Others felt that this was actually part of a large island and could be circumnavigated. However, these and many other questions on the geography of the area were unanswered and this is what drove most of the exploration of this area at that time. After one abortive expedition where the leader died shortly after the start, van Diemen decidedto send a expedition north toward Japan in order to find the rumored "shores of gold and silver." While this adventure proved also to be unsuccessful, it was noteworthy on three major points. First, the captain on all of the ships was Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603?-1659?). Second, nearly half of the men were lost due to the disease scurvy. Third, although the expedition was deemed a failure by the Dutch East India Company, it was acknowledged that the region needed further exploration.
Frans Jacobszoon Visscher was a noted geographer in the employ of the Company. He reviewed the known regions and competently designed the scope for expeditions to solve the great southland problem and help support Dutch interests in the region. Visscher envisioned a search for the great southland which would initially track eastward, then turn northward, reverse the initial direction back to the west, and then return to the point of origin by going south.
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