There is still debate in the world about who discovered Australia. Some claim that this is James Cook, a navigator from England. Others believe that the discoverers of the continent were the Danes, looking for a way to their colony in Java.
In general, they appeared here long before the Europeans. More than forty thousand years ago, this continent was chosen by people from the southern regions of Asia. The mysterious terra incognita australius (unknown southern land) - ancient geographers still knew about it. Already in the fifteenth century, they marked a mysterious continent on maps. True, the outlines of this vast land area on them do not in any way resemble the real Australia.
The Portuguese also enter into the debate about who discovered Australia, claiming that Portuguese sailors received information about the new continent back in the sixteenth century from the aborigines of the Malay Islands, who caught sea cucumbers in the coastal waters of an unknown continent. But the first European set foot on Australian soil only in the seventeenth century.
The history of the discovery of Australia has long been associated with the name of Cook, but still the Dutch are considered the first inhabitants of Europe to visit the green continent (as Australia is sometimes called). It is not for nothing that the western part of this amazing continent later became known as New Holland.
In 1605, Willem Janszoon from Holland, who crossed sailed along the Cape York Peninsula. A year after this, Torres from Spain discovered the strait that separates the island from the continent. In 1642, the Dane visited the southwestern part of Tasmania, considering it part of Australia. Both Janszon and Tasman met Aboriginal people on the mainland.
And the Dutch, and the Spaniards, and the Danes did not publicly announce the discovery of a new continent. It is precisely because of the secrecy of the discoverers that the question of who discovered Australia is now disputed by the British, who came to this land 150 years after the first Europeans.
In 1770, the ships of James Cook landed on the east coast of Australia, who immediately proclaimed the new lands as English possessions. Soon a royal “penal colony” was created here for criminal elements, and a little later for English political exiles.
In 1788, the British, who arrived with the “first fleet” on Australian soil, founded the city of Sydney, which later became the center of the British colony. The first free settlers arrived with the “second fleet” and began to energetically explore the expanses of the green continent.
The continent, originally called “New Holland”, by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, with the light hand of the English hydrographer Flinders, began to be called “Australia”. The Aborigines by this time had been brutally exterminated by the colonialists. There were raids and hunts, the natives were poisoned, and bonuses were paid for those killed. Already a hundred years after the appearance of the British on the mainland, most of the local inhabitants were exterminated, and the survivors were driven into the central regions of the continent, lifeless and deserted.
More recently, new facts have become known. So, even before James Cook, another Briton visited this southern continent - William Dampier. And in 1432, the Chinese navigator Zeng He visited Australia.
Yet none of the modern world powers can be considered the country that opened the green continent to the world. They were the first to visit here, long before the Europeans. They used eucalyptus oil for mummification, a tree that grew only in the northeast of Australia. And on the rocks of this continent you can find ancient images of scarabs - sacred beetles Ancient Egypt.
So, the question of who discovered Australia is a very controversial issue that historians are still struggling with.
Who and when discovered the penultimate continent on the planet is still a debatable question - for the British it is James Cook, for the Dutch it is Willem Janszoon. And then there are the Spaniards, the Portuguese and the French. The unusually long isolation of the continent makes Australia a unique world.
The continent of Australia emerged about 50 million years ago when it broke away from Antarctica. The first people appeared here during the Ice Age - 50 thousand years ago. And although European navigators visited Australia several times during great geographical discoveries, the first British colony arose here only in 1788.
Local aborigines are Australia's shrouded secret, which anthropologists, geneticists and archaeologists are trying to unravel. Scientists have found that people appeared on the mainland during the glaciation of the ocean. That's how Australia's ancestors, hunter-gatherers from Africa, were able to not only cross Asia, but also adapt to moving between islands on primitive dams in Indonesia.
50 thousand years ago, glaciation helped nomadic tribes cross the waters between South-East Asia and Australia. Due to global temperature changes, the water level in the ocean then dropped by 120 m. This meant that the African tribes only had to swim 100 km of water, instead of the expected 560 km.
Scientists also came to the conclusion that African tribes carried out only one wave of migration to the continent, and never returned to East South Asia. In such isolated conditions, no a large number of the arriving tribes were able not only to preserve the gene pool and survive, but also to increase their numbers.
When the British actively explored Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries, naturalists suggested that the number of Aboriginal people in Australia was close to 1 million.
But despite the impressive demographics, it is believed that about 12 thousand years ago, during the last wave of glaciation, the climate of Australia turned from lush forests to an arid desert. This was the reason why a significant number, about 60%, of the local aborigines died out in search of drinking water.
Also, the disappearance of ideal living conditions contributed to the division of large tribes into small tribal groups. This is how the diverse world of Australian aborigines was formed, who maintained strong cultural, trade and barter ties among themselves before the arrival of Europeans to the mainland.
The last changes in the gene pool of local aborigines occurred about 12 thousand years ago– When the glacier retreated and ocean levels began to rise, Australia's last geological change occurred. Increased water levels in the ocean separated the modern island of Tasmania from Australia, and thereby isolated some of the island's tribes from the continent forever.
This is how linguistic diversity arose. Despite the relatively small number of Aboriginal people, the greatest cultural diversity existed here - the inhabitants of Australia spoke 500 languages, which linguists divided into 31 language families.
Today, half of these languages are lost unexplored. Scientists suggest that about 250 peoples lived in Australia.
Who was in Australia before the Europeans
The history of Australia is very popular not only among archaeologists and anthropologists. Particular attention to the study of historical and cultural heritage the most isolated continent is also demonstrated by geneticists and ecologists. The most inexplicable hypotheses about the discovery of Australia are attributed to the Egyptians.
This is because some pharaohs were embalmed in eucalyptus oil, and some caves in Australia have scarab designs on them. The presence of scarab drawings can be explained by the fact that it was people from Africa who arrived on the continent 50 thousand years ago. What is also possible is that they retained the totemic belief that they brought with them from their distant homeland.
The most favorable conditions for the arriving African tribes were found on the west coast of the mainland in the Murray River valley and near Lake Mungo. It was there that anthropologists found the remains of a human skeleton, which is now about 42 thousand years old. According to the remains found, archaeologists can claim that the aborigines had a massive and large body structure.
Most of the skeletons of the modern anthropological sample in Australia date back to a period of about 4 thousand years ago.
Later, in the habitat of Lake Mungo, archaeologists also dug up the oldest archaeological objects of human activity. Surprisingly, these tribes used ocher, a plant pollen that was part of symbolic rituals back in Africa.
To the surprise of modern researchers, the Australian aborigines managed to preserve their genome and not die out from inbreeding. This was facilitated by their division into small tribal groups, between which contacts regularly occurred.
Also, these tribes managed to create not only a unique socio-cultural environment, but also strong trade ties, which were very important for maintaining the existence of entire tribes. Unfortunately, this network was destroyed by the processes of colonization of the mainland by Europeans - the aborigines lost not only their thousand-year-old cultural habits, they were forcibly resettled and their alliances were destroyed.
Australian culture remains poorly understood. Modern genetics is trying to save the situation by comparing the genomes of found skeletons and living aborigines. Based on their results, scientists want to recreate a map of the development of cultural processes.
The first Europeans to visit the Green Continent
The discovery of this continent by Europeans is the result of a global process of great geographical discoveries XV-XVIII centuries At the beginning of modern times, the most powerful European states with impressive navies - Spain, Portugal and Holland - were actively looking for new lands with minerals. Only later, at the end of the 17th century. Britain and France joined this trinity.
There are several versions of who discovered Australia. This process happened gradually. There are also hypotheses that the Portuguese were the first to arrive on the mainland. But this has not yet been documented. Then, almost simultaneously, during travel, the northern coast of Australia was noticed by the Spanish and Dutch flotillas. Accordingly, the management of each kept the discovery secret.
The Dutch actively explored the mainland for 2 centuries. The first to discover Australia was Willem Janszoon in 1606. After him, a series of Dutch expeditions to the shores of Australia took place. Although they were not particularly successful here, since after each return, the land of “New Holland” was designated the poorest continent.
Deposits of gold, diamonds and other precious minerals were discovered by the British only in the middle of the 19th century.
Then, almost 2 centuries later, the British sailed here with a specific goal - to proclaim these lands as British property and establish a colony. In 1788, the first colony was founded here in Botany Bay, to which English prisoners were transported. The appearance of the first settlements marked the beginning of a more thorough study of the nature of Australia, especially deeper into the continent.
It is important that the appearance of Europeans here marked the beginning of a decrease in the number of aborigines. There were constant battles for survival between the colonialists and the aborigines. But also, representatives of local cultures turned out to be poorly resistant to various imported diseases - the isolated genome and, accordingly, the immunity of the aborigines was unadapted to combat unknown viruses.
Australia's demographic change also occurred when not only the dregs of British society began to arrive here, but also those who wanted to farm and those who were infected with the "gold rush" of the 19th century. Thus, in Australia, a local system of government was established, and representative bodies of government - parliaments - began to be created.
A few decades later, in 1901, local colonists held a referendum and proclaimed the creation of a federation. From this moment on, British and Australian histories became separate, although the connection with the former metropolis has not been lost to this day. For example, in Australia the head of state is the British Queen Elizabeth. Although its power today is only symbolic and is not manifested in any way.
The official history of the discovery of Australia
Assumptions about the existence of Australia were voiced by ancient philosophers. Then, in article 5, Ptolemy suggested that in order to balance the planet there must be earth somewhere there. This idea came to life again during the active great geographical discoveries, when European countries were looking for new lands with gold.
In 1565, the Spanish monk Andre de Urdaneta suggested that in the waters Pacific Ocean west of South America there must be a Southern continent. On time first trip around the world Magellan in 1519-1522. these lands were already called by cartographers “the unknown southern land.” Terra Australis Incognita.
In 1606 for the first time, Portuguese navigator Pedro Ferdinand de Quiros mistakenly decided that he had discovered that very new continent, and named it Austrialia de Espiritu Santo. Wanting to gain the glory of the second Columbus, he abandoned half of the flotilla and headed to the royal court. But this turned out to be not the treasured Australia, the New Hebrides archipelago, 83 islands, east of Australia.
But his subordinate Torres then sailed further and actually discovered the northern coast of Australia and the southern coast of New Guinea. But the official discovery of the mainland took place in 1772, when James Cook proclaimed these lands a new British colony. Although Dutch navigators had visited this continent several times for 163 years, they kept its discovery a secret.
Despite the proclamation of British power in Australia, the exploitation of the mainland began only 16 years later, and not in the most positive colors - then, in 1788, English prisoners and prostitutes who were caught on the streets of London were brought here. It is believed that if villains were brought to Australia, the most dangerous ones were taken even further - to the island of Tasmania.
Practically, only 100 years later, the local infrastructure was developed, farming began to develop, and gold deposits were found on the mainland. This provoked a flow of not only those wishing to engage agriculture, but also golden fever.
More than 2 centuries, before the active settlement of the mainland began, Europeans made several very important expeditions to the shores of Australia. Then their main goal was to study by naturalists and artists the unknown nature - flora and fauna, and rarely - attempts to establish contacts with the aborigines.
The most important expeditions were led by the following captains:
| Expedition | Year |
| (Portugal) | 20s 16th century |
| Luis Vaez de Torres (Spain) | 1606 |
| Willem Janszoon (Holland) | 1606 |
| Derk Hartog (Holland) | 1616 |
| Frederick de Houtman (Holland) | 1619 |
| Abel Tasman (Holland) | 1642, 1644 |
| Willem de Vlaminck (Holland) | 1696 |
| William Dampier (Britain) | 1699 |
| James Cook (Britain) | 1772, 1774 |
| Jean Francois La Perouse (France) | 1788 |
| George Bass (Britain) | 1797 |
| Matthew Flinders (Britain) | 1801 |
Expeditions to Australia: history, description
The discovery of Australia is the result of a series of important events for humanity associated with great geographical discoveries and the colonization of overseas territories around the world.
Contemporary discussions about the importance of many expeditions to the shores of Australia continue today. Each of them made important discoveries related to the nature of not only Australia, but also Oceania. But the collective experience of the past centuries has become accessible to everyone only now, and then, every European country in strict secrecy, she tried to figure out what to do with the new territories.
Expedition of Cristovão de Mendonça
Despite the fact that it has not yet been possible to document the primacy of Portuguese navigators in the discovery of Australia, such a hypothesis deserves its right to exist. Australia was first discovered by the Portuguese navigator Cristóvão de Mendoza.
During his next search for lands with gold, he came across the western coast of Australia, which he later marked on his maps. This is confirmed by archaeological finds on the seashore - 2 Portuguese bronze cannons made in the early 16th century. It is assumed that they appeared here during one of the Portuguese naval expeditions to the Moluccas in 1509.
Expedition of Luis Vaez de Torres
In the midst of the search for new colonial lands, the Spanish navigator Luis Torres officially became the first to record the northern coast of the then unknown land. In 1605, he reported the discovery of new territories to the royal viceroy in the Philippines.
Since Spain did not then have the means to study this continent, they decided to keep the discovery secret until better times, which never came for the Spaniards.
This discovery coincided with the fall of the power of the Spanish monarchy, so Spain was unable to explore new lands and appropriate them for itself.
Later, almost two centuries later, James Cook would name this northernmost point of the continent Cape York. Only over time will the body of water through which Luis Torres swam be named in his honor - the Torres Strait.
It was Torres who officially discovered Australia first, but it was not he who was destined to announce this, which is why his fame fell into oblivion. He became the first to sail further than Southeast Asia and discovered the shores of New Guinea and Australia.
Expedition of Willem Janszoon
Almost at the same time as the Spaniards, the Dutch sailed to the shores of Australia. Only unlike Spain, Holland in the 17th century was a strong maritime country, often leading in the number of discoveries of new territories.
Therefore, starting in 1606, Holland carried out important, but secret, expeditions to explore the unknown southern continent, which they called “New Holland.” The Dutchman Willem Janszoon discovered Australia., he landed on new shore 400 km west of the Spaniards, where he explored the 320 km long coastline with a crew of 26 sailors.
Then he decided that these lands were part of New Guinea. Later it became clear that Janszon explored the length of the Gulf of Carpentaria and reached the Cape York Peninsula. Despite factual errors, the Dutch also recorded new latitudes on their nautical charts, and subsequently the Dutch East India Campaign began to actively explore new lands, keeping them secret.
Expedition of Jan Carstens
In 1623, Jan Carstens and Willia van Kolster, having studied the shores of New Guinea and Cape Valais, also headed east to the lands discovered by Janszoon - to Zeitland. But when they reached the Australian coast, for unknown reasons, skipper Willia van Colster left Jan Cartens without permission and went in another direction.
Jan Cartens also discovered Janszon's cartographic errors. At that time, Australia and New Guinea were designated as a single territory on nautical maps. After the expedition of Jan Carstens, the water area between Arnhemland and Cape York became known as Carnetaria.
And while searching for fresh water, his team moved much further south than his predecessor did - to the modern Gilbert River. Having studied the local nature and encountered the aborigines, Jan Cartens then made a conclusion - this is the most barren coast that his team has seen. While exploring the coast, they captured one aborigine, whom they then showed to everyone.
Abel Tasman's expeditions
Discovered Australia from the southern side of another continent Dutch navigator- Abel Tasman. In total, he managed to carry out 2 expeditions in this region. The first of which was called a “Brilliant Failure”, since Tasman managed to discover many islands of Oceania, but not see Australia itself - he managed to sail around the mainland at a distance far enough not to see it.
In 1642, Tasman first discovered the island of Tasmania (he himself named it Van Diemen's Land in honor of his patron from the East India Campaign), and then New Zealand, Fiji and many other small islands. During the second expedition in 1644, Tasman had already landed in the north of Australia.
His first expedition became a record - no one had ever sailed so far to the south. Also, in 1642, he managed to circumnavigate the Australian mainland. Therefore, later, after his second expedition, Tasman will not only call these lands New Holland, but will also be able to say that this is a single landmass.
In 1644, when Tasman finally landed in Australia, he had important assignments from the Netherlands East India Campaign:
- explore the flora and fauna of the mainland northeast coast;
- explore the landscape and embankment line;
- find minerals;
- establish trade contacts with local tribes.
But the mission was unsuccessful - trade did not start, no gold was found. Jan Cartens' conclusion was confirmed - this is a very poor continent. The Dutch lost interest in the lands of New Holland for a long time
James Cook Expedition
Opened according to official history Australia, British navigator James Cook. The British monarchy's interest in southern waters was a result of the Seven Years' War with Spain. Then Britain, having selected a secret archive, found the records of Luis Torres, and learned about the existence of the Southern Continent.
The first British expedition to the shores of Australia was carried out by William Dampier in 1699. He explored the vast western bay, which was indicated in the Spanish archives, and Captain Dampier also discovered the Melanesian island of New Britain (the modern part Papua New Guinea).
But it was not until 1770 that a second British flotilla, led by James Cook, was sent to establish a new colony of the British Monarchy.
The official reason for this expedition was an important astronomical event - observation of the rare movement of celestial bodies - the passage of Venus through the disk of the Sun, which European astronomers and naturalists were supposed to observe on the island of Haiti. The crew of the only ship "Endeavour" headed for Tahiti, and only then - to Terra Australis Incognita - an unknown southern land.
So, on April 19, 1770, the British fleet stopped at Botany Bay, where the local flora and fauna were studied. Further, while exploring the east coast, the ship hit the Great Barrier Reef and was damaged. James Cook explored the eastern and northeastern coasts of Australia and named the new British colony New South Wales.
After lengthy repairs, when the team returned to their homeland, the official opening of the mainland took place. On August 20, 1770, James Cook declared the new land a British possession. Cook did not find fresh water on the mainland, so in his report he described these lands as unsuitable for life. But in 1786, the British government nevertheless decided to begin colonization of the lands discovered by Cook.
And in 1788, 11 British squadrons arrived in Botany Bay in Australia with 778 prisoners on board. And as it turned out later - fresh water I was here after all.
Australia was discovered for the last time by the French captain Jean François La Perouse in January 1788. But his team was only a few days late before British prisoners were brought here. Therefore, the study of the new continent by the French turned out to be record short.
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Video about who discovered Australia
Who discovered Australia? Secrets of the centuries. Artifacts:
50 thousand years before its discovery by European sailors. In the arid deserts, tropical jungles and coastal plains of this continent, people with their own rich traditions of culture, religion and original lifestyle have lived for centuries. By the time James Cook discovered Australia, indigenous people continent there were over 300 thousand people speaking 500 languages. And now Australia, whose continent was discovered twice before the world understood its full significance for the global economy and culture, continues to reveal the mysteries of its thousand-year history.
History of discoveries
The discovery of Australia is the result of centuries-long searches by the Portuguese, Dutch and British South country(terra australis incognita). In 2006, archaeologists discovered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia, which gave rise to the hypothesis among some scientists that the Egyptians were the first to discover this continent 5,000 years ago.
If you take recent history, then scientists agree that the year of discovery of Australia is 1606. It was in this year that the Dutchman V. Janszoon studied the northeastern part of Australia - the Cape York Peninsula.
But the history of the discovery of Australia is filled with numerous mysteries that scientists have yet to solve. Thus, the cannons found by archaeologists give reason to some researchers to believe that back in the 16th century. The Portuguese visited Australia, but there is no evidence of this in documentary sources yet.
Exploring "New Holland"
The entire 17th century is the story of the discovery and exploration of Australia by sea travelers from the Netherlands, who first called it New Holland.
After the mentioned Janszon, in 1616 D. Hartog described part west coast continent, in 1623 J. Carstensz compiled a map of the western coast of the York Peninsula, and in 1627 the southern coast of the still unknown continent was explored by F. Theisen and P. Neates.
The main ruler of the Netherlands Indies, Anton Van Diemen, in 1642 sent the famous navigator A. Tasman on an expedition, who discovered the land named after Van Diemen (modern Tasman Island). On January 29, 1644, a new expedition headed by Tasman set sail. The expedition proved that New Holland is a separate continent.
For Holland, the discovery of Australia did not seem worthy of much attention, since it already had convenient naval bases in southern Africa and Java, and the island itself did not grow expensive oriental spices, which were valued on European markets. Nothing also indicated the presence of mineral deposits here; animal species that could have aroused interest among the Europeans of that time had not yet been discovered.
British exploration of the Australian continent
More than half a century passed before English explorers and travelers continued the exploration of the mainland after the Dutch. Thus, the expedition of V. Dampier managed to study the northwestern part of Australia in more detail and discovered previously unknown islands in this area.
And in 1770, the “next” discovery of Australia took place - this time by James Cook.
After Cook, the discovery and exploration of Australia by the British continued: in 1798, D. Bass discovered a strait between the mainland and the island of Tasmania; in 1797 - 1803, M. Flinders walked the continent and drew up a map with more accurate outlines of it south coast. It was Flinders who came up with the proposal in 1814 to change the name "New Holland" to "Australia", and by the 1840s F. King and D. Wicken completed the study and mapping of the Australian coastline.
The 19th century brought new geographical discoveries to Australia by travelers and explorers from different countries, but already inside the continent. As a result, the Great Dividing Range with highest point continent - Mount Kosciuszko; deserts, endless plains, as well as Darling and Murray are the deepest.
Full map the British colony that was Australia was compiled by English scientists already at the beginning of the twentieth century.
James Cook and his contribution to the study of Australia
James Cook was born in 1728 into a farmer's family from North Yorkshire. But not living up to his father’s hopes, he became a cabin boy at the Freelove coal miner in 1745. James was fascinated by maritime affairs, and he began to independently study astronomy, algebra, geometry and navigation, and his natural abilities contributed to career growth: already in 1755 he received an offer to take the place of captain on the Friendship ship. But James decided to enlist in the Royal Navy, where he again began his service as an ordinary sailor. Cook quickly rose to the rank of mate, and already in 1757 he passed the exams for the right to control the ship independently.
James Cook
In 1768, Cook set out on an expedition that was supposed to observe the passage of Venus across the solar disk, as well as discover new lands for the British crown. It is believed that in 1770, during this trip around the world on the ship Endeavour, James Cook discovered Australia. Then he was forced to make a stop on a hitherto unknown continent due to the resulting hole. Having repaired the ship, Cook sent it along the Great Barrier Reef, opening a hitherto unknown strait between Australia and New Guinea.
But the discovery of Australia did not stop Cook in search of hitherto unexplored lands. Returning to England in 1771, a few years later he again set sail in search of the Southern continent - the mythical Terra Australis (Antarctica). The conditions of this trip did not allow Cook to reach Antarctica, and upon returning to England he convinced everyone that the Southern Continent simply did not exist.
The material presented in the article is aimed at forming an idea of who is the discoverer of the continent. The article contains reliable historical information. The information will help you obtain true information from the history of the discovery of Australia by sailors and travelers.
Who discovered Australia?
Every educated person today knows that the discovery of Australia by James Cook occurred when he visited the east coast of the mainland in 1770. However, these lands were known in Europe long before the famous English navigator appeared there.
Rice. 1. James Cook.
The ancestors of the indigenous population of the mainland appeared on the continent approximately 40-60 thousand years ago. This historical segment dates back to ancient archaeological finds that were discovered by scientists in the upper reaches of the Swan River at the western tip of the mainland.
Rice. 2. Swan River.
It is known that people ended up on the continent thanks to sea routes. This fact also indicates that it was these pioneers who became the earliest sea travelers. It is generally accepted that at that time at least three heterogeneous groups settled in Australia.
Explorers of Australia
There is an assumption that the discoverers of Australia were the ancient Egyptians.
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From history we know that Australia was discovered several times by different people:
- Egyptians;
- Dutch admiral Willem Janszoon;
- James Cook.
The latter is recognized as the official discoverer of the continent for humanity. All these versions are still controversial and contradictory. There is no clear point of view on this issue.
During research carried out on the Australian mainland, images of insects similar in appearance to scarabs were found. And during archaeological research in Egypt, researchers discovered mummies that were embalmed using eucalyptus oil.
Despite such clear evidence, many historians express reasonable doubts about this version, since the continent became famous in Europe much later.
Attempts to discover Australia were made by the world's navigators back in the 16th century. Many Australian researchers assume that the first Europeans to set foot on the continent were the Portuguese.
It is known that in 1509, sailors from Portugal visited the Moluccas, after which in 1522 they moved to the northwest of the mainland.
At the beginning of the 20th century, naval guns that were created back in the 16th century were found in this area.
The unofficial version of the discovery of Australia is the one that states that the discoverer of the continent is the Dutch admiral Willem Janszoon. He was never able to understand that he had become the discoverer of new lands, because he believed that he was getting closer to the lands of New Guinea.
Rice. 3. Willem Janszoon.
However, the main history of Australian exploration is attributed to James Cook. It was after his travels to unknown lands that the active conquest of the mainland by Europeans began.
It is known for certain that Cook went on a voyage around the world and ended up in “distant lands.” In 1770, his expedition reached the coast of the mainland. Officially, this date of the discovery of Australia is recognized as historically accurate.
What have we learned?
From historical information we learned who first visited the lands of the distant continent. The time period when exactly these lands were developed by man has been established. The names of the first seafarers are mentioned, who for the first time found themselves near Australia without even suspecting that they had made a major geographical discovery.
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Legends that somewhere far in the south, beyond the one World Ocean, there must exist a huge land have been known since ancient times. It was the ancient geographers who called this land “Terra Australis”, that is, “ South Land", Australia owes its modern name. And although their assumptions were largely erroneous, during the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, many explorers dreamed not only of a route to India, but also of the vast southern continent.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese, under the leadership of Vasco da Gama, discovered the southern route to India and founded their first colonies on the shores of Indian Ocean. The “maximum task” was completed and many researchers rushed south in search of the continent “Terra Australis”. They managed to discover many islands of Oceania, New Guinea and, most likely, set foot on Australian soil.
There is a version that the Portuguese Cristovan de Mendonça was the first to find Australia in 1522. However, there is no reliable evidence of his discovery.
Who is considered the discoverer?
Today it is an indisputable fact that the true discoverers of Australia were the Dutch in the 17th century. Portugal's dominance in the region at that time came to an end and their place was taken by Holland - one of the most developed and powerful European powers of this period. In 1605, the Dutch citizen Willem Janszoon set sail on the ship "Dyfken" from the port of Bantama on the island of Java. His goal was to research south coast Guinea, but, as in the case of another traveler, Christopher Columbus, he found absolutely not what he was looking for. Unknown land, which the Deyfken team stumbled upon while rounding the northern part of Guinea, was Australia.
Melbourne is located on the territory that John Batman bought in the 18th century. However, the deal was declared invalid and the city was named Melbourne, and not Batmania, as the owner of the land had planned.
Willem Janszoon, like Columbus, did not realize that he had discovered a huge continent, calling the discovered Australian Cape York Peninsula "New Zealand". The true scale of what was found became known later. Most likely, Willem Janszoon was not the first European to set foot on the earth " Southern continent" However, a large number of direct and indirect evidence of his discovery does not leave historians with the slightest doubt that he should be considered the pioneer of “Terra Australis”.
