Anthony van Diemen | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Anthony van Diemen | |
| Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies | |
| In office 1636–1645 | |
| Preceded by | Hendrik Brouwer |
| Succeeded by | Cornelis van der Lijn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1593 Culemborg,County of Culemborg,Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | (1645-04-19)19 April 1645 (aged 51–52) Batavia,Dutch East India |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Explorer,colonialgovernor |
Anthony van Diemen (alsoAntonie,Antonio,Anton,Antonius; 1593 – 19 April 1645) was a Dutch colonial governor.
Van Diemen was born inCulemborg (now in theNetherlands, then in acounty in theHoly Roman Empire), the son of Meeus Anthonisz van Diemen[1] and Christina Hoevenaar. In 1616, he moved toAmsterdam, in hope of improving his fortune as a merchant; in this he failed and was declared bankrupt. After a year he became a servant of theDutch East India Company and sailed toBatavia, Dutch East Indies (Jakarta), capital of theDutch East Indies. On the voyage out, theEast IndiamanMauritius inadvertently put in on unknown coast ofAustralia.[2]
GovernorJan Pieterszoon Coen found van Diemen to be a talented official and by 1626 he was Director-General of Commerce and member of the Council for the Indies. In 1630, he married Maria van Aelst. A year later he returned to the Netherlands asAdmiral on the shipDeventer.
While on route to the Indies in 1633, Van Diemen sighted and namedAmsterdam Island, after his vessel at the time,Nieuw Amsterdam.
In 1635, he was appointedGovernor-General of the Dutch East Indies, his appointment taking effect on 1 January 1636.[citation needed]Van Diemen's nine years as Governor-General were successful and important for both the colony and the commercial success of the Dutch East India Company. He devoted much of his energy to expanding the power of the company throughout South-East Asia. Under his rule Dutch power was established in Ceylon (nowSri Lanka) viaTrincomalee.[3]
Van Diemen is best remembered for his efforts to foster exploration of the "Great South Land" (Australia), resulting in "the final and most ambitious Dutch voyages of the century".[4] The first voyage under his energetic administration was undertaken within three months of his arrival in Batavia; starting fromCape York its ships were to chart the unknown coasts, but the venture ended in failure, when its commander was killed by natives inNew Guinea, and the ships returned.
In 1639, he commissioned two voyages to the north, in search of the "Gold and Silver Islands" that Spanish reports placed in the North Pacific to the east ofJapan, and sentMaarten Gerritsz Vries to explore the coasts ofKorea and "Tartaria"; these, too, returned fruitlessly.[4] Undeterred, Van Diemen appointed Frans Visscher to draw up a plan for new discoveries. Visscher mapped out three different routes and van Diemen decided in August 1642 to sendAbel Janszoon Tasman, accompanied by Visscher, in search of the Great South Land, which Tasman would soon dub "Nieuw Holland".[citation needed]
In November 1642, heading east fromMauritius onlatitude 44 and missing the south coast of the Australian continent, Tasman sighted land at what is now the west coast of the island ofTasmania, and followed the coastline along the southern shore and around to the east coast. Tasman sent a party ashore at Blackman Bay, on the Tasman Peninsula, who planted a flag and encountered a few Tasmanian people. Believing he had found a large territory, Tasman named itVan Diemen's Land in honour of his patron.[5]
Van Diemen is also commemorated inVan Diemen Gulf on the coast of northern Australia. He commissioned a further voyage from Tasman in 1644. Van Diemen died in 1645 inBatavia, Dutch East Indies. The company granted his wife a large pension and she retired to theNetherlands.
Her name is perpetuated in the name of the westernmost point of the North Island ofNew Zealand,Cape Maria van Diemen, named by Tasman in 1643, and byMaria Island off the east coast of Tasmania. It is one of only two geographical locations in New Zealand to have the name Tasman gave them, the other beingThree Kings Islands.
Van Diemen also gives his name to Fort Antonio in modern-dayTamsui at the mouth of theTamsui River in northernTaipei,Taiwan, which was built by the Dutch on the site of an abandoned Spanish fort in an historical area now known as theFort Santo Domingo museum complex, the name of which causes ongoing confusion about the actual name of the main fort building along with its Dutch origins.
In 1842, the venomousAustralian and southernPapuan,elapid Whip Snake genusDemansia was named in honour of van Diemen byJ. E. Gray of theBritish Museum inLondon.
| Company appointed (1610–1800) |
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| Government appointed (1800–1948) |
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