The discovery of Australia who discovered. Opening Australia. European studies of the mainland

During the Middle Ages, the most incredible legends were composed about the wild lands of Australia, calling the Green Continent Terra Australis Incognita, which translates as "unknown southern land".

Even at school, we were told that mankind owes the discovery of this picturesque, unique continent to the captain and navigator from England James Cook. It is believed that for the first time the inhabitants of the mainland, and specifically Cook, first set foot on the coast of Australia in 1770.

It turns out that there were Europeans in Australia even before the explorer J. Cook discovered it. Who, in this case, actually discovered the continent, and in what period of time did it a grand affair happened?

The first people in Australia appeared approximately 40–60 thousand years ago. They are the ancestors of the current indigenous Australian population.

archaeological finds held on the Green Continent in the western part of the mainland in the upper reaches of the Swan River prove that it was during this period that people began to live in this territory.

To this day, it has not been established exactly where the natives came from to the Australian continent. But it is known that then in Australia settled immediately several heterogeneous populations. Historians claim that people arrived on the mainland by sea, thus becoming the earliest navigators in the world.

Who was in Australia before the Europeans

According to some assumptions of historians and archaeologists, there is an opinion that the discoverers of Australia were the ancient Egyptians, who brought from these lands the most valuable eucalyptus oil in those days.

In the course of research conducted in Australia, it was possible to discover rock carvings of insects that outwardly resemble a scarab. In addition, archaeological excavations in Egypt helped to learn that the mummies were embalmed with eucalyptus oil, which grew in Australia.

Even such amazing historical discoveries and seemingly indisputable evidence, many historians and researchers have doubts, because in Europe they began to talk about Australia much later than the heyday of Egypt.

The first Europeans to visit the Green Continent

Willem Janszon

More in the 16th century Europeans repeatedly tried to discover Australia, but the sailors of that time were not able to get close to the mainland because of the dangerous coasts near some regions of the Green Continent.

A number of scientists believe that the first inhabitants of Europe who set foot on the coast of Australia were the Portuguese.

According to some historical data, it is believed that they did this. V 1509 visiting the Moluccas.

Having lived on these Australian landmasses for some time, in 1522 they moved to the northwest of the mainland. The presence of Portuguese navigators is proved by found cannons dating back to the 16th century. It is assumed that this weapon belonged to sailors from Portugal.

To date, this version is not official. Australians claim that the first European to set foot on the territory of the Green Continent was the Dutch admiral Willem Janszon. This fact is indisputable today.

On his ship called the Dyfken in November 1605 he left the city of Bantam, in Indonesia, and headed for New Guinea. After three months of his journey, he landed on the Cape York Peninsula, in the northwest coast of Australia.

It is important to know! Janszoon explored more than 320 km of the Australian coast, compiling a detailed map of it.

Interesting that Admiral Willem Janszon never realized that he had actually discovered Australia. He took the found land for part of New Guinea and called this territory "New Holland".

I visited Australia after Jansson and another navigator from Holland - Abel Tasman. It was he who discovered the islands of New Zealand, and also brought it to his detailed map and the west coast of Australia.

It is thanks to the research of Dutch navigators that by the middle of the 17th century Australia began to take shape.

The official history of the discovery of Australia

James Cook

A number of scientists continue to insist that James Cook- a real pioneer of Australia.

And all because as soon as he visited this mainland, Europeans immediately began to come here.

Officially considered that the purpose of Cook's journey was to study the passage of the planet Venus through the solar disk.

But this world-famous navigator, and then a desperate young lieutenant, wanted to find the very Terra Australis Incognita.

Yes, the starting point world travel Cook became the city of Plymouth (England). In April 1769 on the ship Endeavor, the captain and his crew reached the shores of Tahiti, and a year later he got to the eastern Australian shores. After his discovery, he went to this mainland with an expedition two more times.

It is important to know! James Cook discovered Australia as part of his circumnavigation in 1768 with the goal of discovering "the unknown southern land".

So, during the third expedition of Cook in 1778 the Hawaiian Islands were discovered, which became the place of his tragic death. James Cook failed to mend relations with the Hawaiians. When the navigator attempted to capture a local leader, he was allegedly killed in a fight with a blow to the back of the head with a spear.

Australia has always been an attractive territory for Europeans. The mysterious southern lands excited the minds of famous navigators. Still, because this the mainland is incredibly beautiful and mysterious.

And although there are official versions of the discovery of the Green Continent, a number of researchers found evidence that Europeans visited these lands long before James Cook.

The material presented in the article is focused on the formation of an idea of who is the discoverer of the continent. The article contains reliable historical information. The information will help to obtain truthful information from the history of the discovery of Australia by sailors and travelers.

Who discovered Australia?

Every educated person today knows that the discovery of Australia by James Cook occurred when he visited the east coast of the mainland in 1770. However, these lands were known in Europe long before the appearance of the famous English navigator there.

Rice. 1. James Cook.

The progenitors of the indigenous population of the mainland appeared on the continent about 40-60 thousand years ago. Ancient archaeological finds date back to this historical period, which were discovered by scientists in the upper reaches of the Swan River at the western tip of the mainland.

Rice. 2. Swan River.

It is known that people ended up on the continent thanks to sea routes. This fact also indicates that it was these pioneers who became the earliest sea travelers. It is generally accepted that at that time at least three heterogeneous groups settled in Australia.

Australian discoverers

There is an assumption that the ancient Egyptians became the discoverers of Australia.

What have we learned?

From historical background we learned who first visited the lands of a distant mainland. The time period has been established when the development of these lands by man took place. Mentioned are the names of the first travelers-navigators, who for the first time found themselves near Australia, who did not even suspect that they had made an important geographical discovery.

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Any student knows where Australia is, but who discovered the southern continent, historians find it difficult to give a definite answer. The Portuguese, Spanish and British are fighting for the palm. But before the Europeans, China also knew about the southern continent. And the natives of Indonesia communicated and traded with the natives. Nevertheless, no matter who was the discoverer of the mainland, acquaintance with an amazing and unique country will bring many pleasant minutes and enrich knowledge.

Geographic location of Australia

The Australian continent is located in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres. The island mainland is washed by the Pacific and Indian oceans. The length of the coastline is 35,877 km. Australia occupies 5% of the Earth's land area and its area is 7,659,861 km². The mainland stretches from east to west for 4 thousand km, and from south to north for 3.2 thousand km.

Extreme geographic points:

To the north is Cape York at 10˚ 41'S. and 142˚ 31’ E
To the east is Cape Byron, 28˚ 38'S. and 153˚ 38’ E
In the south - Cape Saunt Point, 39˚ 08 'S. and 146˚ 22’ E
To the west is Steep Point, 26˚ 09'S. and 113˚ 09’ E

The northern regions of the mainland are characterized by a warm and humid subequatorial climate. In the center, located in the tropical zone, dry and hot weather prevails. It rains frequently on the west coast, driven by Pacific trade winds. South Australia has a subtropical climate. The weather in these areas is characterized by slight fluctuations in annual temperatures and moderate rainfall.

On political map The world can see which countries Australia borders on. In the north, the Torres Strait separates the state from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In the southeast beyond the Tasman Sea is located New Zealand. To the south is Antarctica, which does not belong to any country.

The form of government of the Commonwealth of Australia is a federation within the Commonwealth of Nations, led by Great Britain. The nominal head of the country is the Queen, who appoints the Governor General. The executive power is vested not in the president, but in the prime minister, who is elected by parliament. The state consists of 6 states and 2 territories. The capital Canberra is located in the Australian Capital Territory in the state of New South Wales.

Native people

The indigenous population is Australian aborigines called "Australian Bushmen". The settlement of the mainland began about 40 thousand years ago. This time, archaeologists date the discovered human skeleton, which scientists called "Mungo Man." Aboriginal people acquired their modern look about 4 thousand years ago.

The indigenous people belong to the Australoid race. The Europeans who appeared on the continent in the 18th century identified 500 tribes with a total number of 700 thousand people who spoke 200 dialects that are part of the Nyung languages group. The main occupations of the natives were hunting and fishing. By 2000, the number of Aboriginal people had decreased to 437 thousand people. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the movement for the revival of the culture of the Australian Bushmen has been activated. The total population of Australia according to the 2015 census is 23.8 million people.

European settlement

In 1787, the First Fleet arrived in Australia from England, commanded by Arthur Philip. Eleven ships brought 736 convicts. In Port Jackson Bay, sailors landed on 26 January 1788 and began the construction of the first settlement that would later become the city of Sydney. This day became the starting point of the history of the colony of New South Wales. Over the next three years, two more fleets come to the continent with prisoners on board.

Since 1793, free settlers have been coming to the "green continent". On the lands provided free of charge, people begin to engage in agriculture and crafts. At the same time, the labor of convicts is widely used. In search of fertile land, farmers are gradually moving deeper into the continent. TO early XIX century, the colony was already able to provide itself with food.

Discovery history

Ancient geographers hypothesized that in the south of the Earth, where a huge continent is located, countless treasures are hidden. This part of the earth's land was given the name Terra Australis Incognita. In search of an unknown country, expeditions of seafarers are equipped. Mankind makes great geographical discoveries.

What was before the Europeans

Long before the appearance of European sailors on the continent, the natives of the northern regions of Australia were in contact with the tribes that inhabited the neighboring islands. The movement was carried out by boats, and coral reefs served as transshipment points. The similarity of cultures and languages testifies to the ties between the islanders and the inhabitants of the mainland.

Business relations were established between the Australians and the Makassars, a people who lived in southern regions Indonesia. The natives sailed to the mainland to trade with the natives. In addition, the newcomers hunted trepang in the coastal seas.

pioneers

When Vasco da Gama opened a route to India through the African Cape of Good Hope, Portugal concentrated its efforts on the search for the mysterious "Isle of Gold". In 1522, Cristovano de Mendoncé landed on the shore in Roebuck Bay. Two bronze cannons with the Portuguese coat of arms, found by archaeologists in 1960, serve as evidence of the sailors' stay on the mainland. Land areas with names on Portuguese marked on the secret medieval maps of the French Dauphin.

In 1605, a Spanish expedition set off from the Peruvian port of Callao in search of the southern mythical continent. A flotilla of three ships was commanded by Luis Vaez Torres. Having discovered the New Hebrides archipelago, the sailors continued their journey to the west. From the Coral Sea, travelers walked through the strait, which would later be named after the captain. The lands observed in the south were taken by the sailors for the islands, although it was Australia.

Holland, preoccupied with finding ways to Indonesia - the main producer of spices in the Middle Ages - sends a reconnaissance expedition to the shores of New Guinea. In 1605, Willem Janszon on the sailing and rowing vessel "Golubok" set off in search of a short route.

Passing the Arafura Sea in a southwesterly course, the travelers saw the land. It was Australia. And the peninsula, to which the ship approached, would later be called Cape York. On February 26, 1606, sailors land near the mouth of the Pennefather River, as recorded in logbook. The Dutch landing is considered the first documented visit to Australia. In subsequent years, Jansson's compatriots repeatedly reached the coast of the "green continent".

Dutch navigators who reached Australia:

Derk Hartog on October 25, 1616, on the ship "Consent" stopped in Shark Bay in the west of the mainland.
In 1619, Captain de Houtman sailed along the west coast from 32° 30' to 28° 45' south latitude. Four years later, the route was repeated by Klas Hermansai on the Leiden.
In 1623, the expedition of Carstens and van Colster explored the bay in the north of the mainland, which was named Carpentaria. One of the natives whom the sailors met on the shore was captured and taken on board.
Captain F. Theisen on the Gulden Zepard traveled 2,000 kilometers along the southern coast of Australia, making a cartographic survey of the coastline.

William Dampier is considered the first Briton to visit Australia. In 1699, the traveler discovered Shark Bay on the western coast of the continent, however, returning to England, he was shipwrecked off Ascension Island. 70 years later, James Cook's expedition passed along the east coast of the mainland. In 1788, a squadron under the command of Arthur Philip entered Botany Bay. Landed on the shore, the landing force, mainly composed of prisoners, founded a colony - the future city of Sydney.

Journey of James Cook

James Cook was born to a Scottish farmhand in 1728. At the age of 18, the young man gets a job as a sailor on a transport ship carrying coal. The young man thoroughly studies maritime disciplines. In 1755, James became a member of the crew of the military frigate Eagle and participated in the Seven Years' War.

At the age of 29, the future discoverer successfully passes the exam for the title of master. In 1758, the skipper supervised the cartographic survey of the channel of the St. Lawrence River (Canada) in the area of combat operations under the fire of French guns. A brilliant operation was one of the reasons why Cook was appointed leader of the voyage to the southern part of Pacific Ocean.

The official task of the 1768 expedition was to observe the passage of Venus against the background of the solar disk. In addition to astronomical research, Cook was entrusted with the study of the eastern coast of Australia. The secret part of the order obliged the captain to conduct reconnaissance of the southern seas in order to discover an unknown continent. Geographers assumed that in the polar latitudes there is the so-called Terra Incognita - the Unexplored Earth.

For swimming, Endeavor is selected. The ship, built in 1764, was originally called the "Earl of Pembroke" and was intended to carry coal. The three-masted ship developed a speed of 7.4 knots. In his notes, Cook noted the good seaworthiness and easy handling of the barque.

Endeavor left Plymouth on 26 August. After 227 days, the ship arrived in Tahiti. On June 3, 1769, observations of Venus and astronomical measurements are carried out. During their stay on the island, the team builds a fort and repairs the bottom of the ship. Having finished the first part of the official mission, Cook starts searching for the southern land.

Moving along the west coast of New Zealand, British sailors discovered that the territory consisted of two parts. The strait separating the islands was named after the captain. In the bay, named Queen Charlotte Bay, the Endeavor is being refurbished.

Having reached the southern tip of New Zealand, the expedition turns to the northwest. In the spring of 1770, travelers reached the coast of Australia. The bay where the sailors camped was called Botanical. The bay got its name due to the diversity of plants, previously unknown to science.

Continuing northward, Cook explores the east coast of Australia. On June 11, the ship runs aground and is seriously damaged. After the ballast, spare rigging and part of the guns were thrown overboard, the ship managed to be refloated. The water entering the hold barely managed to be pumped out by continuously operating pumps. The captain orders a stop for the next repair.

Having closed the holes, the Endeavor goes out to sea. It turns out that the Great Barrier Reef does not allow access to the ocean. Mariners have to go along the coast, constantly measuring the depth with a lot. At the same time, the contour of the coastline is drawn on the map.

At the end of 1770, the expedition reached the extreme northern point of Australia and turned west. It turned out that between the mainland and New Guinea there is a strait, which was later called the Torres Strait. In January 1771, the ship entered the Indonesian port of Batavia. Modern name city - Jakarta.

In Indonesia, the crew is stricken with diseases. First malaria and then dysentery take the lives of sailors. When the ship anchored in the port of Cape Town, only twelve travelers remained on board. When the team was understaffed, the expedition continued on its way to their homeland. On June 12, 1771, the Endeavor berthed at the pier in the port of Plymouth.

The expedition of James Cook half completed the tasks set by the British Admiralty. Measurements taken during the passage of Venus through the solar disk were useful for calculating the distance from the Sun to the Earth. However, the second goal - the discovery of the southern mainland - was not achieved. Nevertheless, sailing on the Endeavour contributed to the development of geographical science.

The results of J. Cook's first round-the-world trip:

It is established that New Zealand consists of two islands separated by a strait.
The east coast of Australia has been mapped for the first time.
The strait that separates Australia from New Guinea has been opened.
A collection of previously unknown plants has been collected, and sketches of unique animals and birds have been made.

Discovery of New Zealand

Skillful sailors ancient world the tribes that inhabited the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean were considered. The natives built two-hull pirogues 40 meters long and 10 meters wide. The catamaran, accommodating up to two hundred people, made it possible to overcome thousands of kilometers across the sea.

The Polynesian epic has preserved the names of famous compatriots who made long sea voyages. A folk legend tells of the leader Kupa, who lived on the island of Raiatea in the 10th century. In pursuit of a flotilla of rival fishermen, the navigator reached the current Cook Strait, and described the discovered lands of New Zealand as the "Long White Cloud".

Abel Tasman is believed to be the first European to sail to New Zealand. The future discoverer was born in the Dutch city of Groningen in 1603. From the age of 28 he has been sailing on a ship. In 1634 he became the skipper of a ship owned by the East India Company. In 1642, the Dutch trading syndicate equips an expedition to explore the southeastern regions of the Pacific Ocean. Tasman is entrusted with command of a detachment of two ships.

Off the southern coast of Australia, sailors discover a large island, which is named after the governor of the East Indies, Van Diemen. Subsequently, the name will change to Tasmania. Continuing to the east, the Dutch approach the land not marked on the map. On December 13, sailors disembark. It was the South Island of New Zealand.

A further path along the coast leads the discoverers to the northern tip of Severny Island. Tasman did not turn southeast, but headed towards the Fiji archipelago. Having replenished food supplies on the island and having collected drinking water, the expedition headed for Indonesia. On June 15, the ships entered the port of Batavia.

Going on a trip, a tourist wants to know what is famous and interesting about the visited country. Australia is famous for sights that are unique to it and are one of a kind. First of all, it refers to the Australian nature.

List of plants and animals that are found only in Australia:

bottle tree;
eucalyptus regal;
kangaroo;
dingo dog;
echidna;
marsupial fox and wolf;
platypus.

The Australian flag has six stars. This is the constellation of the Southern Cross, which indicates that the country is located in the southern hemisphere. The coat of arms of the state includes an ostrich and a kangaroo, which, as you know, move only forward. Animals symbolize the forward movement of Australian society.

Australia has the longest road without turns. The length of the straight section is 146 km. The country is famous for its endless fences. The most famous wire fence from dingo dogs, 5614 km long, was built in 1885. In the western part of the continent, a fence stretched for 3253 km, which protected from rabbits. A mesh fence is currently being built to restrict the movement of cats. In the summer of 2018, the construction of the first 44 kilometers of the fence was completed.

The political activity of citizens is supported by fines. Non-participation in elections and the census is punishable by the payment of 20 to 100 Australian dollars. By the way, the national currency is presented in a plastic version, and not in paper banknotes.

The landmark of Sydney is the Opera House, built in the style of structural expressionism. The building, which was erected in 1973, has a height of 67 m and covers an area of 2.2 hectares. Two halls can simultaneously accommodate 10,000 people. The roof is covered with 1 million white self-cleaning tiles. The construction project was created by the Dane Jorn Utzon.

A visit to the green continent will enrich you with knowledge and give you the experience of communicating with hospitable people. Studying the history of the discovery of Australia, getting to know the unique nature, sightseeing trips around the country will not allow you to regret the time and money spent. Walking around Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne will not let anyone get bored.

Video

The video tells about the discovery of Australia.

Australia is one of the most exotic English speaking countries in the world. With a high standard of living and an attractive immigration policy, many see it as a place to live or work. If you are learning English to move to Australia, or for work, study or pleasure, it will be helpful to get general idea about the history of this country.

prehistoric australia

About 50 thousand years ago, the first people arrived on the southern mainland of Australia - the earliest sea travelers in the world. Geologists believe that at that time the island of New Guinea in the north and Tasmania in the south were part of the continent.

After several thousand years, the mainland began to be actively settled. The earliest archaeological find of human remains in Australia is the so-called Mungo Man, who lived about 40,000 years ago. According to it, scientists have determined that the first inhabitants of Australia were massive and tall people.

In the prehistoric period, Australia was settled by people in several waves. About 5 thousand years ago, with the next stream of migrants, the dingo dog appeared on the mainland - the only non-marsupial Australian predator. Only by the 2nd millennium BC did the Australian Aborigines acquire their modern look, evolving and mixing with the newcomers.

Aborigines formed a variety of tribes with own languages, culture, religion and tradition. By the time the Europeans discovered Australia, there were about 500 tribes on the mainland who spoke about 250 different languages. None of them had a written language, so their history is not well known. They used symbolic drawings, retelling ancient legends in them. These myths and archaeological finds are the only data that historians studying Australia can use.

Since people began to settle Australia quite a long time ago (for comparison, people came to the territory of America only 13 thousand years ago, as much as 27 thousand years later) and before the arrival of Europeans were not influenced by the rest of the world, the Australian aboriginal civilization is considered one of the oldest continuous cultures. in the world.

European studies of the mainland

Australia is officially considered to have been discovered by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszon in 1606. He sailed to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north of the mainland and landed on the Cape York Peninsula - the northernmost point of Australia, which is only 160 kilometers from New Guinea. A year before, the Spaniard Luis Vaes Torres swam in these waters, who passed very close to the Australian coast and even supposedly saw the land on the horizon, but mistook it for another archipelago.

There are several other alternative theories for the discovery of Australia. According to one of them, Portuguese navigators discovered the mainland before Willem Janszon. A flotilla led by de Siqueira explored the route to the Moluccas and sent several expeditions around the archipelago. One of these expeditions under the command of Mendonsa in 1522 allegedly visited the northwestern shores of Australia.

The theory of the early discovery of Australia looks plausible, since 16th century cannons were found just on the west coast in the 20th century. On the territory of the mainland, unusual finds have been discovered more than once, which can only be explained by the early voyages of Europeans to the Australian shores. However, these theories are considered controversial. In addition, the discovery of Australia remained unknown to Europe until the voyages of the Dutch.

Janszon declared the found territories the possession of the Netherlands, although the Dutch did not begin their development. In the next few decades, the Dutch continued to explore Australia. In 1616 Derk Hartog visited the west coast, three years later Frederick de Houtman explored several hundred kilometers of the coast. In 1644, Abel Tasman launched his famous sea voyages, during which he discovered New Zealand, Tasmania, Fiji and Tonga, and also proved that Australia was a separate continent.

The Dutch explored only the west coast of Australia, the rest of the coastline and inland lands remained unexplored until the voyages of James Cook a century later, in 1769. It was believed that New Holland (the first name of Australia) discovered by the Dutch does not belong to the hypothetical southern continent Terra Australis Incognita, the existence of which has been suspected since ancient times. New Holland was an inhospitable place with a difficult climate and hostile natives, so there was no interest in it for a long time.

In the middle of the 18th century, the British came up with the idea of exiling convicts to the islands of the Southern Ocean or to a supposedly existing mainland called the Unknown South Land. In 1769, English lieutenant James Cook set off on the ship Endeavor to Tahiti on a secret mission to find the southern mainland and explore the coast of New Holland.

Cook sailed to the east coast of Australia and landed in Botany Bay. After examining the coastal lands, he concluded that they were favorable enough for the establishment of a colony. Then Cook went along the coast in a northwesterly direction and found the strait between Australia and New Guinea (thus proving that this island is not part of the mainland). The navigator did not fulfill the task of finding the southern mainland.

During the second round the world expedition Cook explored the southern latitudes and came to the conclusion that there are no large lands in them except Australia. Dreams of Terra Australis were shattered, but a free name remained. In 1814, the English navigator Matthew Flinders suggested that New Holland should be called Australia. By that time, colonies from several states already existed on the mainland, which did not immediately accept the proposal, but eventually began to use this name. In 1824 it became official.

British colonization of Australia

Cook recommended Botany Bay for settlement. Here in 1787 the first fleet with settlers went. They were convicts - but for the most part not malicious criminals, robbers and murderers, but former merchants and farmers convicted of short terms for minor crimes. Many of them were soon granted pardons and allocated plots for farms. The rest of the settlers were infantrymen with their families, officers and other employees.

The ships found a convenient place for colonization near Botany Bay - Port Jackson Bay, where they founded a settlement in Sydney Cove. The date the colony was founded, January 26, 1788, later became a national holiday, Australia Day. A month later, the governor of the settlement officially announced the creation of a colony, which was called New South Wales. Locality was named after the British Home Secretary Viscount Sidney. This is how the city of Sydney appeared - now the largest and most developed in Australia.

The governor of the colony tried to establish relations with the natives, helped the convicts to improve, established trade and Agriculture. The first years were difficult for the settlers: there was not enough food, the convicts had few professional skills, and new convicts arriving in the colony turned out to be sick and disabled after a long and difficult voyage. But the governor managed to develop the colony, and from 1791 its affairs began to go uphill.

The living conditions of the convicts were harsh. They had to do a lot of work to create a colony: build houses and roads, help farmers. They starved and were severely punished. But the pardoned prisoners remained in Australia, received their allotments and could themselves hire convicts. One such ex-convict grew the first successful crop of wheat in 1789. Soon the colony began to provide itself with food.

In 1793, the first free settlers arrived in Sydney (except for the military guarding the convicts). They were given land free of charge, provided agricultural equipment for the first time, and were given the right to free movement and use the labor of prisoners.

Mainland exploration

After the founding of the colony, exploration of Australia continued. Europeans used the services of local guides, so most of the trips were successful. In 1813 an expedition by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth passed through the ranges of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and found extensive pastures. In 1824, the Hume and Hovell expedition made many important discoveries, discovered the Murray River and its tributaries and discovered many new pastures.

In 1828, Charles Sturt discovered the Darling River and reached the point where the Murray River flows into the Great Australian Bight. Then followed a whole series of expeditions, filling in the gaps of previous research. European and Australian explorers retained many of the original place names instead of giving their own. In 1839, the Polish traveler Strzelecki climbed the highest peak in Australia - Mount Kosciuszko in the Australian Alps.

In 1829, Great Britain claimed its rights to all western part Australia. The colony of New South Wales was divided into several, the colonies of Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory, Swan River appeared. Settlers gradually spread across the continent. At this time they founded big cities Melbourne and Brisbane.

Under the onslaught of European colonists, the natives retreated from the coasts inland. Their numbers greatly decreased due to the diseases brought by the settlers. In the middle of the 19th century, the entire indigenous population was moved to reservations, many were sent there by force.

By 1840 the tradition of sending convicts to Australia was being forgotten, and after 1868 it was no longer practiced.

Golden fever

In the 1850s, Australia began " Golden fever". The British authorities established licenses for gold mining, which was extremely disliked by gold miners. In 1854, prospectors from Ballarat raised an uprising, now known as the Eureka. The rebels created the Ballarat Reform League and made a number of demands to the government: to introduce universal suffrage, to abolish gold mining licenses, to abolish property restrictions for parliamentary candidates.

The resistance of the gold diggers was crushed, they were arrested and put on trial. But the court did not find the rebels guilty. Many of the miners' demands were met: licenses were canceled and the right to apply to parliament was given. The Eureka Rebellion stimulated the development of liberalism in Australia. This event became one of the key in the history of the country.

In 1855, New South Wales became self-governing while remaining part of the British Empire. Other Australian colonies soon followed. Their governments have been internal affairs, A foreign policy, defense and trade continued to be in charge of Great Britain.

The "Gold Rush" caused an economic boom in Australia. The next few decades were prosperous for Australians. In the 1890s, the economic situation began to deteriorate, at the same time the labor movement began to increase, new political parties began to appear, and the Australian colonies began to think about uniting.

Australian Union

For ten years, the colonies discussed the issue of unification and prepared to create a single country. In 1901, they created the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal state that was a dominion of the British Empire. In the early years, the capital of the Union was the city of Melbourne, but already in 1911, the future capital of Australia, the city of Canberra, began to be built on a specially allocated Federal Capital Territory. In 1927, the construction of the city was completed and the Union government settled in it.

A little later, the Federation included several territories that had previously been subordinate to Great Britain: the Norfolk Islands, Cartier and Ashmore. It was assumed that Australia would include New Zealand, but she chose to seek independence from Great Britain on her own.

The Australian economy was heavily dependent on exports. The country had to import a large number of grain and wool. The Great Depression that began in the United States in 1929 and the global depression that followed economic crisis seriously affected Australia. The unemployment rate rose to a record 29%.

In 1931, the British Parliament adopted the Statute of Westminster, which established the position of the dominions. According to it, the British dominions received full official independence, but retained the right of the British monarch to hold the post of head of state. Australia ratified this statute only in 1942, becoming effectively independent from Great Britain.

History of Australia after Independence

Second World War boosted the Australian economy. The Australians received a promise of protection from the United States in the event of a Japanese attack, so they took part in hostilities without risk to themselves. After the war, many residents of dilapidated Europe decided to move to Australia. The Australian government encouraged immigration, wanting to increase the country's population and attract talented professionals.

By 1975, two million immigrants had arrived in Australia. Most of them are former residents of Great Britain and Ireland. Thus, most of the Australian population are carriers in English, which has evolved into an Australian dialect. official language the state does not.

In the 1970s, the Australian government introduced a number of important reforms that are still significant today: free higher education, the abolition of compulsory military service, the recognition of the right of aborigines to land and others. From a former colony of convicts, Australia has become a highly developed country with one of the most high levels immigration.

What is the history of Australia? Let's take a brief look at the events that are associated with its discovery. Some researchers express their assumptions, according to which, the first Europeans who reached the coast of Australia at the beginning of the seventeenth century were the Portuguese.

What is the history of the discovery and exploration of Australia? Briefly this information presented in encyclopedias, but they do not interesting moments, which confirm the interest of travelers to this territory. Among the evidence that it was the Portuguese who became the discoverers of Australia, the following arguments can be made:

Maps of Dieppe, which were published in the middle of the 16th century in France, contain an image of a large land area between Antarctica and Indonesia, called Java la Grande. All explanations and symbols on the map are in Portuguese and French.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Portuguese colonies were located in Southeast Asia. For example, the island of Timor, which is located 650 kilometers from the Australian coast, was attributed precisely to Portuguese travelers.

French "trace"

What else Interesting Facts contains the history of the discovery of Australia and Oceania? We will also briefly tell that the French navigator Binot Polmier de Gonneville told that it was he who landed on unknown lands near the Cape of Good Hope in 1504. This happened after his ship blew the winds off the intended course. Thanks to this statement, it was this traveler who was credited with the discovery of Australia for a long time. After some time, it was found out that he was on the coast of Brazil.

Discovery of Australia by the Dutch

Let's continue the conversation about what is the history of the discovery of Australia and Oceania. Let us dwell briefly on the first indisputable fact documented in the winter of 1606. The expedition of the Dutch East India Company, led by Willem Janson, managed, together with his comrades, to land on the coast from the ship Dove. After sailing from the island of Java, they went to the southern part of New Guinea, moving along it, the Dutch expedition managed after some time to reach the shores of the Cape York Peninsula, located in northern Australia. The team members were confident that they were still off the coast of New Guinea.

It is the history of the development of Australia that is briefly considered in school course by geography. The expedition did not see which divides the coast of Australia and New Guinea. On February 26, members of the team landed near the site where the city of Weipa is currently located. The Dutch were immediately attacked by the natives. Later, Janson and his men explored about 350 kilometers of the coast of Australia, sometimes making landfalls. His crew constantly ran into hostile natives, so several Dutch sailors were killed during fierce battles with the natives. The captain decided to return. He never realized that he and his team managed to discover a new continent. Since Janson, in describing his exploration of the coast, described it as a swampy and deserted place, no one attached much importance to his new discovery. The East India Company sent out expeditions in the hope of enriching themselves with jewels and spices, and not at all for serious geographical discoveries.

Luis Vaes de Torres

Describing briefly the history of the exploration of Australia, one can also say about how this traveler moved through the same strait through which Janson's team first passed. Geographers have suggestions that Torres and his comrades managed to visit the northern coast of the continent, but no written confirmation of this hypothesis has been found. After some time, the strait began to be called Torres in honor of Luis Vaez de Torres.

Notable expeditions

The story of the discovery and exploration of Australia is also of interest, briefly telling about the voyage of the next ship of the Dutch East India Company, which was driven by Dirk Hartog. In 1616, the ship managed to reach the western coast of Australia, near Shark Bay. For three days, sailors explored the coast, and explored the nearby islands. The Dutch found nothing of interest, so Hartog decided to continue sailing north along a coastline that had not been explored before. The team then headed to Batavia.

Where is the history of the discovery of Australia described? Briefly, grade 7 studies information about expeditions here from Europe in the 16-17 centuries. For example, educators talk about how in 1619 Jacob d'Erdel and Frederick de Houtman went on two ships to explore the Australian coast. As they moved north, they discovered a band of reefs called Houtman's Rock.

Continued research

After this expedition, other Dutch sailors repeatedly found themselves near these shores, calling the land New Holland. They did not even try to explore the coast, as they did not find any commercial interest here.

The beautiful coastline, even if it aroused their curiosity, clearly did not stimulate them to explore what useful resources Australia has. The history of the country briefly tells about the exploration of the northern and western coasts. The Dutch concluded that the northern lands were barren and unsuitable for use. The sailors did not see the eastern and southern coasts at that time, so Australia was undeservedly recognized as uninteresting for use.

First buildings

In the summer of 1629, the Batavia, an East India Company ship, was shipwrecked off the Houtman Rocks. Soon there was a mutiny, as a result of which a small fort was built by part of the crew for protection. It became the first European construction in Australia. Geographers suggest that at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, about fifty European ships reached the territory of Australia.

The history of the development and settlement of Australia briefly tells about the discoveries made by ships. In 1642, he tried to go around New Holland from the south, while discovering an island called Van Diemen's Land. Some time later it was renamed Tasmania. With the subsequent advance to the east, after some time, the ships ended up near New Zealand. Tasman's first voyage was not successful; travelers failed to approach Australia.

The history of Australia briefly tells that Tasman was able to study the northwest coast in detail only in 1644, to prove that all the lands that were discovered and analyzed in earlier expeditions are constituent parts one mainland.

English Studies

The history of Australia briefly notes the English contribution to its study. Until the second half of the seventeenth century, there was practically no information in England about the lands that were discovered by Dutch travelers. In 1688, a pirate ship carrying an Englishman, William Dampier, ended up on the northwest coast, near Lake Melville. This fact has been preserved by the history of Australia. Briefly, the surviving records say that after the repair, the ship returned to England. Here, Dampier published a story about the journey, which aroused genuine interest among the English Admiralty.

In 1699, Dampier set out on a second voyage to the coast of Australia on the ship Roebuck. But as part of this trip, he did not find anything interesting, so the Admiralty decided to stop funding the expedition.

Cook's expedition

Talking about the history of the discovery of Australia, one cannot leave without due attention the expedition of 1170, led by Lieutenant James Cook. On the sailboat "Attempt" his team went to the South Pacific. The official purpose of the expedition was to make astronomical observations, but in fact Cook received from the Admiralty the task of studying the southern part of the continent. Cook believed that since New Holland has a west coast, therefore, there must be an east coast.

At the end of April 1770, an English expedition landed on east coast Australia. The landing site was first named Stingray Bay, then it was renamed Botany Bay because of the unusual plants that were found there.

The open lands were named New Wales by Cook, and then the New Englishman did not even realize how massive the discovery he made was.

British colonies

The lands that Cook discovered were decided to be colonized, using them as the first colonies for convicts. The fleet, led by Captain Arthur Philip, included 11 ships. He arrived in Australia in January 1788, but, recognizing the region as inconvenient for settlement, they moved north. Governor Philip issued an order establishing the first British colony in Australia. The soils around Sydney Harbor were not suitable for farming, so farms were established near the Parramatta River.

The second fleet, which arrived in Australia in 1790, brought here different materials and supplies. During the journey, 278 convicts and crew members died, so in history it is called the "Death Fleet".

In 1827, a small British settlement was built at King Georges Sound by Major Edmund Lockyer. He became the first governor of a colony created for convicts.

South Australia was founded in 1836. It was not intended for convicts, but some of the former prisoners moved here from other colonies.

Conclusion

It was mastered almost fifty thousand years before its official discovery by European travelers. For more than one century, people with an original culture and religion have lived in the waterless deserts and tropical jungles of the continent. After the colonization of the Australian coast, a period of active exploration of the territory began. Among the first serious researchers who managed to study the channels of the rivers Macquarie, Lochlan, geographers name John Oxley. Robert Burke became the first Englishman to cross the mainland from north to south. The discovery of Australia was the result of a centuries-old search for the Dutch, Portuguese, and British of the Southern country.

In 2006, archaeologists discovered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia. This fact led to the promotion of an original hypothesis about the discovery of the contingent by the Egyptians.

Scientists agreed that 1606 can be considered the most likely time for the discovery of Australia. It was then that the famous Dutchman V. Janszon explored the northeastern part - the Cape York Peninsula.

The history of the settlement of Australia is briefly described in this material. Until now, it is associated with numerous mysteries that scientists have yet to solve. For example, guns found during archaeological sites, give reason to believe that the Portuguese visited this territory in the fifteenth century. A complete map of the British colony, which was Australia, scientists managed to draw up only at the beginning of the last century.