Tuesday, December 13, 2011

This Day in History December 13, 1642

Abel Tasman was born in the Netherlands in 1603, and there is no known portrait of him.  He signed with the Dutch East India company in 1633, and he eventually commanded a ship (accompanied by his wife).  This finally lead to his receiving instructions to find the mysterious and supposedly rich Southern Continent--Terra Australia Incognita.  He left on the expedition August 13, 1642.

On this date in 1642, he got his first view of what would be called New Zealand.  He named it Staten Landt. It was a land lifter up high--probably the Southern Alps.  When they later tried to go ashore, there were some issues with the natives that led to some deaths amongst his sailors.  I really had no idea about the history of New Zealand.  I have often heard what a beautiful place this is, and I would love to see it one day, but I sincerely doubt I will.

For more information, check out:
http://www.history-nz.org/discovery1.html
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/european-discovery-of-new-zealand/2

1 comment:

  1. It is kind of sad to take a realistic and practical look at all the places we will never go.

    I rarely comment, but do enjoy these This Day In History posts. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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