Abel Tasman made two significant voyages, in 1642 and 1644. He records the discovery of Fiji, New Zealand, and van Diemen's Land, now Australia.[Each country had been found by their indigenous peoples long before this. Discover implies 'uncovering' - making widely known.]
Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania on December 24, 1642, during his voyage for the Dutch East India Company. He initially sighted the island, which he named Van Diemen's Land, while exploring the southern seas. The journey took place over several months, with Tasman departing from the Netherlands in August 1642 and reaching Tasmania in late December of the same year.
Because that WAS his name. He located and mapped the land mass today called australia long before Captain Cook. Somewhere around 1642. The Dutch called it Nieuw Holland and and also located Nieuw Zealand.
Abel Tasman did not name Australia. The name Australia comes from the Latin term 'terra australis incognita', meaning "unknown southern land", because for so long the continent of Australia was theorised, but not realised.Matthew Flinders, the first to circumnavigate the continent, was the one who suggested the name "Terra Australis" and this became Australia, the name officially adopted in 1824.In 1642, Abel Tasman named the island and southern state now known as Tasmania Van Diemen's Land after Antony Van Diemen, governor of Batavia.
Life for Abel Tasman while aboard his ships was marked by the challenges of exploration during the 17th century. He faced harsh weather conditions, limited provisions, and the constant threat of conflict with indigenous populations. The crew's daily routine involved navigation, charting new territories, and managing the ship, all while maintaining morale during long voyages. Despite these hardships, Tasman and his crew experienced the thrill of discovery and the pursuit of knowledge about uncharted lands.
During his journeys, Abel Tasman and his crew primarily relied on preserved foods such as salted meat, hardtack (a type of dry biscuit), and ship's biscuits. They also supplemented their diet with fresh provisions when available, including fish and any fruits or vegetables they could acquire from local sources or islands they visited. The limited supplies and long voyages often made their diet quite monotonous and challenging.
Abel Tasman's journey in 1642, during which he became the first European to reach New Zealand, lasted about three months. He set sail from the Dutch East Indies in August and returned in early December of the same year. His expedition aimed to explore the southern continent, which was believed to exist, but ultimately he didn't find the rich lands he sought. The voyage covered significant distances across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
First non-polynesian contact in NZ was 1642 by Abel Tasman (a Dutch explorer). But the first time the British came to NZ was in 1769 via James Cook (an explorer)
Abel Tasman was a Dutch explorer who was the first European to discover the area now called New Zealand. Zeeland is a Dutch province which is a seafaring region. The Dutch authorities on the report of Abel Tasman named the new found island, New Zealand.
The Maoris referred to their country as Aotearoa before it was renamed New Zealand by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in the 17th century. Aotearoa translates to "Land of the Long White Cloud" in Maori.
Abel Tasman named the land Staten Landt, as it was thought to be connected to South America. Cook's voyages and surveying corrected that, and subsequently it was shown on Dutch maps as Nova Zeeland (literally new sea-land) after a province of the Netherlands. This was translated to New Zealand on the British Admiralty charts.Some argue that the original Dutch spelling should prevail, but in that case all the native names of e.g. foreign capitals would be spelt in their mother tongue. Not a proposition likely to attract wide support.The accepted Maori name for the country is Aotearoa - 'land of the long white cloud'.
A2. Abel Tasman named what is now New Zealand as Stadten Land under the idea that it was a continuation of the S American peninsula. After James Cook's voyages showed this to not be true, the land was renamed on Dutch maps as Niew Zeeland after a province of Holland. Zeeland literally meant sea land - probably in reference to land reclamation.The British Admiralty translation of this was New Zealand.