Who was the first European to reach the coast of Australia?

It is known for certain that the colonization of Australia began with the discoveries of James Cook. It was he who declared the new lands the property of the British Crown, gave names to capes and bays, and mapped the coastline of the continent. But, of course, everything is not so unambiguous. The first of the Europeans reached the coast of Australia is not Cook. He had many predecessors, floating under the flags of the largest maritime powers of that time: Portugal, Spain and Holland.

Unknown Southern Earth

Even in antiquity Europeans guessed that in the Southern Hemisphere should be a continent, balancing the hemisphere of the North. This mythical continent was a source of inspiration for seafarers and cartographers. In their quest for enrichment, the Europeans hoped that Terra Australis would be rich and fertile. But they did not make any attempt at a purposeful search: the fact is that the high latitudes did not promise the sailors anything good. They were famous for the constant storms, and by their own will no one swam. In addition to the storms, the seamen were afraid of thick fogs. It was the latter, presumably, that led to the fact that Australia was discovered later than the surrounding islands.

Population

If we talk about who first reached the coast of Australia, it makes sense to mention the Aborigines who settled the continent about 40 thousand years ago. Their ancestors came from Asia and managed to move to Australia because in those distant times the land had a slightly different outline. Subsequently, indigenous Australians were isolated from the rest of the world, their culture developed very slowly. Therefore, the European conquerors in one voice called them "miserable."

Who first reached the coast of Australia?

In the beginning of the 16th century, the Portuguese colonialists mastered the Sunda Islands. Local residents told them about the lands lying in the southeast. The Portuguese landed on the north-western coast of the continent, investigated them and found them to be unpromising. Some of the evidence of their stay here they left: a few centuries later, on the shore of the Bay of Robak, Portuguese guns were found.

In the middle of the 16th century, another new land was discovered in relative proximity - Papua (New Guinea). All the islands found in these latitudes (as a rule, by chance) were perceived as parts of the Unknown Southern Earth, but neither the Portuguese nor the Spanish did not intrigue the new territories. The banks were too harsh, and the inhabitants - poor. Although the coastline of the mainland was partially mapped, the history did not retain the name of the captain, who was the first of the Europeans to reach the coast of Australia.

Activities of the East India Company

By the time the Dutch became interested in Terra Australis, Spanish explorers (Mendanya, Kyros and Torres) discovered the islands of Santa Cruz, as well as the Marquesas and Solomon Islands, and proved that New Guinea is not Southern Earth. In the early 17th century, the Dutch intercepted the Sunda Islands from the Portuguese, founded the East India Company, and engaged in trade with India and Southeast Asia.

The course, which the Dutch ships went to the Asian colonies, allowed to save considerable time, besides, it was located in relative proximity to the hypothetical South Land, which the Dutch were actively searching for. It is believed that the first of Europeans reached the coast of Australia, the Dutch captain Willem Jansson. This fact has documentary evidence. The inhabitants of the Cape York Peninsula met Jansson's sailors more than unfriendly, and the captain hastened to sail. This happened in 1606.

Swimming Tasmana

Despite Jansson's negative comments about the new land and its inhabitants, the East India Company continued to send its ships to the local waters. The new Governor of Batavia (Jakarta) - Anton Van Diemen - in 1642 instructed Abel Tasman to find new lands by all means.

Despite the storm, Tasman's ships unharmed reached the shores of the next island, which was named Van Diemen's Land, and after years was renamed Tasmania. Abel declared him possession of the Dutch, but he still did not understand that before him - an island or part of the mainland. Then he discovered New Zealand, of which the Europeans knew nothing, and the islands of Tonga and Fiji. It was found out that all the islands found earlier are not part of the continent conventionally called "New Holland". The boundaries of the unknown South Earth moved further south.

Dampier in Australia

Tasman's voyages were unprofitable. In addition, in the mid-17th century, Holland suffered a series of defeats from England and lost its high status. The British studied the southern seas. Of these, W. Dampier first reached the shores of Australia. He twice sailed to Australia (New Holland), carried out a study of the northwestern coast and wrote two books about it. Thanks to them, the new continent became known to the world (the Dutch kept all their discoveries a secret).

First trip of Cook

Lieutenant James Cook is famous for his ability to navigate and map. Therefore, it was his English government that sent him to explore New Zealand and its environs. True, officially he had only to observe Venus passing through the solar disk (this event was of interest to astronomers). In addition, James was commissioned to "stake out" all the lands he had discovered. When Cook reached Australia, it was 1770. The expedition studied more than 1600 km of the eastern coastline. The lieutenant named these lands New South Wales.

In several strategically important bays, his sailors hoisted British flags. Cook also discovered and studied the Great Barrier Reef and established that New Zealand is formed by two islands.

Important discoveries

When James Cook arrived in Australia, he landed in a bay that later became known as Botany Bay. Here, the English saw strange plants and animals that they did not have in their homeland. It is believed that the bay was called the Botanical Gulf by the initiative of the ship's scientist Banks. In this place the team immediately began to have conflicts with the indigenous population. In fact, the colonization of Australia by the British began with the destruction of local residents, which in those days was considered defective.

Not very far from Botany Bay, Cook found an extremely convenient harbor, which, of course, he informed the government. Later, there was the first city on the new continent - Sydney. The navigators followed along the east coast, and then they rounded the northern one. Cook gave names to all important geographical objects and drew a map of the coastline. The British were not interested in who first reached the coast of Australia. It was important for them to announce the appropriation of these territories. Therefore, they left all evidence of their stay, hoisted flags and carefully documented their actions.

Travel results Cook

James returned to the shores of New Zealand during his next voyage, but in Australia no longer landed. His task was to prove that the mysterious Southern Continent still exists. And when Cook reached the coast of Australia, he already knew, unlike his predecessors, that he was in New Holland, and not somewhere else.

The ships crossed the Arctic Circle and went so far into the high latitudes that they met drifting ice and icebergs. Cook made a logical conclusion that if the Southern Continent exists, then it is impossible to get to it, and it is of no interest, since it is covered with ice.

As for Australia, already 17 years after its official opening in Botany Bay came a ship with convicts from England, which were supposed to begin a new life here.

conclusions

It is impossible to say with certainty who the first of the Europeans reached the coast of Australia, However it was not Cook. His credit is that he practically discovered this continent anew, studied it carefully and prepared the ground for subsequent colonization.