Knowra Anthony van Diemen Anthony van Diemen Anthony van Diemen (1593–1645) was governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1636 until his death. His administration expanded Dutch power in Asia and sponsored voyages in the southern Pacific.
Dutch East India Company : A chartered Dutch trading company that held a state-backed monopoly on Dutch commerce in Asia from 1602 to 1799. Van Diemen governed the company’s Asian territories and directed its expansion.
Abel Tasman : A Dutch navigator whose voyages charted parts of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific in the seventeenth century. Van Diemen commissioned Tasman’s major exploratory voyages.
Dutch Republic : A federal republic in northwestern Europe that existed from 1588 until the French conquest of 1795. Van Diemen left the Republic for Asia after financial difficulties in Amsterdam.
Heeren XVII : The governing board of seventeen directors that directed the Dutch East India Company from the Netherlands. Van Diemen exercised authority in Asia while reporting to this board.
Dutch East Indies : A Dutch colonial possession in Southeast Asia that later became independent Indonesia. Van Diemen ruled this colonial domain as governor-general.
Van Diemen's Land : The former European name for Tasmania, the island south of mainland Australia. Tasman named the island after Van Diemen when he sighted it in 1642.
Dutch East India Company personnel : The employees and officials who operated the Dutch East India Company’s trade, administration, and military forces. Van Diemen rose through the Company’s Asian service to its highest office.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen : A Dutch East India Company governor-general known for establishing Batavia and imposing Dutch control over the Banda Islands. Coen’s centralized administration provided a model for Van Diemen’s rule.
Dutch–Portuguese War : A series of conflicts between the Dutch Republic and Portugal over trade and empire, fought mainly from 1602 to 1663. During his tenure, Dutch forces wrested several Asian strongholds from Portuguese control.
Tasman's voyage of 1642–1643 : A Dutch expedition that reached Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji under Abel Tasman’s command. Van Diemen authorized this expedition to seek new lands and trade routes.
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