Coastline profiles of Mauritius
Gilsemans, Isaac
On 14th August 1642, the Zeehaen and the Heemskerck set sail from Batavia under the command of Abel Tasman. Before commencing the actual journey to discover the so-called Terra Australis (in Dutch: Zuidland), Tasman sailed to Mauritius to deliver supplies and to stock up for his own journey. Since 1638 the Dutch had set up a small fort on Mauritius. The island served as a place for Dutch ships to obtain refreshments for Dutch ships sailing to and from Asia. He arrived there on the 4th of September. After taking on fresh food and water and useful maps and repairing his ships, Tasman set sail again in early October to start the actual expedition.
Isaac Gilsemans, merchant on board the Zeehaen, is commonly credited for drawing these coastline profiles of Mauritius in Tasman’s journal from various perspectives.
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