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Why did Abel Tasman discover?
Tasman made two important voyages (1642 and 1644) through both the Indian and South Pacific Oceans that helped to map the southern hemisphere. With exploration a secondary goal of his voyages, he was primarily interested in establishing trade and finding sources of wealth for his employer, the Dutch East India Company.
What was Abel Tasman’s goal?
Abel Tasman The aim of the voyage was to find resources and suitable land for settlement. He discovered Tasmania (as it would later be called) on 24 November, naming it Van Diemen’s Land after Anthony van Diemen, the governor general of the Dutch East Indies.
When did Tasman discover Australia?
24 November 1642
After months at sea, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman’s diary entry for the 24 November 1642 marks the first official discovery of a land beyond the Australian mainland. He had discovered what he called Van Diemen’s Land.
What countries did Abel Tasman discover?
Abel Tasman, in full Abel Janszoon Tasman, (born 1603?, Lutjegast, Netherlands—died probably before October 22, 1659; certainly before February 5, 1661), greatest of the Dutch navigators and explorers, who was the first European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands.
Who discovered Australia and NZ?
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman was a great explorer who discovered Australia and New Zealand long before James Cook. Discover what he did in his Australasian Adventures.
Did Abel Tasman Discover New Zealand?
Abel Tasman is officially recognised as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori. Continuing eastwards they sighted the mountains of a land that Tasman named Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) after the governor general of Batavia.
Why did Abel Tasman leave his country?
In 1648 Tasman attempted to hang two sailors who had disobeyed orders by leaving their quarters. He was drunk and one of the men almost died. Tasman was suspended without salary before being reinstated 11 months later. By 1653 he had retired.
What did Abel Tasman do in New Zealand?
Abel Tasman was the first European explorer to reach the islands of Van Diemen”s Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand. In 1642 the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony Van Diemen sent Tasman on an expedition to explore and map out New Holland, where a lot of Dutch ships had become shipwrecked due to the Roaring Forties winds.
Who was the first European to discover Tasmania?
Seafarer, explorer and merchant Abel Janszoon Tasman was the first European to discover Tasmania and confirm Australia as an island continent. Born in the Netherlands around 1602, he was raised and educated in Lutjegast, Gronigen. After bearing him a daughter, his first wife died. He remarried in 1632 and, shortly after, went to sea.
Why did Abel Tasman want to explore the southern hemisphere?
After a series of trading voyages to Japan, Formosa ( Taiwan ), Cambodia, and Sumatra, he was chosen by the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony van Diemen, to command the most ambitious of all Dutch voyages for the exploration of the Southern Hemisphere.
When did Abel Janszoon Tasman start his exploration?
Tasman’s first significant expedition began in 1642 when he was called by the Dutch East India Company to lead a voyage to explore Australia, or what was then known as the Southern Continent. At that time, the Southern Continent, was a legendary land, still unknown to Europeans.