By direction of the Dutch East India Company. [Taken from his original Journal.]
The great discoveries that were made by the Dutch in these southern countries were subsequent to the famous voyage of Jaques le Maire, who in 1616 passed the straits called by his name; in 1618, that part of Terra Australia was discovered which the Dutch called Concordia. The next year, the Land of Edels was found, and received its name from its discoverer. In 1620, Batavia was built on the ruins of the old city of Jacatra; but the seat of government was not immediately removed from Amboyna. In 1622, that part of New Holland which is called Lewin's Land was first found; and in 1627, Peter Nuyts discovered between New Holland and New Guinea a country which bears his name. There were also some other voyages made, of which, however, we have no sort of account, except that the Dutch were continually beaten in all their attempts to land upon this coast.
On their settlement, however, at Batavia, the then general and council of the Indies thought it requisite to have a more perfect survey made of the new-found countries, that the memory of them at least might be preserved, in case no further attempts were made to settle them; and it was very probably a foresight of few ships going that route any more, which induced such as had then the direction of the Company's affairs to wish that some such survey and description might be made by an able seaman, who was well acquainted with those coasts, and who might be able to add to the discoveries already made, as well as furnish a more accurate description, even of them, than had been hitherto given.
This was faithfully performed by Captain Tasman; and from the lights afforded by his journal, a very exact and curious map was made of all these new countries. But his voyage was never published entire; and it is very probable that the East India Company never intended it should be published at all. However, Dirk Rembrantz, moved by the excellency and accuracy of the work, published in Low Dutch an extract of Captain Tasman's Journal, which has been ever since considered as a very great curiosity; and, as such, has been translated into many languages, particularly into our own, by the care of the learned Professor of Gresham College, Doctor Hook, an abridgment of which translation found a place in Doctor Harris's Collection of Voyages. But we have made no use of either of these pieces, the following being a new translation, made with all the care and diligence that is possible.
