First Encounters: The Early Pacific and European Narratives of Abel Tasman’s 1642 Voyage.

Abstract

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the sources, including a major new resource, that are currently available on the expedition in 1642-1643 by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman to the Pacific, in particular Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, New Britain and New Guinea. It includes a complete chapter from a hitherto unknown book by Nicolaes Witsen, a Dutch statesman, collector and scholar, entitled Noord en Oost Tartarye (‘North and East Tartary’).