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by J. W. Forsyth

This article was published:

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603?-1659), mariner, was born at Lutjegast, near Groningen, in the Netherlands. He received a sufficient education to enable him to express his ideas clearly in writing and to become a skilled navigator. He married Claesgie Meyndrix, by whom he had a daughter. After his wife died, he married Joanna Tiercx in January 1632. Soon afterwards, as a sailor before the mast, he sailed for the East Indies, where he was a first mate in February and a skipper in May 1634. In that year in a minor exploration he had a narrow escape from death, when in an incautious landing several of his companions were massacred by people of Ceram. After spending some time in warlike and anti-smuggling operations he returned to Holland in 1637.

He sailed for the Indies again in 1638 as skipper of a flute, taking his wife with him. From the outset he was treated as one of the most reliable skippers there. He was at first employed in military and trading voyages, but in 1639 was appointed second-in-command, under Quast, of two ships which set out in June to find islands believed to lie east of Japan. He returned in November from this search. Despite a disastrous death-toll on it, he offered to repeat the search, but was sent instead on trading voyages to Japan and Cambodia.

In 1642 he was appointed to command two ships to explore southern and eastern waters. Sailing in August he discovered Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand, the Tonga Islands and some of the Fiji group, and re-explored part of the north coast of New Guinea. On his return to Batavia in June 1643 he was chosen to take part in an expedition to form a settlement in the Tonga Islands from which the Chilean coast was to be raided; while this expedition was preparing, he was ordered to find whether there was a passage into the South Sea between Carpentaria and De Witt's Land. For this purpose he set out with three vessels at the end of January 1644 and, following the coasts from Cape Valsche round to Cape Cloates, satisfied himself that, except perhaps at Endeavour Strait, there was no passage. He was rewarded after his return in August 1644 by confirmation in the grade of commandeur, with a substantial increase in pay dated back to the beginning of his voyage in 1642.

The plan to raid Chile was abandoned, and Tasman was appointed to the Council of Justice at Batavia. In mid-1647 he was sent on a mission to the King of Siam and was granted precedence over all Dutchmen in the kingdom. After that mission, he was given command of a fleet of eight vessels which sailed in May 1648 against the Spaniards. His conduct in this operation was unsatisfactory and, after his return in January 1649, proceedings were taken against him for having, when inflamed by liquor, treated one of his sailors in a barbarous way; as a result he was removed from office during the governor-general's pleasure. He was formally reinstated in January 1651, but not long afterwards retired from the service and became a merchant in Batavia. He died there in affluent circumstances in 1659. His daughter by his first marriage had married first Philip Heylman, and later Jacob Bremer. In 1661 permission was given for his widow to marry Jan Meyndert Springer.

Tasman was a member of the Reformed Church. He was a brave and energetic mariner, a humane and properly cautious explorer, and a conspicuously able commander, though over-hasty on one occasion at least. Reflections which have been cast upon his courage are the fruit of ignorance. There are two supposed portraits of him: one owned by the Royal Commonwealth Society in London, the other in the National Library in Canberra.

Select Bibliography

J. E. Heeres (ed), Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal of His Discovery of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand in 1642 (Amsterdam, 1898)

R. P. Meyjes, De Reizen van Abel Janszoon Tasman en Franchoys Jacobzoon Visscher (The Hague, 1919)

Winkler Prins Encyclopaedie, vol 17 (Amsterdam, 1953)

W. Forster, 'An Early Chart of Tasmania', Geographical Journal, vol 37, no 5, May 1911, pp 550-51

J. W. Forsyth, 'Clio etwas gebuckt', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 49 (1963-64).

Citation details

J. W. Forsyth, 'Tasman, Abel Janszoon (1603-1659)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/tasman-abel-janszoon-2716/text3823, published first in hardcopy 1967, accessed online 24 February 2023.
This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (Melbourne University Press), 1967
View the front pages for Volume 2

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by J. W. Forsyth This article was published: Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603?-1659), mariner, was born at Lutjegast, near Groningen, in the Netherlands. He received a sufficient education to enable him to express his ideas clearly in writing and to become a skilled navigator. He married Claesgie Meyndrix, by whom he had a daughter.

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ä´bəl yän´sōn tä´smän [ Tasman, Abel Janszoon key] , 1603?-1659, Dutch navigator. In the service of the Dutch East India Company from c.1632 to 1653, he made several trading and exploring voyages in the Pacific and Indian oceans. On a voyage (1639-42) in the N Pacific he visited the Philippines and Taiwan, followed the coast of Japan, and discovered several small islands. In 1642 he sailed from Batavia in command of the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen. On that voyage he visited Tasmania (which he named Van Diemen's Land) and New Zealand, touched the Tonga islands, and returned (1643) to Batavia, having circumnavigated Australia and thus demonstrated that no connection exists between it and a polar continent. In 1644 he was dispatched to discover the relationship between New Guinea, Tasmania, and the known part of Australia; he established the continuity of land from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the northwest coast of Australia at the Tropic of Capricorn.
See biography by A. Sharp (1968).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Explorers, Travelers, and Conquerors: Biographies

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ä´bəl yän´sōn tä´smän [key], 1603?-1659, Dutch navigator. In the service of the Dutch East India Company from c.1632 to 1653, he made several trading and exploring voyages in the Pacific and Indian oceans. On a voyage (1639-42) in the N

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Abel Tasman | Facts, Map, Biography, Ships, & Exploration

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Abel Tasman, Dutch navigator who was the first European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands. On his first voyage (1642–43) Tasman explored the Indian Ocean, Australasia, and the southern Pacific; on his second voyage (1644) he traveled in Australian and South Pacific waters.

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Ferdinand Magellan Guided Research Stimulus Guided Research

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Inquisitive has everything you need to teach Science, History and Geography Years F - 6 and now adding English units F - 6 and Maths units F - 2.

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Ferdinand Magellan, (born 1480, Sabrosa or Porto?, Portugal-died April 27, 1521, Mactan, Philippines), Portuguese navigator and explorer who sailed under the flags of both Portugal (1505-13) and Spain (1519-21). From Spain he sailed around South America, discovering the Strait of Magellan, and across the Pacific. Though he was killed in the Philippines, one of his ships continued westward to Spain, accomplishing the first circumnavigation of Earth. The voyage was successfully terminated by the Basque navigator Juan Sebastián del Cano.

Early life

Magellan was the son of Rui de Magalhães and Alda de Mesquita, members of the Portuguese nobility. At an early age he became a page to Queen Leonor, wife of John II (reigned 1481-95) and sister of Manuel I (reigned 1495-1521), in Lisbon. In early 1505 he enlisted in the fleet of Francisco de Almeida, first viceroy of Portuguese India, whose expedition King Manuel sent to check Muslim sea power along the African and Indian coasts and to establish a strong Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean. During a naval engagement at Cannanore (now Kannur) on the Malabar Coast of India, Magellan is said by the chronicler Gaspar Correia (also spelled Corrêa) to have been wounded. Though Correia states that during this early period of his Indian service, Magellan acquired considerable knowledge of navigation, little is known of Magellan's first years in the East until he appears among those sailing in November 1506 with Nuno Vaz Pereira to Sofala on the Mozambique coast, where the Portuguese had established a fort.

By 1507 Magellan was back in India. He took part, on February 2-3, 1509, in the great Battle of Diu, in which the Portuguese defeated a Muslim fleet and thereby gained supremacy over most of the Indian Ocean. Reaching Cochin (now Kochi, India) in the fleet of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, he subsequently left for the Malay city-state of Malacca (now Melaka, Malaysia). Magellan is mentioned as being sent to warn the commander of the Portuguese ships in Malacca's waters of impending attack by Malays. During the subsequent fighting he saved the life of a Portuguese explorer, his close friend Francisco Serrão. (Serrão, possibly a relative of Magellan's, had sailed with Magellan to India in 1505.) Magellan attempted to return to Portugal afterward but was unsuccessful. At a council held at Cochin on October 10, 1510, to decide on plans for retaking Goa-which the Portuguese had captured earlier in the year but then lost-he advised against taking large ships at that season. Nevertheless, the new Portuguese governor in India, Afonso de Albuquerque, did so, and the city fell to the Portuguese on November 24. Magellan's name does not appear among those who fought.

The Portuguese victories off the eastern coast of Africa and the western coast of India had broken Muslim power in the Indian Ocean, and the purpose of Almeida's expedition-to wrest from the Arabs the key points of sea trade-was almost accomplished. Yet without control of Malacca, their achievement was incomplete. At the end of June 1511, therefore, a fleet under Albuquerque left for Malacca, which fell after six weeks. This event, in which Magellan took part, was the crowning Portuguese victory in the Orient. Through Malacca passed the wealth of the East to the harbours of the West, and in command of the Malacca Strait the Portuguese held the key to the seas and ports of Malaysia. It remained only to explore the wealth-giving Moluccas (now part of Indonesia), the islands of spice. Accordingly, early in December 1511 they sailed on a voyage of reconnaissance, and after reaching Banda they returned with spice in 1512. The claim made by some that Magellan went on this voyage rests on unproven statements by Italian geographer Giovanni Battista Ramusio and Spanish historian Leonardo de Argensola, and the want of evidence argues against its acceptance. However, it is known that Magellan's friend Serrão was in command of one of the ships and that he later sent Magellan helpful information from the Moluccas about those islands.

By mid-1513 Magellan was back in Lisbon, but he soon joined the forces sent against the Moroccan stronghold of Azamor (Azemmour). In a skirmish that August he sustained a leg wound that caused him to limp for the rest of his life. Returning to Lisbon in November 1514, he asked King Manuel for a token increase in his pension as a reward. But unfounded reports of irregular conduct on his part had reached the king: after the siege of Azamor, Magellan was accused of having sold a portion of the war spoils back to the enemy. Refusing Magellan's request for a reward, Manuel ordered him back to Morocco. Early in 1516 Magellan renewed his petition; the king, refusing once more, told him he might offer his services elsewhere.

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Ferdinand Magellan | Biography, Voyage, Map, Accomplishments, Route, Discoveries, Death, & Facts

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Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese navigator and explorer. From Spain he sailed around South America, discovering the Strait of Magellan, and across the Pacific. Though he was killed in the Philippines, one of his ships continued westward to Spain, accomplishing the first circumnavigation of Earth.

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Ferdinand Magellan (February 3, 1480-April 27, 1521), a Portuguese explorer, set sail in September 1519 with a fleet of five Spanish ships in an attempt to find the Spice Islands by heading west. Although Magellan died during the journey, he is credited with the first circumnavigation of the Earth.

Fast Facts: Ferdinand Magellan

Early Years and Voyages

Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1480 in Sabrosa, Portugal, to Rui de Magalhaes and Alda de Mesquita. Because his family had ties to the royal family, Magellan became a page to the Portuguese queen after his parents' untimely deaths in 1490.

This position as a page allowed Magellan the opportunity to become educated and learn about the various Portuguese exploration expeditions-possibly even those conducted by Christopher Columbus.

Magellan took part in his first sea voyage in 1505 when Portugal sent him to India to help install Francisco de Almeida as the Portuguese viceroy. He also experienced his first battle there in 1509 when one of the local kings rejected the practice of paying tribute to the new viceroy.

From here, however, Magellan lost the viceroy Almeida's support after he took leave without permission and was accused of illegally trading with the Moors. After some of the accusations were proven to be true, Magellan lost all offers of employment from the Portuguese after 1514.

The Spanish and the Spice Islands

Around this same time, the Spanish were engaged in trying to find a new route to the Spice Islands (the East Indies, in present-day Indonesia) after the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the world in half in 1494.

The dividing line for this treaty went through the Atlantic Ocean and Spain got the lands west of the line, including the Americas. Brazil, however, went to Portugal as did everything east of the line, including India and the eastern half of Africa.

Similar to his predecessor Columbus, Magellan believed that the Spice Islands could be reached by sailing west through the New World. He proposed this idea to Manuel I, the Portuguese king, but was rejected. Looking for support, Magellan moved on to share his plan with the Spanish king.

On March 22, 1518, Charles I was persuaded by Magellan and granted him a large sum of money to find a route to the Spice Islands by sailing west, thereby giving Spain control of the area, since it would in effect be "west" of the dividing line through the Atlantic.

Using these generous funds, Magellan set sail going west toward the Spice Islands in September 1519 with five ships ( the Conception, the San Antonio, the Santiago, the Trinidad, and the Victoria) and 270 men.

The Early Portion of the Voyage

Since Magellan was a Portuguese explorer in charge of a Spanish fleet, the early part of the voyage to the west was riddled with problems. Several of the Spanish captains on the ships in the expedition plotted to kill him, but none of their plans succeeded. Many of these mutineers were held prisoner and/or executed. In addition, Magellan had to avoid Portuguese territory since he was sailing for Spain.

After months of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, the fleet anchored at what is today Rio de Janeiro to restock its supplies on December 13, 1519. From there, they moved down the coast of South America looking for a way into the Pacific. As they sailed farther south, however, the weather got worse, so the crew anchored in Patagonia (southern South America) to wait out the winter.

As the weather began to ease in the spring, Magellan sent the Santiago on a mission to look for a way through to the Pacific Ocean. In May, the ship was wrecked and the fleet did not move again until August 1520.

Then, after months of exploring the area, the remaining four ships found a strait in October and sailed through it. This portion of the journey took 38 days, cost them the San Antonio (because its crew decided to abandon the expedition) and a large amount of supplies. Nevertheless, at the end of November, the remaining three ships exited what Magellan named the Strait of All Saints and sailed into the Pacific Ocean.

Later Voyage and Death

From here, Magellan mistakenly thought it would only take a few days to reach the Spice Islands, when it instead took four months, during which time his crew suffered immensely. They began to starve as their food supplies were depleted, their water turned putrid, and many of the men developed scurvy.

The crew was able to stop at a nearby island in January 1521 to eat fish and seabirds, but their supplies were not adequately restocked until March when they stopped in Guam.

On March 28, they landed in the Philippines and befriended a tribal king, Rajah Humabon of Cebu Island. After spending time with the king, Magellan and his crew were persuaded into helping the tribe kill their enemy Lapu-Lapu on Mactan Island. On April 27, 1521, Magellan took part in the Battle of Mactan and was killed by Lapu-Lapu's army.

After Magellan's death, Sebastian del Cano had the Conception burned (so it could not be used against them by the locals) and took over the two remaining ships and 117 crewmembers. To ensure that one ship would make it back to Spain, the Trinidad headed east while the Victoria continued west.

The Trinidad was seized by the Portuguese on its return journey, but on September 6, 1522, the Victoria and only 18 surviving crew members returned to Spain, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth.

Though Magellan died before the voyage was completed, he is often credited with the first circumnavigation of the Earth as he initially led the voyage. He also discovered what is now called the Strait of Magellan and named both the Pacific Ocean and South America's Tierra del Fuego.

Magellanic Clouds in space were also named for him, as his crew was the first to view them while sailing in the Southern Hemisphere. Most important to geography though, was Magellan's realization of the full extent of the Earth-something that significantly aided to the development of later geographic exploration and the resulting knowledge of the world today.

Editors, History.com. "Ferdinand Magellan." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009.

"The Ages of Exploration." Exploration.marinersmuseum.org.

Burgan, Michael. Magellan: Ferdinand Magellan and the First Trip Around the World. Mankato: Capstone Publishers, 2001.

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Biography of Ferdinand Magellan, Explorer Circumnavigated the Earth

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Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who led the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Learn about his life and legacy.

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Ferdinand Magellan - Ages of Exploration

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Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe; considered the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean.

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Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth (1519-1522). Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean (the name means that it is a calm, peaceful ocean).

Magellan was born in Northern Portugal (either in Sabrosa or in Oporto). His parents, Pedro Ruy de Magalhaes and Alda de Mezquita, were members of the nobility (they were wealthy and powerful).

Early in his career, Magellan sailed to India and to the Far East many times via Africa's Cape of Good Hope. He sailed for his native Portugal, but a dispute with the Portuguese King Manoel II turned him against the Portuguese. Thereafter, he sailed for Spain.

Magellan and his friend the astronomer Ruy de Falero proposed to King Charles V (of Spain) that a westward voyage around the tip of South America would take them to the Moluccas (spice-rich islands) and avoid the Portuguese (with whom they were competing fiercely). The voyage began September 8, 1519, and lasted until September 6, 1522 (almost 3 years). Magellan sailed from Seville, Spain, with five ships, the Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, and Santiago. Three years later, only one ship (the Victoria) made it back to Seville, carrying only 18 of the original 270 crew members. Magellan was killed towards the end of the voyage, on the Island of Mactan in the Philippines, during a battle with the natives. The Basque navigator Juan Sebastián de Elcano (del Cano) completed the trip.

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Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth (1519-1522). Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean (the name means that it is a calm, peaceful ocean). Magellan was born in Northern Portugal (either in Sabrosa or in Oporto).

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Dirk Hartog Stimulus Guided Research | AU

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Inquisitive has everything you need to teach Science, History and Geography Years F - 6 and now adding English units F - 6 and Maths units F - 2.

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Vasco Da Gama Guided Research. Stimulus Guided Research |

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Inquisitive has everything you need to teach Science, History and Geography Years F - 6 and now adding English units F - 6 and Maths units F - 2.

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Subjects: History

Years: 3-4, 5-6

Imagine sailing with 94 people on board a ship for three years!

That's exactly what Captain James Cook did when he sailed on Endeavour and eventually landed on the east coast of Australia.

Find out what life was like on this ship for the people on board.

Date of broadcast: 3 Jan 2016

Copyright
Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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BTN: Life on 'HMS Endeavour' - ABC Education

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Subjects: History Years: 3-4, 5-6 That's exactly what Captain James Cook did when he sailed on Endeavour and eventually landed on the east coast of Australia. Find out what life was like on this ship for the people on board.

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MAN: 10th of July 1770. In the afternoon we saw seven or eight natives on the south side of the river, and two of them came down opposite the ship. But as soon as I set out, about to speak with them, they ran away as fast as they could. At 11 o'clock Mr Banks returned in his own small boat and gave a very bad account of our turtle catchers. They had not got one and the Master would not return, which obliged me to send Mr Gore out in the yawl this morning to order the boat people back. In the afternoon, four of the natives came down to the sandy point in the north side of the river in a small wooden canoe with outriggers. They seemed to be employed striking fish. I let them alone, taking no notice of them. At length, two came in the canoe within a musket shot of the ship and took some things we throwed them. They went away and came back with the other two and came alongside nearer than before. They went ashore carrying their lances and a stick used in throwing them. Tupia prevailed upon them to lay down their arms and sit down by him, after which most of us went to them giving some presents and stayed by them until dinnertime. We gave them to understand we were going to eat and they went away in their canoe. One of these men was above middle age and the others were young. None of them were above five and a half feet in height and their limbs were proportionally small. Their skins were the colour of wood soot. Their hair was lank and cropped short. They did not want their fore teeth as Dampier mentioned, and some parts of their bodies were painted red and one of them had his upper lip and breasts painted with streaks of white, which he called 'carabanda'. Their features are far from being disagreeable, their voices are soft and tuneable and they can easily repeat words after us. But neither us nor Tupia could understand a word that he said.

Subjects: History

Years: 3-4

In this entry for 10 July 1770, Cook describes a meeting with several local Guugu Yimithirr men who were fishing nearby.

The British crew had set up camp in the area that is now Cooktown, on Cape York's east coast.

This audio clip is the second in a series of six.

Things to think about

1. 1.Cook and his crew stayed ashore for seven weeks, repairing their damaged ship and collecting provisions. When Cook describes his meeting with the Guugu Yimithirr men, this is only the second contact ever recorded between British and Aboriginal peoples. The first was recorded by William Dampier who visited the Bardi people on Australia's north-west coast in 1688.

2. 2.Why might the Guugu Yimithirr men have avoided the British? Tupaia joined Cook's expedition in the Society Islands as an interpreter. He did not understand the Guugu Yimithirr language but he helped the British make contact with them. How? Cook writes that the Guugu Yimithirr people differed from the Aboriginal people described by Dampier. In what way?

3. 3.Cook says his men gave the Guugu Yimithirr men 'presents'. These were probably beaded necklaces and pieces of cloth that the crew had gathered on their way through the South Pacific Islands. The Guugu Yimithirr people were watching the British gathering provisions, fishing and catching turtles in their country for weeks. What might the Guugu Yimithirr have assumed about the 'presents' they were given?

4. 4.Native plants and animals occur naturally in a particular place. Cook uses the term 'natives' to describe Aboriginal peoples. Why is it no longer appropriate to use 'natives' to describe people? Research the sustainability of the Guugu Yimithirr or other coastal Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples' traditional hunting practices. (Sustainable practices ensure that the food source continues). Did Cook's crew hunt turtles in a sustainable way? What makes you think this?

Acknowledgements

A Journey with Lt. James Cook and the HMB Endeavour was produced by ABC Local Radio - Far North with text from Lt James Cook's journal adapted by Irene Shanks.

Copyright
Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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topic_aboriginal and torres strait islander history and culture

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aboriginal and torres strait islander history and culture

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The Endeavour Journal: Getting to know the locals - ABC Education

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MAN: 10th of July 1770. In the afternoon we saw seven or eight natives on the south side of the river, and two of them came down opposite the ship. But as soon as I set out, about to speak with them, they ran away as fast as they could.

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Who Confirmed There Was No Massive Asia South of the Equator?

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Captain James Cook’s explorations dramatically increased European knowledge of the world. Learn more about his contributions to 18th century science.

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Portrait of James Cook

The official portrait of Captain James Cook, circa 1775 from the National Maritime Museum in the United Kingdom.

Introduction
Captain James Cook is known for his extensive voyages that took him throughout the Pacific. He mapped several island groups in the Pacific that had been previously discovered by other explorers. But he was the first European we know of to encounter the Hawaiian Islands. While on these voyages, Cook discovered that New Zealand was an island. He would go on to discover and chart coastlines from the Arctic to the Antarctic, east coast of Australia to the west coast of North America plus the hundreds of islands in between.

Biography James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in the village Marton-in-Cleveland in Yorkshire, England. He was the second son of James Senior and Grace Cook. His father worked as a farm laborer. Young James attended school where he showed a gift for math.
Early Life
¹ But despite having a decent education, James also wound up working as a farm laborer, like his father. At 16, Cook became an apprentice of William Sanderson, a shopkeeper in the small coastal town Staithes. James worked here for almost 2 years before leaving to seek other ventures. He then became a seaman apprentice for John Walker, a shipowner and mariner, in the port of Whitby. Here, Cook developed his navigational skills and continued his studies. Cook worked for Walker's coal shipping business and worked his way up in rank. He completed his three-year apprenticeship in April 1750, then went on to volunteer for the Royal Navy. He would soon have the opportunity to explore and learn more about seafaring. He was assigned to serve on the HMS Eagle where he was quickly promoted to the position of captain's mate due to his experience and skills. In 1757, he was transferred to the Pembroke and sent to Nova Scotia, Canada to fight in the Seven Years' War.

Cook continued to expand his maritime knowledge and skills by learning chart-making. He helped to chart and survey the St. Lawrence River and surrounding areas while in Canada. His charts were published in England while he was abroad. After the war, between 1763 and 1767, Cook commanded the HMS Grenville, and mapped Newfoundland and Labrador's coastlines. These maps were considered the most detailed and accurate maps of the area in the 18th century. After spending 4 years mapping coastlines in northeast North America, Cook was called back to London by the Royal Society. The Royal Society sent Cook to observe an event known as the transit of Venus. During a transit of Venus, Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun and appears to be a small black circle traveling in front of the Sun. By observing this event, they believed they could calculate the Earth's distance from the Sun. In May 1768, Cook was chosen by the Society and promoted to lieutenant to lead an expedition to Tahiti, then known as King George's Island, to observe the transit of Venus. ² This begin the first of several voyages that would earn James Cook great fame and recognition.

Voyages James Cook sailed from Deptford, England on July 30, 1768 on his ship
Principal Voyage
Endeavour with a crew of 84 men. ³ The crew included several scientists and artists to record their observations and discoveries during the journey. They made many small stops at different locations along the way. In January 1769, they rounded the tip of South America, and finally reached Tahiti in April 1769. They established a base for their research that they named Fort Venus. On June 3, 1769, Cook and his men successfully observed the transit of Venus. While on the island, they collected samples of the native plants and animals. They also interacted with some native people, learning more about their customs and traditions. Cook sailed to some of the neighboring islands, including modern day Bora Bora, mapping along the way. After completing the observation of Venus' transit, Cook was given new orders to sail south, search for the Southern Continent - known today as Australia. On August 9, 1769, the Endeavour departed from Tahiti in search of the Southern Continent. After sailing for several weeks with no sign of land, Cook decided to sail west. On October 6th, land was sighted, and Cook and his men made landfall in modern day New Zealand.

Cook named the place Poverty Bay. They were met by unfriendly natives, so Cook decided to sail south along the coast of this new land. He named several islands and bays along the way, such as Bare Island and Cape Turnagain. At Cape Turnagain, the The Endeavour turned around and sailed north along the coastline again and rounded the northernmost tip of the island. They sailed down along the western coast Cook and his men crossed a strait to return to Cape Turnagain, thus completing a circumnavigation of the northern island. This trip proved that New Zealand was made up of two separate islands. The expedition then sailed south along the eastern coastline of the southern island. They stopped at Admiralty Bay on the northern coast to resupply before sailing west into open ocean. In April of 1770, Cook first spotted the northeastern coastline of modern day Australia. He landed in Botany Bay near modern day Sydney. Endeavour then sailed around the northernmost tip of the continent before setting sail east back to England. They soon landed in Batavia, now known as Jakarta, in Indonesia. In Batavia, several of the crew, including James Cook became ill, many dying from diseases. ⁵ The expedition eventually sailed onward, and reached London on July 13, 1771. ⁴ He explored some of the area and coastline including places such as Port Jackson and Cape Byron.

Subsequent Voyages In 1772, Cook was promoted to captain. He was given command of the two ships, the
Resolution and Adventure, to look for the Southern Continent. On July 13, 1772, the expedition left England, stopping at the Cape of Good Hope to resupply before sailing south. May 26, 1773, Cook and his crew reached Dusky Bay, New Zealand . They spent the winter anchored in Ship Cove, exploring inland and interacting with the Maori natives. When they departed from New Zealand in October of 1773, the two ships became separated and never reunited. ⁶ The Adventure returned to England. Cook and the Resolution continued onward exploring various islands throughout the Pacific. While sailing in the Pacific, the Resolution crossed into the Antarctic Circle several times sailing farther south than any other explorer at the time. Several times they got stuck in sea ice. So Cook decided to suspend the search for the Southern Continent. But they did not return to England just yet. They sailed to Easter Island and stayed there for seven months, exploring and mapping the nearby Society Islands and the Friendly Islands. November 10, 1774, the Resolution began its return journey to England.They traveled around the tip of South America and stopped briefly on the Sandwich Islands to claim them for England. Cook finally returned to England on July 30, 1775 and reported that there was no Southern Continent to be found.

Just one year later, Cook was given the Resolution and Discovery to lead yet an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage. The ships left England on July 12, 1776. A storm forced them to stop at Adventure Cove in Tasmania before continuing on to Ship Cove. In December of 1777 the men landed at Christmas Island, now known as Kiritimati. Several weeks later, they made a significant discovery when they came upon the islands of Hawaii. They landed at modern day Kauai and were fascinated by the environment and friendly natives. But Cook still wanted to discover the Northwest Passage so they left two weeks laters. They finally landed at modern day Vancouver Island where they interacted and traded with the native people. Cook continued his search for the Northwest Passage and commanded the expedition to sail northwest along the coastline of what is now Alaska, and throughout Prince William Sound. On August 9th, they reached the westernmost point of Alaska, which Cook named Cape Prince of Wales. From here, Cook sailed farther into the Arctic Circle until he was stopped by a thick wall of ice. Cook named this point Icy Cape. Cook and his men sailed back down the coast of Alaska and back south until they reached the Hawaiian Islands again.

Later Years and Death When first landing in Kealakekua Bay, they were met with angry natives. Cook soon met with the Hawaiian ruler, King Kalei'opu'u. It was a friendly meeting, was given large amounts of food and resources.They left Kealakekua Bay on February 4, 1779 but were forced to return a few days later after the
Resolution was damaged in a storm. Once more, they were not greeted with joy by the natives. While the Resolution was being repaired, the crew noticed that the natives were stealing their supplies and tools. On February 14th, Cook attempted to stop the thievery by taking Chief Kalei'opu'u hostage. ⁷ However, fighting between the crew and native people had already started. When Cook attempted to return to his ship, he was attacked on the shoreline. He was beaten with stones and clubs and stabbed in the back of the neck. Cook died on the shore and his body was left behind as the other men returned to the ship. After making peace with the natives a few days later, pieces of Cook's body were recovered and buried on February 22, 1779. The next day, the remaining crew left Hawaii to return to England. The ships arrived in England on October 4, 1780 after attempting to search for the Northwest Passage one more time.

Legacy Captain James Cook is known for his incredible voyages that took him farther south than any other explorer of his time. He was not able to prove that a southern continent existed, but he had many other achievements. He was the first to map the coastlines of New Zealand, the eastern coastline of what would become Australia, and several small islands in the Pacific. Cook was also one of the first Europeans to encounter the Hawaiian Islands. His reports on Botany Bay were part of the reason Britain established a penal colony there in 1787.
⁸ He is still recognized today for creating some of the most accurate maps of the Pacific islands during his time. James Cook helped the south seas go from being a vast and dangerous unknown area to a charted and inviting ocean.

1. Charles J. Shields, James Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific (Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002), 16.

2. Richard Hough, Captain James Cook (New York: WW Norton & Co., 1997) 38-39.

3. James Cook, The Voyages of Captain Cook, ed. Ernest Rhys (Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1999), 11

4. Captain James Cook and Robert Welsch, Voyages of Discovery (Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 1993), v.

5. Cook and Welsch, Voyages of Discovery, 102-106.

6. Cook, The Voyages of Captain Cook, xiv.

7. Charles J. Shields, James Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific, 56.

8. Cook and Welsch, Voyages of Discovery, v.

Bibliography

Shields, Charles J. James Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002.

Hough, Richard. Captain James Cook. New York: WW Norton & Co., 1997.

Cook, James. The Voyages of Captain Cook, edited by Ernest Rhys. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1999.

Cook, Captain James, and Robert Welsch. Voyages of Discovery. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 1993.

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The official portrait of Captain James Cook, circa 1775 from the National Maritime Museum in the United Kingdom. Introduction Captain James Cook is known for his extensive voyages that took him throughout the Pacific. He mapped several island groups in the Pacific that had been previously discovered by other explorers.

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Vasco da Gama

Portrait of Vasco da Gama by artist Antonio Manuel da Fonseca in 1838. Vasco da Gama, (c.1469 - 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. (Credit: National Maritime Museum)

Introduction
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who sailed to India from Europe. Gold, spices, and other riches were valuable in Europe. But they had to navigate long ways over sea and land to reach them in Asia. Europeans during this time were looking to find a faster way to reach India by sailing around Africa. Da Gama accomplished the task. By doing so, he helped open a major trade route to Asia. Portugal celebrated his success, and his voyage launched a new era of discovery and world trade.

Biography Vasco da Gama's exact birthdate and place is unknown. It is believed he was born between 1460 and 1469 in Sines, Portugal.
Early Life
¹ He was the third son to his parents. His father, Estêvão da Gama, was a knight in the Duke of Viseu's court; and his mother was a noblewoman named Isabel Sodré. ² His father's role in the court would have allowed young Vasco to have a good education. But because he lived close to a seaport town, he probably also learned about ships and navigation. Vasco attended school in a larger village about 70 miles from Sines called Évora. Here, he learned advanced mathematics, and studied principles of navigation. By fifteen he became familiar with trading ships that were docked in port. By the age of twenty, he was the captain of a ship. ³ These skills would all make him an acceptable choice to lead an expedition to India.

Vasco da Gama's maritime career was during the period when Portugal was searching for a trade route around Africa to India. The Ottoman Empire controlled almost all European trade routes to Asia. This meant they could, and did, charge high prices for ships passing through ports. Prince Henry of Portugal - also called Prince Henry the Navigator - began Portugal's great age of exploration. From about 1419 until his death in 1460, he sent several sailing expeditions down the coast of Africa. ⁴ In 1481, King John II of Portugal began sending expeditions to find a sea route around the southern shores of Africa. Many explorers made several attempts. It was Bartolomeu Dias who was the first to round Africa and make it to the Indian Ocean in 1488. But he was forced to head back to Portugal before he could make it to India. When Manuel I became king of Portugal in 1495, he continued efforts to open a trade route to India by going around Africa. Although other people were considered for the job, Manuel I finally chose thirty-seven year old Vasco da Gama for this task.

Voyages On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. Da Gama commanded the
Principal Voyage
Sao Gabriel. Paulo da Gama - brother to Vasco - commanded the São Rafael, a three masted ship. There was also the caravel Berrio, and a storeship São Maria. Bartolomeu Dias also sailed with da Gama, and gave helpful advice for navigating down the African coast. They sailed past the Canary Islands, and reached the Cape Verde islands by July 26. They stayed about a week, then continued sailing on August 3. To help avoid the storms and strong currents near the Gulf of Guinea, da Gama and his fleet sailed out into the South Atlantic and swung down to the Cape of Good Hope. Storms still delayed them for a while. They rounded the cape on November 22 and three days later anchored at Mossel Bay, South Africa. ⁵ They began sailing again on December 8. They anchored for a bit in January near Mozambique at the Rio do Cobre (Copper River) and continued on until they reached the Rio dos Bons Sinais (River of Good Omens). Here they erected a statue in the name of Portugal.

They stayed here for a month because much of the crew were sick from scurvy - a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C. ⁶ Da Gama's fleet eventually began sailing again. On March 2 they reached the Island of Mozambique. After trading with the local Muslim merchants, da Gama sailed on once more stopping briefly in Malindi (in present day Kenya). He hired a pilot to help him navigate through the Indian Ocean. They sailed for 23 days, and on May 20, 1498 they reached India. ⁷ They headed for Kappad, India near the large city of Calicut. In Calicut, da Gama met with the king. But the king of Calicut was not impressed with da Gama, and the gifts he brought as offering. They spent several months trading in India, and studying their customs. They left India at the end of August. He visited the Anjidiv Island near Goa, and then once more stopped in Malindi in January 1499. Many of his crew were dying of scurvy. He had the São Rafael burned to help contain the illness. Da Gama finally returned to Portugal in September 1499. Manuel I praised da Gama's success, and gave him money and a new title of admiral.

Subsequent Voyages Vasco da Gama's later voyages were less friendly with the people he met. He sailed once again beginning in February 1502 with a fleet of 10 ships. They stopped at the Cape Verdes Islands, Mozambique, and then sailed to Kilwa (in modern day Tanzania). Da Gama threatened their leader, and forced him and his people to swear loyalty to the king of Portugal. At Calicut, he bombarded the port, and caused the death of several Muslim traders. Again, later at Cochin, they fought with Arab ships, and sent them into flight.
⁸ Da Gama was paving the way for an expanded Portuguese empire. This came at the cruel treatment of East African and South Asian people. Finally, on February 20, 1503 da Gama began the return journey home arriving on October 11 1503. King Manuel I died in 1521, and King John III became ruler. He made da Gama a Portuguese viceroy in India. ⁹ King John III sent da Gama to India to stop the corruption and settle administrative problems of the Portuguese officials. Da Gama's third journey would be his last.

Later Years and Death
After he had returned from his first trip, in 1500 Vasco da Gama had married Caterina de Ataíde. They had six sons, and lived in the town Évora. Da Gama continued advising on Indian affairs until he was sent overseas again in 1524. Vasco da Gama left Portugal for India, and arrived at Goa in September 1524. Da Gama quickly re-established order among the Portuguese leaders. By the end of the year he fell ill. Vasco da Gama died on December 24, 1524 in Cochin, India. He was buried in the local church. In 1539, his remains were brought back to Portugal.

Legacy
Vasco De Gama was the first European to find an ocean trading route to India. He accomplished what many explorers before him could not do. His discovery of this sea route helped the Portuguese establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia and Africa. The new ocean route around Africa allowed Portuguese sailors to avoid the Arab trading hold in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Better access to the Indian spice routes boosted Portugal's economy. Vasco da Gama opened a new world of riches by opening up an Indian Ocean route. His voyage and explorations helped change the world for Europeans.

1. Emmanuel Akyeampong and Henry Louis Gates, Dictionary of African Biography (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012), 415.

2. Akyeampong and Gates, Dictionary of African Biography, 415.

3. Patricia Calvert, Vasco Da Gama: So Strong a Spirit (Tarrytown: Benchmark Books, 2005), 11-12.

4. Aileen Gallagher, Prince Henry, the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003), 5.

5. Kenneth Pletcher, ed., The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009), 54.

6. Pletcher, The Britannica Guide, 55.

7. Pletcher, The Britannica Guide, 55.

8. Pletcher, The Britannica Guide, 57.

9. Pletcher, The Britannica Guide, 58.

Bibliography

Akyeampong, Emmanuel, and Henry Louis Gates. Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Calvert, Patricia. Vasco Da Gama: So Strong a Spirit. Tarrytown: Benchmark Books, 2005.

Gallagher, Aileen. Prince Henry, the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003.

Pletcher, Kenneth ed. The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009.

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Portrait of Vasco da Gama by artist Antonio Manuel da Fonseca in 1838. Vasco da Gama, (c.1469 - 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.

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Kids learn about the biography and life of explorer Vasco da Gama. The first to sail from Europe to Asia around Africa.

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vă´skō də gă´mə, Port. väsh´kō dä gä´mə [ Gama, Vasco da key] , c.1469-1524, Portuguese navigator, the first European to journey by sea to India. His epochal voyage (1497-99) was made at the order of Manuel I. With four vessels, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passed the easternmost point reached by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, continued up the east coast of Africa to Malindi, and sailed across the uncharted Indian Ocean to Calicut. This voyage opened up a way for Europe to reach the wealth of the Indies, and immediately Portugal gained great riches from the spice trade; out of it ultimately grew the Portuguese Empire. Gama dictated the instructions for Cabral's voyage (1500-1502) to India, and in 1502 he himself led a fleet of 20 ships on his second India voyage. With this force he attempted to establish Portuguese power in Indian waters and sought to secure the submission of a number of chiefs on the African coast. He was harsh in his methods and was not as good an administrator as many of the Portuguese captains who later went to the East, but he was the first, and he was honored with many tributes and the title of count of Vidigueria. In 1524 he was sent back to India as viceroy, but he died soon after his arrival. Gama's voyage is the subject of Camões's epic The Lusiads.
See A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama (1898), the journal of one of Gama's subordinates; G. Corrêa, The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama and His Viceroyalty (1869, repr. 1964); K. G. Jayne, Vasco da Gama and His Successors (1910, repr. 1970); H. H. Hart, Sea Route to the Indies (1950, repr. 1971); N. Cliff, Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations (2011) and The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco Da Gama (2012).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Explorers, Travelers, and Conquerors: Biographies

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vă´skō də gă´mə, Port. väsh´kō dä gä´mə [key], c.1469-1524, Portuguese navigator, the first European to journey by sea to India. His epochal voyage (1497-99) was made at the order of Manuel I. With four vessels, he rounded the Cape of

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Vasco da Gama - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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by Phillip E. Playford

This article was published:

Dirk Hartog (1580-1621), mariner, was baptized on 30 October 1580 in the Oude Kerk (Old Church), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, second son and one of at least four children of Hartych Krynen, mariner, and his wife Griet Jans. On 20 February 1611, in the Old Church, Dirk married with Calvinist forms 18-year-old Meynsgen Abels. They are not known to have had children. At a time when Dutch spellings were not standardized, his name was variously spelled, including Hartogszoon, Hartogsz, Hartoogs, Hatichs and Hertoghsz as his surname, and Dirck or Dirick as his first name. He signed his name (in several extant documents) as Dyrck Hartoochz. In Australian history, however, he has become known as Dirk Hartog.

By 1615 Hartog had engaged on voyages to various European ports as the owner and skipper of a small trading vessel, the Dolphyn (Dolphin). In 1616 he was appointed to the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (United East India Co.) as skipper of the Eendracht (Concord) on its maiden voyage to the East Indies (Indonesia). It sailed from Texel on 23 January, carrying ten money chests containing 80,000 reals (pieces-of-eight), valued at about 200,000 guilders. The weather was bitterly cold and immediately before sailing twenty-one crewmembers and eight soldiers deserted by walking ashore over sea ice.

The Eendracht reached the Cape of Good Hope on 5 August 1616 and left on 27 August, following the newly adopted 'Brouwer' route, which directed V.O.C. ships to sail east across the Indian Ocean for a 1000 Dutch miles (c.7400 km), before heading north to the Sunda Strait. Longitude could then be estimated only very approximately, however, and it was inevitable that a V.O.C. navigator would eventually sail too far east and come upon the west coast of Australia. Hartog was the first to do so. On 25 October 1616 members of the Eendracht's crew landed at the north end of what is now known as Cape Inscription on Dirk Hartog Island. They left a record of their visit inscribed on a flattened pewter plate, nailed to an oak post and placed upright in a fissure on the cliff top. The inscription on the plate may be translated as:

1616, 25 October, is here arrived the ship the Eendracht of Amsterdam, the upper-merchant Gillis Miebais of Liege, skipper Dirck Hatichs of Amsterdam; the 27th ditto set sail again for Bantam, the under-merchant Jan Stins, the uppersteersman Pieter Dookes van Bill, Anno 1616.

On 14 December the Eendracht reached Macassar (Ujung Pandang), where a confrontation with local inhabitants resulted in the deaths of fifteen of its men. Hartog then visited other trading centres in the East Indies, delivering chests of money. Still under his command, the Eendracht left Bantam (Banten) on 17 December 1617, carrying a rich cargo of benzoin (an aromatic wax used for medicinal purposes), silk and other goods. The ship reached Zeeland in the Netherlands on 16 October 1618.

Leaving V.O.C. employment, Hartog skippered the Geluckige Leeu (Lucky Lion) on voyages to European ports. He died in 1621, in Amsterdam, and was buried on 11 October in the grounds of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). His remains were later removed to a communal grave field outside the city.

The Eendracht plate remained where it had been placed until 2 February 1697, when men of Willem de Vlamingh's expedition found it lying beside a decayed post. Vlamingh replaced it with another flattened pewter plate, inscribed with a copy of the text on the old plate and a record of his own visit, and nailed it to a new post. He took the Eendracht plate to Batavia (Jakarta); from there it was transferred to the V.O.C.'s archives in the Netherlands and later to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. It is the oldest known record of a landing by Europeans in Australia.

Hartog's discovery had a major impact on world cartography. Although Willem Jansz had charted the west coast of Cape York Peninsula some ten years earlier, that land was generally regarded as an extension of New Guinea. After Hartog's discovery, the mythical continent known as Terra Australis Incognita (the Unknown South Land) was replaced on maps by a major landmass called 't Landt van de Eendracht (theLand of the Eendracht). Later discoveries extended charts of its coastline and the continent was later renamed Hollandia Nova (New Holland) by the Dutch, and Australia by the British.

Select Bibliography

J. E. Heeres, The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765 (Lond, 1899)

G. Schilder, Australia Unveiled (Amsterdam, 1976)

J. P. Sigmond and L. H. Zuiderbaan, Nederlanders ontdekken Australie (Bussum, Netherlands, 1976)

J. P. Sigmond and L. H. Zuiderbaan, Dutch Discoveries of Australia (Syd, 1979)

G. Schilder (ed), Voyage to the Great South Land, Willlem de Vlamingh 1696-1697 (Syd, 1985)

J. van der Veen, Australië: Het Onbekende Zuidland Naderbij (Groningen, Netherlands, 1988)

P. E. Playford, Carpet of Silver (Perth, 1996)

P. E. Playford, Voyage of Discovery to Terra Australis (Perth, 1998)

information from the National Archives, the Hague, and the Municipal Archives, Amsterdam

private information.

Citation details

Phillip E. Playford, 'Hartog, Dirk (1580-1621)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hartog-dirk-12968/text23435, published first in hardcopy 2005, accessed online 2 March 2023.
This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Supplementary Volume, (Melbourne University Press), 2005
View the front pages for the Supplementary Volume

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by Phillip E. Playford This article was published: Dirk Hartog (1580-1621), mariner, was baptized on 30 October 1580 in the Oude Kerk (Old Church), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, second son and one of at least four children of Hartych Krynen, mariner, and his wife Griet Jans.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Dirck Hartog, also spelled Dirk Hartog or Dyrck Hartoochz, (flourished 1616), Dutch merchant captain who made the first recorded exploration of the western coast of Australia.

Hartog set sail from Texel, a port near Amsterdam, as part of a Dutch East India Company flotilla in January 1616. Traveling around the Cape of Good Hope to Java, Hartog sought to take advantage of the " roaring forties," a region between latitudes 40° and 50° south where strong westerly winds prevailed. The route promised to reduce his travel time by several months, but the winds carried Hartog too far east, and he sighted the western Australian coastline near Shark Bay.

Hartog landed (October 1616) and spent three days exploring a desolate offshore island that came to bear his name. To mark his landing, he left a flattened pewter plate, inscribed with the details of the visit, and nailed it on a post on the northern end of the island, now called Cape Inscription. This vestige of his visit served as a method of communication with later navigators. Indeed, in 1696 another Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh, landed on Dirk Hartog Island, found Hartog's plate, replaced it with a newly inscribed dish, and sent the original to Amsterdam, where it can now be seen in the Rijksmuseum. Hartog continued northward, charting the coast as far as North West Cape before resuming his journey to Jayakerta (now Jakarta).

Until the 19th century the coast of Australia parallel to Dirk Hartog Island was called Eendrachtsland in honour of the explorer's ship, Eendracht.

Michael Ray.

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Dirck Hartog | Dutch merchant captain and explorer

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Dirck Hartog, also spelled Dirk Hartog or Dyrck Hartoochz, (flourished 1616), Dutch merchant captain who made the first recorded exploration of the western coast of Australia. Hartog set sail from Texel, a port near Amsterdam, as part of a Dutch East India Company flotilla in January 1616.

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Dirk Hartog was a Dutch seaman born in 1580. He spent his early career trading as a private merchant in the Baltic and Mediterranean seas before joining the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a steersman. In 1615 he was appointed master of the VOC ship Eendracht and in January 1616 set sail with a fleet of VOC ships for Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia) to trade in spices and other goods.

Eendracht was separated from the fleet during a storm before the Cape of Good Hope but continued sailing about 7,000 km east before turning north and setting a course for Batavia. But Hartog sailed further east than he should have and made the first recorded landing of a European in Western Australia on 25 October 1616 when he dropped anchor off what is now known as Dirk Hartog Island.

To record his visit for posterity Hartog climbed a cliff, now called Cape Inscription, and set a wooden post in a cleft of rock. He nailed to the post a pewter plate inscribed with a brief account of his visit.

Hartog's plate remained on the cliff for 81 years until rediscovered in 1697 by another VOC captain, Willem de Vlamingh. The oldest known physical record from Australia's European history, the plate is now preserved in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Cape Inscription area is included in Australia's National Heritage List as a place of national significance.

Hartog continued north charting along the way, and his name for the region - Landt van d'Eendracht, or Eendracht's Land - began appearing on world maps.

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Dirk Hartog was a Dutch seaman born in 1580. He spent his early career trading as a private merchant in the Baltic and Mediterranean seas before joining the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a steersman.