Tasmania Sighted by Dutch (1642)
While in the service of the Dutch East India Company, Abel Tasman became the first European to sight the island of Tasmania, naming it Van Diemen’s Land after the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. In 1803, Britain took possession of the island and established a penal colony there. The indigenous population, which had been on the island some 35,000 years, was soon decimated. In 1856, the island was granted self-government and renamed Tasmania. Today, Tasmania is a state of what country? More… Discuss
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