It was a long-held belief prior to the seventeenth century that there existed a huge continent in the Southern Hemisphere that would balance the large continents of the Northern Hemisphere. It was commonly known as the great unknown southern continent...

Abel Tasman Born 1603, Groningen, Holland Died 1659, Batavia, Indonesia As a navigator for the Dutch East India Company, Abel Janszoon Tasman made his most famous voyage to the South Pacific, where he became the first European to discover Tasmania, New...

1603?-1659? Dutch Explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch navigator and explorer who discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands. Tasman made two important voyages (1642 and 1644) through both the Indian and South Pacific Oceans...

(born 1603?, Lutjegast, Neth.—died probably before Oct. 22, 1659, certainly before Feb. 5, 1661) Dutch explorer. In the service of the Dutch East India Company, he made exploratory and trading voyages to East and Southeast Asia (1634–39)....

Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603 - October 10 1659), was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant. Tasman is best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC (United East India Company). His was the first known European expedition to...