Tristan da Cunha.The first landing.

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Anatol
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Tristan da Cunha.The first landing.

Post by Anatol » Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:16 pm

Though far west of the Cape of Good Hope, the islands were on the preferred route from Europe to the Indian Ocean in the 17th century; ships first crossed the Atlantic to Brazil on the Northeasterly Trades, followed the Brazil Current south to pass the Doldrums, and then picked up the Westerlies to cross the Atlantic again, where they could encounter Tristan da Cunha. The Dutch East India Company required their ships to follow this route, and on 17 February 1643 the crew of the Heemstede, captained by Claes Gerritszoon Bierenbroodspot, made the first confirmed landing. The Heemstede replenished their supplies with fresh water, fish, seals and penguins and left a wooden tablet with the inscription "Today, 17 February 1643, from the Dutch fluyt Heemstede, Claes Gerritsz Bierenbroodspot from Hoorn and Jan Coertsen van den Broec landed here".(See the stamp). There after, the Dutch East India Company returned to the area four more times to explore whether the islands could function as a supply base for their ships. The first stop was in 5 September 1646 on a voyage to Batavia, Dutch East Indies, and the second was an expedition by the galliot Nachtglas (Nightglass), which left from Cape Town on 22 November 1655. The crew of the Nachtglas noticed the tablet left by the Heemstede on 10 January 1656 near a watering place. They left a wooden tablet themselves as well, like they also did on Nachtglas Eijland (now Inaccessible Island). The Nachtglas, commanded by Jan Jacobszoon van Amsterdam, examined Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island and made rough charts for the Dutch East India Company. Dutch sailors also stayed on the island for four weeks in 1658, and made their last stop in April 1669, when their idea of utilizing the islands as a supply base was abandoned, probably due to the absence of a safe harbour.
In the 17th century ships were also sent from Saint Helena by the English East India Company to Tristan to report on a proposed settlement there, but that project also came to nothing.
Tristan da Cunha 1983;4p;SG351.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tristan_da_Cunha.
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