepts such as Australia, New Zealand, and the Antarctic continent today, and the concept of the size of the earth was also vague. Otherwise, Columbus would not have thought that he had arrived in India in the East after sailing for 70 days on a few small sailboats. East India Company wants Tasman to explore this geographical area with sails + luck. Judging from today, it almost spans the entire South Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, starting from the Cape of Good Hope in the west and reaching Cape Horn in the east, almost crossing a full half of the earth.
Fortunately, Tasman and East India Company themselves don’t know that this is a mission to explore half of the earth. On October 8, 1642, Tasman led two small boats to start their voyage. They set off from Mauritius and then sailed eastward, and made the routes of the two small boats be between 44° and 49° south latitude as much as possible. At that time, Dutch Traveling from Europe to Dutch East India usually uses the Brouwer Route, which is a route that bypasses the Cape of Good Hope and then goes south, and then uses the "roaring west wind belt" in the southern hemisphere *The never-stop wind power to quickly cross the Indian Ocean. , but the harsh sea conditions and the protests of the crew still forced Tasman to adjust his course and sail in the northeast direction. On November 24, near 42°25′ south latitude, the expedition team finally discovered a towering continental coastline. Tasman named this coast "The Land of Von Dimen" after the Governor who sent him to the expedition (that is, the south coast of Tasmania today). Tasman sailed along the winding coastline of Tasmania to the near 42° South latitude line. He did not know at the time that this newly discovered land was just a large island of nearly 65,000 square kilometers southeast of Australia today, rather than a section of the coastline of the "Southern Continent". But before was discovered in the Strait of Bass (the strait that divides the Australian continent from Tasmania), the "Von Dimen Land" was regarded as a peninsula of the "Southern Continent" by Europeans for more than a century.
*The Roaring Forties is a special low-pressure area surrounding the earth between 40°-50° south latitude. Westerly winds of level 5 and 6 and swells of four or five meters high are prevalent all year round. The Dutch "Brouvo" route mentioned above was named after Hendrik Brouwer, a Dutch explorer, admiral, and before von Dimen, he served as the governor of the Dutch East India.
Duch Governor of the Netherlands East India Anthony von Dimen Portrait The Dutch National Museum
From near the 42° south latitude line, the expedition team continued to sail eastward. 1 On December 13, 642, another towering coast appeared in the field of view of the expedition. Today, we know that it was Cape Faulonde (South Point) on the South Island of New Zealand, but Tasman wrote in his voyage diary: "It is very likely that this land connects the land of the parliament, but it is not sure..." Obviously, Tasman regarded the land he discovered as an extension and continuation of the parliamentary land (Isla de los Estados, usually translated as Staten Land in English) discovered by Dutch fellow resident Le Maire and Shootten*. In other words, he believed that this section of the coastline in the southern corner of New Zealand was also a certain section of the "Southern Continent" and was part of the "Southern Continent".
*Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten were both famous Dutch explorers in the early 17th century. The former was one of his father Isak Le Maire's 22 children, and the latter was an experienced old captain. Isak Lemayer was originally one of the many founders of the Netherlands East India company. However, after he had a "disagreement" with the company, he established an Australian Company himself. At that time, there was no concept of Australia. This Australian company should be translated as "Southern Company" in word meaning. Old Isak tried to find a new trade route from Europe to East India through the southernmost part of the South American continent, thereby breaking the franchise of the Netherlands East India Company. In the end, the expedition led by Jacob Lemayer and Shootten bypassed South American continent on January 29, 1616 and entered the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean. Today, Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of the South American continent, comes from Shootten's hometown, and the name of the Strait of Lemayer comes from Lemayer. Afterwards, they crossed the Pacific Ocean and became the first Europeans who "visited" the New Guinea islands, Tonga and other Pacific Islands, leaving many Dutch names there, some of which have been used to this day.The "Parliamentary Land" was a land they discovered before they bypassed Cape Horn during that voyage. Perhaps influenced by the information of predecessors of that era, they hurriedly concluded that it was surprisingly similar to Tasman's idea: "This place is a corner of the Southern Continent." In order to commemorate the Dutch government, it was named "Parliamentary Land". Today we know that this is just a small island in Argentina, far away 8,500 kilometers away. It is translated as Estados Island and is separated from New Zealand by the distant South Pacific Ocean.
"Lighthouse on the horizon" Jules Verne's remains, the background is Estados at the junction of the Atlantic Pacific Ocean
"Lighthouse on the horizon" Jules Verne's remains, the background is Estados at the junction of the Atlantic Pacific Ocean. However, the English still follows the Dutch's name at the junction of the Atlantic Pacific Ocean, which is the land of parliament.
Tasman set out from the south corner and turned northeast, continuing his sailing along the coastline. At 40°30′ south latitude, he sailed into a harbor where some Maori approached his expedition ship on a small boat and killed three Dutch crew members in a dispute. , the first European expedition team to discover New Zealand, also became the first European expedition team to die here. helpless Dutch explorers called the bay here "Murderer Bay" , but now people call this place Golden Bay, which means "Golden Bay".
Murderers' bay is called Goldenbay by the New Zealanders today Goldenbay
Murderers' bay is called Goldenbay by the New Zealanders today Goldenbay By Isaack Gilsemans_1642 . The painter himself is also a member of the Tasman expedition. He portrayed the Maori to Europeans for the first time.
Tasman's expedition had already entered the strait that divided the south and north islands of New Zealand, but he did not cross it after all, but still regarded it as a bay in the imagined "Parliamentary Land" and continued his sailing back to the west coast of the North Island. On January 4, 11643, he arrived at the northern cape of today's North Island and named this cape as the governor's wife "Maria von Dimen Cape" (34°5' south latitude). After that, he sailed into the South Pacific between this cape and the Three Kings Islands.
The expedition team arrived in Tonga Islands on January 20, and then successively explored the northern waters of Fiji Islands , Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea , leaving many Dutch footprints and names on this large archipelago in the South Pacific. On June 15, Tasman returned to Batavia and ended his first expedition.
Tasman Expedition Member ISAACK GILSEMAN Drawn by Tonga Donggatabu Island
A landscape map of Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East India, drawn in 1780, roughly the current North Jakarta area
From today's perspective, the exploration of the coasts of Tasmania and New Zealand was enough to be a great exploration of that era. However, from the perspective of the Dutch East India Company at the time, Tasman's exploration was difficult to satisfy: he neither found a promising trade zone nor a useful new route. Twenty years after Tasman's death, his voyage diary was first printed (1680), titled "The Diary of Aberyr Janson Tasman - A Journey to the Unknown Southern Land in 1642."
However, Governor von Dimen still ordered three more ships to form a new expedition team, which is still under the leadership and command of Tasman. The purpose of this expedition is to further explore and determine: is the coastline of the "Southern Continent" (that is, today's Australia) discovered intermittently, a unified and complete continent? Is there a strait leading to the southern land of von Dimen in the Bay of Capentalia? Although this task seems a bit absurd in people's eyes today, it is roughly equivalent to: Explore whether there is a strait connecting the north and south in the middle of the Australian continent.
In 1644, Tasman led three ships to leave Batavia again and sailed eastward.There are only two documents left on the expedition: one is a letter from Wan Dimai to the managers of the Dutch East India Company; the other is a map drawn by Tasman and Frans Vesgail, the main helmsman of his two expeditions.
Australia's New South Wales State Library's collection of "Tasman Bonaparte Map, circa 1644"
Australia's New South Wales State Library's replica "Tasman Bonaparte Map" is clearly visible in the Australian coastline it explores
It can be clearly seen from that map that Tasman decided to follow William Jansz (Willem Jansz or Willem Janszoon, 1570-1630, Dutch navigator, the first European to land in Australia) and sail along the southwest coast of New Guinea, and then cross the Torres Strait. However, perhaps because of the weather at that time, or because of the complex coral reefs in the waterway, Tasman did not sail eastward through the Torres Strait, but drove deep southward into the Gulf of Cabernetta (Gulf of Carpentaria), and it surrounds the entire coastline of this bay counterclockwise, to find the strait that "possibly" runs through the north and south of the continent. The strait is naturally impossible to find, but the expedition accurately depicts most of the coastlines in the northern and western regions of this continent. This is a long coastline from the Cape York of the Gulf of Capentaria to the land of Nderlacht (i.e. from 12° south, 137° east to 23°45′ south, 113°5′ east). and the coast of the Gulf of Capentaria, the second expedition identified the Australian coastline of about 3,500 kilometers, and proved that there was no strait leading to the south and or to the land of von Dimen. The lands (except the land of von Dimen) discovered here one after another are various regions of a unified and complete continent.
Tasman's twice The route of blind people touching elephant
Perhaps, when the Dutch East India colonial trade route was opened, in order to avoid the existing forces of Portugal and Spain in the Indian Ocean, the Dutch explored and opened a more southern route. On many versions of the map of the early Sailings, many "traces" left by Dutch explorers were found. The Europeans who discovered and landed on the "Unknown Southern Continent (now Australia)" in the early days were also mostly Dutch:
－In February 1606, the William Jenz mentioned above landed near the estuary of the Pennfather River near Cape York, but he mistakenly regarded Cape York as part of New Guinea and did not make much record when he left;
－ In 1616, the Dutch ship "Enderlacht" discovered the land of Nderlacht between 23° and 26°5′ south latitude;
－ In 1618, Dutch sailors landed in Australia on the ship "Zerovoliver";
－ In 1619, two Dutch captains - Friedrick Houtman and Jacob Edel discovered the coastline of the Edel Peninsula along the western coast of Australia (the former was the younger brother of Conelis Hautman, the Friedrick who brought back the southern hemisphere stargazing data for Plancius in the first Dutch Indonesia expedition) ;
- In 1623, the Dutch East India company Paiyan Karlstes led the fleet to sail straight along the southern coast of New Guinea to the entrance of the Torres Strait, but he also failed to discover the strait at that time. Here he turned around and sailed southward, taking the route of Yants, along the west coast of Cape York Peninsula to 17°8′ south latitude.
- In January 1627, Dutch Picchel Neitz discovered the southern coast of today's Australia, which was located in the Neitz Islands.Neitz is spelled as New Zealand in English, so it is now called the New Zealand Islands;
- In 1628, Neitz was discovered on the northwestern coast of today's Australia near 20° south latitude, but this Dutch place name has not been passed down on the map today;
- In June 1629, Dutch captain Frans Bielsalt encountered a shipwreck on the west coast of this area near 28° south latitude. He had no choice but to board the land shore and explored this unknown area...
That's it. By the 1640s, a group of Dutch explorers represented by Tasman had proved that this southern continent was not a whole continent leading to the South Pole. The Dutch painted the outline of most of the coastlines in the south, north and west sections of this "Southern Continent" on the map they drew, and called this continent "NIEUW HOLLANDE", and the two islands in the east of the continent were "NIEUW ZEALANDE"*.
* "Hollande of the Netherlands" and "Zealande of the Zealand" were respectively a province in the Federal Republic of the Netherlands at that time.
However, the Dutch may have been thrilled by the lucrative Indonesian spice trade route, and they did not establish large-scale colonial settlements on this new southern continent.
More than forty years after Tasman, in 1688, British explorer and privateer captain William Dampier landed on the northwest coast of "New Holland"; in 1770, Captain James Cook 's famous Pacific exploration sailing surveyed and mapped the east coast of "New Holland" in detail, named it "New South Wales" according to British customs, and claimed to own that territory on behalf of the British government. 786, the British government decided to colonize here, and then explored the entire "New Holland" continent many times, and officially named it Australia in 1817. In the end, the Dutch's "New Netherlands" became the "Southern Continent" overseas colony of the Queen of England. The name "Nieuw Hollande" was replaced by "Australia". However, the name of another land named by the Dutch - "New Zealand" - has been passed down to this day.
Abel Janszoon Tasman (Abel Janszoon Tasman 1603–1659)
The reason why Tasman's adventure story has been told so much is to let everyone better understand the world map of the French cartographer Desnos we are going to introduce next.
World map of the French cartographer Desnos 1772 edition
The last version of this world map was published in 1772, which can be regarded as a time dividing line : Before that, the complete shoreline profile of Australia and New Zealand still lacked a lot of information, and many parts were based on assumptions; but in 1771, after the first Pacific expedition of Captain Cook, he became the first European to circulate New Zealand and the first Europeans to land on the east coast of Australia. In the post-Cook era, on the world map produced by Europeans, the shore profile of Australia and New Zealand became complete and clear.
(To be continued)
Glory Fleet / Orange Lake Studio Works
