Dutch Charting of Australia - Research Paper Example

Name Professor Course Date Table of Contents Dutch Charting of Australia 2 Abstract 2 Introduction 2 Background 3 Willem Janszoon 4 Dirk Hartog 6 Abel Janszoon Tasman 8 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 11 Dutch Charting of Australia Abstract Charting of Australia did not happen through a one-time discovery but took several events. Initially, early Greeks and Romans in the era of Pythagoras perceived that there existed a Great Southern Land Mass especially on the southern part of the Equator that balanced the landmass in the North. Furthermore, after the formation and growth of the Dutch East India Company also known as VOC, their search for spices, Gold and Sea routes led them into accidentally sailing on the shores of Australia. Among the VOC traders who played a significant role in charting New Holland or what is currently known as Australia are Willem Janszoon, Dirk Hartog, and Abel Tasman. In order to understand their encounters and the role they played in charting of Australia, it is imperative to explore the roles they played in VOC, the events that led them into the Australian coastline as well as their encounters with the Aboriginals of Australia. Introduction Before the invasion of European geographers into Australia, the Aboriginal people had already developed practical knowledge of the Australian landscape especially, its climate and geography. Around the late 17th century, philosophers and geographers from Europe started imagining of a Great Lands that might have been existing below the Equator (Pandora web). However, perceptions by the Europeans changed significantly after the Dutch traders arrived in southern Asia at the early years of the 17th century (Queensland State Archives). The Dutch traders had been granted a 21 years monopoly power in the Spice market by the Dutch government under the Dutch East India Company known as Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) in Dutch (Pandora web). Apparently, this was the first multinational corporation in history, as well as the first company to exercise stock trading. Eventually, through VOC’s exploration for new trade opportunities as well as routes in the sea, they discovered the New Holland, which prompts the importance of reviewing the events that ensured towards the discovery and charting of the Australia by the Dutch between 1606 and 1756. Background The idea of the landmass occupying the Southern Hemisphere had prevailed since the era of Pythagoras. Early Greeks and Romans and drawn the map of the world in the shape of a sphere, incorporating the three Northern Hemisphere continents known to them by then, with an incognito landmass on the south of the Equator. Furthermore, during the Renaissance period, the theory of the continental mass in the south had influenced quite a number of cartographers. Although there were many VOC voyages seeking to explore the American continent across the Pacific Ocean, none of them erased the perceived believe that there existed a great landmass to the south (Pandora web). Controversy about the American continent was solved by 1502 following exploration voyages by Amerigo Vespucci. The problem was that most of these explorers and cartographers thought that the Southern Landmass was connected to South America. Revolution in mapping was brought about by Gerard Mercator’s impressive discovery of the use of research and calculations to more accurately outline the longitudinal length of Asia and Europe. Mercator’s invention transformed the land surveying ever since (Pandora web). Consequently, Mercator was able to apply map projection, which enabled sailors plot compass bearings for the first time using straight lines. The new concept in map projection dramatically changed how cartographers viewed the world. Using the new trends in mapping, a Voyage by Willem Schouten sailed through Chile’s western coast to the southern part of the Pacific Ocean and confirmed that South America was not part of the perceived Southern continent. In the early 1600s, Spanish voyages had managed to reach the Solomon Islands as well as New Hebrides. The Spanish thought the New Hebrides was the famous southern land mass hence named it La Australia del Espiritu Santo. The Spanish did not realize that they were actually rounding in on the perceived continent’s northeast. Apparently, the time by which the Spanish and the Portuguese were rounding on Australia was the same time that VOC was gaining immense power in the spices industry posing substantial competition to its commercial rivals (Pandora web). As VOC competed for the East Indies spice markets, they sought to explore further south setting foot on the Australian Soil in 1606. The entire coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria, northwest coast and the western coast was discovered via both accidental and deliberate landings by the VOC voyages. Furthermore, since most of the voyages by Willem Janszoon, Dirk Hartog, and Abel Tasman were driven by roaring forties to the Australian shores, Dutch ships that were sent to look for them from Java contributed further to the charting of the Australian coastline. Eventually, the Dutchmen owing to their elegant mapmaking and intricate charting skills were able to unveil the continent known as Australia, as detailed by the following VOC voyages. Willem Janszoon Willem Janszoon was a respected navigator as well as a successful naval officer born in 1570 in Amsterdam. He had developed a passion of sea operations especially as an officer prompting him to study diligently in navigations and mathematics. Willem joined his first ship at the age of 16, serving as a cadet officer (VOC History Society). While onshore, he witnessed together with his fellow shipmates the English navy destroying the great Spanish Armada. His passion for the adventures was raised and by the age of 28, he was set off on his first voyage to the East Indies which was quite far from Amsterdam. Eventually, when Willem was at the age of 33 years, he was given command of his first ship named Duyfken. The ship was quite small but solid enough with 50ntonnes. Through Willem’s previous experience in the sea and the trade of spices, he was adequately equipped in matters of trade and battle. His prowess in the sea and trade caught the attention of Admiral Steven van der Haghen. Following orders from VOC headquarters on the need for more exploration, charting and mapping of Far East lands in search for a new passage across the Pacific, Admiral van der Haghen recommended Captain Janszoon Governor Fredrick de Houtmann (VOC History Society). His ship, Duyfken was recommended for the exploration especially in charting shallow coastlines that were unknown. Willem’s ship set off for the unknown destination on November 18th, 1605, from the island of Java. Apparently, VOC’s representative at Java, Captain John Saris noted Duyfken’s departure from the island. Apparently, Saris had a lot of question pondering on his mind regarding Janszoon’s mission (VOC History Society). Meanwhile, Saris thought of the myths about King Solomon’s gold mines that laid in unknown lands in the Far East and figured out maybe Captain Janszoon’s voyage was the one to grace the discovery. As the voyage sailed for weeks, they discovered a new land in which they sent a night although there was no human life thus Sailed further southeast as they charted the landscape. In one instance, as they sailed, they heard the sound of pounding drums from far and on sending a boat crew, the inhabitants attacked them and killed 8 of the crew members before they could retreat to the ship. There were several islands and the mainland, and Janszoon tried to find a channel between the Islands and the mainland though the currents were violent. To the south, he found a calmer open passing through an island which he charted as Fredrick Hendrick Island. It was at the dawn of the new year of 1606 that Janszoon charted 300 miles of a coastline and believed that the foreboding land he saw through his telescope must be the perceived great south land, Terra Australis. Due to the declining provisions, he sailed back to a river mouth he had charted before known as Batavia River. Captain Janszoon joined a boat crew to the interior via the river mouth in search of a source of food where they met with a group of ominous black tribesmen (VOC History Society). From previous experience, they started attacking the natives wounding most of them. The natives retaliated with their long spears, fatally wounding a crew member of the Janszoon’s boat. They retreated to Duyfken and further to nearest port, Aru for replenishment. Due to his mapping, Captain Janszoon is considered as the Columbus of Australia which he discovered in 1606. Dirk Hartog Hartog was a Dutch Skipper and the captain of the ship known as Eendracht left Netherlands port, Texel sailing to the East Indies (Western Australian Museum). Eendracht sailed within the company of a fleet owned by VOC and was carrying rich cargo aimed for trade with spices as well as other products from the East Indies. Apparently, there was a violent storm in the sea that separated Eendracht from the rest of the fleet, finally landing at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. From the Cape of Good Hope, Hartog, and his crew took an easterly route in the Indian Ocean. As he sailed East, he projected he had gone East enough to take a northern turn aiming to reach Macassar, Eastern Indonesia. Apparently, Hartog had sailed far to the East that he came across the West Coast of the unknown continent that was referred to as Terra Australis Incognita (Western Australian Museum). After Hartog’s voyage had landed in the western part of Terra Australis, they took two days of exploring the new found land. Furthermore, Hartog left an engraved pewter dish; that would later be acknowledged as a mark of their landing as it proclaimed the land for future visitors. The dish was engraved in 1616 (Western Australian Museum). Consequently, the wooden post where the dish was attached, and the pewter dish together serves as the earliest archeological artifacts that depict the presence of Europeans in Australia. The roads that Hartog and his crew used to explore the landmass for the two days were named Dirk Hartog Roads. As Eendracht sailed along the western coastline, Hartog realized that the mainland trended away to the east. Using his knowledge of degrees, Hartog realized that the trending was off about 22 degrees south (Western Australian Museum). This new and discovered by Hartog and his crew was named after the ship, Eendrachtsland. Later on, cartographers such as Hessel Gerritsz used the name Eendrachtsland in their charting of the continent as contained in the VOC files. The beginning of the successful exploration of Australia by the Dutch, English, and French navigators commenced after Hartog landed at the Shark Bay. Although the pewter dish claims that after leaving the Dirk Hartog Island they were to sail to Bantam, they first sailed to Banda and anchored at the roads of Macassar on 1616 10th December for food supplies and help in navigation by a Dutch pilot. On reaching the Macassar shore, they sent a boat where Jan Steijns was on board to seek the help from the Dutch factory but on reaching the shore, he discovered that the factory was abandoned a year earlier. Meanwhile, the King of Macassar had developed great animosity against the Dutch since they had caused the death of his son, and son-in-law. Steijns was rescued by two English ships, but the sixteen Dutchmen sent to look for him were brutally massacred. Finally, the ship arrived at Bantam in 1617 November and at Zeeland on 16th October 1618 (Western Australian Museum). Abel Janszoon Tasman Abel Tasman a sailor and ship captain under VOC was born in 1603 in Lutjegast and is accredited with being the first European to circumnavigate Australia. Additionally, he is depicted as the one who discovered New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga Islands as well as the Van Diemen’s Land also named after him as Tasmania (Flinders Ranges Research). From his young age, Tasman had developed passion in sailing where by 1630s he managed to secure a position in VOC, commanding quite a number of their ship which sailed from Amsterdam to the East Indies. In 1639 2nd June, the governor-general of VOC, Antonio van Diemen dispatched Tasman on a voyage in search of silver and gold islands perceived to be in the east of Japan, northwestern Pacific. Tasman aided in mapping various islands to the north on his expeditions before anchoring at Zeelandia which was the Dutch fortress in Formosa in 1639 (Flinders Ranges Research). On 14th August 1642, Tasman left the port of Batavia to explore the South Land. Tasman set out for the expedition with two ships, Zeehaan with 50 men and Heemskerk with 60 men. The voyage spotted the island of Tasmania on 24th November 1642, and he named it after the VOC Governor Antonio Van Diemen as well as the first two mountains they spotted after the two ships they sailed in (Lock web). As they sailed further into the east, Tasman sighted another land mass on 13th December 1642 which he initially named Statenland before changing its name into New Zeeland. As they sailed further to the Northern most point, Tasman discovered a plausible area to dock, and this named this place after the Governor’s wife, Cape Maria van Diemen (Lock web). As the voyage sailed further, they came across Tonga Archipelago where they obtained fresh supplies before returning to Batavia by June 1643 through a route they discovered north of New Guinea (Flinders Ranges Research). Later on, in 1644, the governor sent out Tasman with three ships on an exploration mission where he sailed along the north coast of Australia, naming the Gulf of Carpentaria but failed to impress Van Diemen since he did not find the Torres Strait. Eventually, Tasman was dismissed from VOC in 1649 after a mission that resulted in an ignominious failure as the Dutch attacked the Spanish in 1648 (Flinders Ranges Research). Conclusion It is imperative to acknowledge that the ultimate discovery of the New Holland can be attributed to the 1644 circumnavigation by Abel Tasman who charted the Australia’s northern coastline. After charting the coastline, Tasman gave the continent the name New Holland though later in 1817 an English navigator by the name Matthew Flinders recommended the name Australia and the name were officially sanctioned. The problem that made most of the maps between 1606 and 1642 depict the element of paucity was due to the secrecy of new discoveries by VOC since they perceived that these discoveries posed potential of new trading opportunities. The first world map that depicted discoveries made Dutch explorers was published by Nicholas Visscher in 1651. A century later in 1744, the first English map that captures the whole of New Holland was published in commemoration of Tasman. After the map had been published, Jean Pierre Purry who was a former employee of the VOC asserted that New Holland’s Nuyt’s Land at the Southern coast had the best climate in the world in a bid to attract English, Dutch and French settlers to the Island. Therefore, VOC voyages played a significant role in the discovery of Australia as well as opening up the continent after mapping for future explorations and settling. Works Cited Flinders Ranges Research, "Abel Janszoon Tasman". Southaustralianhistory.com.au. N.P., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. Lock, Anthony. "On This Day: Abel Tasman Sights Tasmania". Australian Geographic. Np. 2011. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. Pandora. "Pandora Archive". Pandora.nla.gov.au. N.p., 2006. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. Queensland State Archives,. "Dutch Harmony Day 1". Archives.qld.gov.au. N.p., 2012. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. VOC History Society,. "Janszoon". Vochistory.org.au. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. Western Australian Museum,. "1616 Dirk Hartog | Western Australian Museum". Western Australian Museum. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. Read More