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

It is known for sure that the colonization of AustraliaThanks to 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 there must be a continent that balances 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 constant storms, and no one swam there. 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 coastAustralia, 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 early 16th century, the Portuguese colonialistsmastered 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 newland 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 South Land, but neither the Portuguese nor the Spaniards new territories were intrigued. 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 how the quest for Terra Australisinterested in the Dutch, Spanish navigators (Mendanya, Kyros and Torres) opened the islands of Santa Cruz, as well as the Marquesas and Solomon Islands, and proved that New Guinea is not the Southern Earth. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch seized the Sunda Islands from the Portuguese, founded the East India Company and engaged in trade with India and Southeast Asia.

The course by which the Dutch ships went to the Asianthe colony allowed to save considerable time, moreover, it ran in relative proximity to the hypothetical South Earth, 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 feedback about the newland 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, by all means, to find new lands.

Despite the storms, Tasman ships are unharmedreached the shores of the next island, which was named the Land of Van Diemen, and after years renamed to Tasmania. Abel announced his possession of the Dutch, but he did not understand that before him was an island or part of the mainland. Then he discovered New Zealand, about which the Europeans knew nothing, and the islands of Tonga and Fiji. It was found that all the islands found earlier are not part of the mainland, conventionally called the “New Holland”. The boundaries of the unknown Southern Earth moved further south.

Dampier in Australia

Floating Tasman proved unprofitable. In addition, in the middle of the 17th century, the Netherlands suffered a series of defeats from England and lost its high status. The British engaged in the exploration of the southern seas. Of these, the first to reach the coast of Australia is W. Dampier. He twice sailed to Australia (New Holland), made a study of the north-west coast and wrote two books about it. Thanks to them, the new continent became known to the world (the Dutch kept all their discoveries in secret).

Cook's first journey

Lieutenant James Cook has become famous for hisabilities to navigation and cartography. Therefore, it was his English government sent to explore New Zealand and its environs. True, he officially had only to conduct observations of Venus passing through the solar disk (this event was of interest to astronomers). In addition, James was authorized to "stake out" all the lands he discovered. When Cook reached Australia, it was 1770. The expedition explored more than 1,600 km of the eastern coastline. These lands lieutenant called New South Wales.

In several strategic bays, his sailors hoisted the British flags. Cook also discovered and explored the Great Barrier Reef and found that New Zealand was formed by two islands.

Important discoveries

When James Cook reached Australia, he landed inbay, later known as Botany Bay. Here the British saw strange plants and animals that were not found in their homeland. It is believed that the bay was named the Botanical Gulf on the initiative of the ship's scientist Banks. In this place, the team immediately began conflicts with the indigenous population. In fact, the colonization of Australia by the British began with the destruction of local residents, who at that time were considered inferior.

Not very far from Botany Bay Cook found extremelyconvenient harbor, which, of course, reported to the government. Later, the first city on the new continent appeared - Sydney. Seafarers proceeded along the east coast, and then went around and north. Cook gave names to all important geographical features and drew a map of the coastline. The British did not care who first reached the shores of Australia. It was important for them to announce the appropriation of these territories. Therefore, they left all sorts of evidence of their stay, hoisted the flags and carefully documented their actions.

Cook travel results

James returned to the shores of New Zealand duringnext trip, but in Australia no longer landed. His task was to prove that the mysterious Southern Continent did exist. And when Cook reached the coast of Australia, he knew for sure, unlike his predecessors, that he was in New Holland, and not somewhere else.

The ships crossed the Arctic Circle and went sofar to high latitudes, that met with drifting ice and icebergs. Cook made a logical conclusion that if the Southern Continent exists, then it cannot be reached, 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, a ship arrived with convicts from England who were supposed to start a new life here.

conclusions

It’s not safe to say who was the first European to reach the Australian coast, however, it was not Cook. His merit is that he practically re-opened this continent, studied it carefully and set the stage for subsequent colonization.