17th century Dutch explorer of New Guinea and Australia
Jan Carstenszoon or more commonly Jan Carstensz[1] was a 17th-century Dutch explorer. In 1623, Carstenszoon was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to lead an expedition to the southern coast of New Guinea and beyond, to follow up the reports of land sighted further south in the 1606 voyages of Willem Janszoon in the Duyfken.
Setting sail from Ambon in the Dutch East Indies with two ships, the yacht Pera (captained by Carstenszoon) and Arnhem (captained by Willem Joosten van Colster),[2] the ships travelled along the south coast of New Guinea, then headed south to Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf of Carpentaria. On 14 April 1623, Cape Keerweer was passed.[2] Landing in search of fresh water for his stores, Carstenszoon encountered a party of the local indigenous Australian inhabitants. Carstenszoon described them as "poor and miserable looking people" who had "no knowledge of precious metals or spices".
On 8 May 1623, Carstenszoon and his crew fought a skirmish with 200 Aboriginal people at the mouth of a small river near Cape Duyfken (named after Janszoon's vessel which had earlier visited the region) and landed at the Pennefather River. Carstenszoon named the small river Carpentier River, and the Gulf of Carpentaria in honour of Pieter de Carpentier, at that time Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Carstenszoon reached the Staaten River before heading north again. The Pera and Carstenszoon returned to Ambon while the Arnhem crossed the Gulf of Carpentaria, sighting the east coast of Arnhem Land.
Carstensz Pyramid, Irian Jaya, Indonesia was named after him. Carstenszoon sighted the glaciers on the peak of the mountain in 1623 and called it Sneebergh; he was ridiculed in Europe when he said he had seen snow near the equator. Carstenszoon also named several other features along Australia's north coast.
^In Dutch patronyms ending in -szoon were almost universally abbreviated to -sz
^ abFeeken, Erwin H. J.; Gerda E.E. Feeken (1970). The Discovery and Exploration of Australia. Melbourne: Nelson. p. 37. ISBN 0-17-001812-1. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
JanCarstenszoon or more commonly Jan Carstensz was a 17th-century Dutch explorer. In 1623, Carstenszoon was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company...
glacier is named after the 17th century Dutch explorer JanCarstenszoon, commonly known as Jan Carstensz. Research presented in 2004 of IKONOS satellite...
is also the Coen River in Queensland, Australia, named in 1653 by JanCarstenszoon. There are a number of derived placenames including the town of Coen...
Amungkal. Puncak Jaya was named "Carstensz Pyramid" after Dutch explorer JanCarstenszoon, who was the first European to sight the glaciers on the peak of the...
South Papua. It borders Papua New Guinea. In the 17th century, Sailor JanCarstenszoon recorded the existence of high, snow-covered mountains in the middle...
resume in March). Voyage of the Pera and Arnhem to Australia: Captains JanCarstenszoon of the Arnhem and Willem Joosten van Coolsteerdt of the Pera depart...
society. Dogs associated with indigenous people were first recorded by JanCarstenszoon in the Cape York Peninsula area in 1623. In 1699, Captain William Dampier...
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. The name was conferred by JanCarstenszoon in 1623. There is now no river in Northern Queensland with that name...
also written as Jansz) in his 1605–06 voyage. His fellow countryman, JanCarstenszoon (or Carstensz), visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour of Pieter...
Brunel (c. 1540–1585), tried to find a passage around Siberia to China JanCarstenszoon (1600–1700), New Guinea coast, navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria in...
ship Leeuwin discovers land near present-day Cape Leeuwin. 1623 – JanCarstenszoon discovers the western coast of Cape York Peninsula from Cape Keerweer...
The first surviving written account comes from the Dutch. In 1623 JanCarstenszoon made his way west across the Gulf of Carpentaria to what is believed...
resume in March). Voyage of the Pera and Arnhem to Australia: Captains JanCarstenszoon of the Arnhem and Willem Joosten van Coolsteerdt of the Pera depart...
also written as Jansz) in his 1605–6 voyage. His fellow countryman JanCarstenszoon (or Carstensz) visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour of Pieter...
River (renamed 1894) was originally called the Coen River by JanCarstenszoon in honour of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies...
some exploring. Frederick de Houtman did the same in 1619. In 1623 JanCarstenszoon followed the south coast of New Guinea, missed Torres Strait and went...
and was also buried in the Westerkerk. They had seven children. When JanCarstenszoon (or Carstensz) and Willem van Coolsteerdt landed the Pera and the Arnhem...
Callenburgh Theodorus Frederik van Capellen Hendrik Carloff Joris Carolus JanCarstenszoon Anthony Colve Baltazar de Cordes Abraham Crijnssen Jacobus Deketh Pieter...
Willem Jansz) on his 1605–06 voyage. His fellow countryman, JanCarstenszoon (also known as Jan Carstensz), visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour...
was named after the Dutch city Arnhem. The yacht Pera, captained by JanCarstenszoon, and the smaller vessel Arnhem, captained by Willem Joosten van Colster...
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