Abel Janszoon Tasman was born in the year 1603 in the very small town of Lutjegast in the Dutch Republic, which is now known as the Netherlands.Abel Tasman was a famous Dutch explorer and a Dutch navigator in our history. He was the first Dutch-European to found various islands and continents.Abel Tasman was young at the time, the first Europeans and Dutch were quite fascinated by the islands of the East Indies. The islands were located in the Indian Ocean, to the south of Asia, and to the north of Australia, and were a valuable source of spices and other commodities. So, the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company in order to gain better access to these items. And in early 1630, when Abel Janszoon Tasman was around in his late 20s, he began working with the Dutch East India Company.To defend their interests, the firm Dutch East India Company, built forts on the islands of the South. They investigated the area in search of fresh lands with potential for wealth. Tasman Abel also took part in a number of similar expeditions. He also traveled to Japan, Cambodia, Taiwan, and Sumatra to trade voyages.If you enjoyed reading about the facts about Abel Tasman and are interested to read about more such people, then do also read our other articles on Barak Obama facts and Albert Einstein facts here on Kidadl.How did Abel Tasman die?In his life, Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered and explored many small islands and an island continent. Some of the islands in today’s time were once dedicated to Abel Tasman. But apart from the success, Abel also failed many voyages, and when he was getting old, the Dutch East India Company started to select different men for their voyages, and not Abel, and the company also started to stop trading voyages, which they did every time they started to discover the new territories.On the 1648 voyage, Abel was not able to make it successful, and he returned to Batavia. There he was found guilty of his actions on the voyage, where he had hanged one of his men without a trial. He was suspended from the company’s position and was given punishment where he had to pay fines to the victim’s family. He continued to obey his punishment, and after three to four years, he got his position back and continued to work in Batavia. On October 10, 1659, when Abel Tasman was around the age of 56, he got very sick and died. Later, the Abel Tasman family acquired his wealth.Abel Tasman VoyagesIn 1642, as his first and major voyage, Tasman was given orders by Dutch East Indies to explore the Indian Ocean from east to west coast, and to the south coast and north coast of the usual trade route, and then sailed east into the Pacific to study the feasibility of a sea passage. He sailed eastward to Chile, to explore New Guinea, to rediscover the Spaniards’ Solomon Islands, and then sail east to the South Sea.During the Tasman’s voyage, he observed a big island that he dubbed Van Diemen’s Land, on his way back. Tasmania was later renamed in his honor. The island is located close to the South Island of Australia’s mainland. As Tasman sailed north east, he came across the New Zealand islands. When Tasman was crossing New Zealand and was near Staten Land, they were attacked by the Spanish silver ships of Maoris people at the coast of Golden Bay, and because of that, they forgot the island of the south of New Zealand. He sailed the northern coast before continuing north bay when he discovered the Fiji Islands and the Tonga islands. After that, Tasman entered New Guinea to investigate the island. Tasman also found the South-land and continued to explore it northward, assuming it to be a harbor when he entered the gap between the south and the north island. During this voyage, Tasman failed to find a sea passage that would lead him to Torres Strait, so he went to the north west coast of Western Australia.What did Abel Tasman discover?Abel Tasman discovered many rocky shore islands like Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand islands on the southern coast near Australia and New Guinea. But another thing that this first European found in Tasman’s voyage was Tasmania, on the western coast, which Tasman named after him. He could also find Staaten island when sailing east, but he got confused with the island of South America.On November 24, 1642, Tasman spotted the peaks of southern Tasmania and named the area after Batavia’s Governor-General, Antony Van Diemen. Tasman set sail around the south coast for the next week but was hampered by bad weather. The ship’s carpenter swam ashore on December 3 to plant the flag, after which the small ships sailed up the coast to St. Patrick’s Head. Tasman’s crew observed smoke from fires and heard voices, but they never saw any Aboriginal people.What is Abel Tasman famous for?A southern continent was assumed to exist for a long time, but navigators of Spain who crossed the Pacific Ocean were unable to find it. After crossing the Cape of Good Hope in 1611, Dutch vessels were blown east by the ‘roaring forties’ occasionally brushed the shores of ‘Terra Australis’. The Batavian authorities quickly determined to see if this ‘South Land’ had any commercial promise, and for that, the Governor of the organization appointed Abel Tasman sailed to lead an expedition in 1642.The discovery of present-day New Zealand and Tasmania is credited to Abel Janszoon Tasman. Hundreds of miles of shoreline were charted by him. Despite the fact that he was unable to find a sea path to Chile for the Dutch East India Company, Tasman was one of the first to map Australia’s northern coastline. His discoveries are still remembered today, since the island of Tasmania and several places in New Zealand, such as Abel Tasman National Park, bear his name.Did You Know…There is Andrew Sharp’s essay, known as ‘The Voyages of Abel Janszoon Tasman’ (1968), which reproduces Tasman’s journals and includes an outstanding commentary as well as a comprehensive history of his career.J. C. Beaglehole’s ‘The Exploration of the Pacific’ (1934), the definitive work on the exploration of the entire region of the Pacific, also includes a good chapter on Tasman and his discoveries.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Abel Tasman facts then why not take a look at Christopher Columbus facts or facts about Rosa Parks.
Abel Janszoon Tasman was born in the year 1603 in the very small town of Lutjegast in the Dutch Republic, which is now known as the Netherlands.
