François Thijssen
François Thijssen (also Frans Thijsz ) was a Dutch captain of the 17th century. He was best known for mapping parts of the south coast of Australia .
He was the captain of the ship Gulden Zeepaerdt (Golden Sea Horse), which set sail from Vlissingen to Batavia on May 22, 1626 . On board were 220 settlers on their way to Java . One passenger was the high-ranking representative of the VOC Pieter Nuyts (1598–1655) with his son. After a stop at the Cape of Good Hope , they wanted to sail across the Indian Ocean to Batavia. Off course, the ship reached the area around Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia on January 26, 1627 .
In honor of his guest, the Land 't Land van Pieter Nuyts (The Land of Pieter Nuyts) was christened. Thijssen then mapped around 1,600 km of the Australian coast from Albany to Ceduna . Including the islands of Sint François and Sint Pieter , which he named after his and Nuyts' first names. This area of the sea is still called Nuyts Archipelago today .
It was not until April 10, 1627 that the guilder reached Zeepaerdt Batavia.
literature
- Miriam G. Estensen: Discovery: The Quest for the Great South Land . Crows Nest / NSW: Allen & Unwin 1998, p. 154f.
Web links
- South Australian History
- Entry: Gulden Zeepaerdt on the VOCsite (Dutch).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thijssen, François |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thijsz, Frans |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch navigator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1626 |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1627 |