Van Diemen’s Land

Van Diemen’s Land was the name Europeans first used for Tasmania, part of present-day Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to explore the area in 1642 and named the area for Anthony van Diemen, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies who had commissioned the voyage. It was not discovered to be an island until 1798-99. Van Diemen’s Land served as a penal colony from the early 1800s until 1853, when penal transportation was abolished. The name officially changed in 1856.

Coordinates

Latitude: -42.882230600000
Longitude: 147.333243000000

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Timeline of Events Associated with Van Diemen’s Land

Date	Event			Manage
Oct 1831 to Oct 1836	Darwin's voyage on the Beagle From October 1831 to October 1836, Charles Darwin circumnavigated the world as ship’s naturalist on board the H.M.S. Beagle; he later published his first book based on the journal of his experiences and observations during the voyage. Image: Henry Maull and John Fox, Photograph of Charles Darwin (c. 1854). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Nancy Armstrong, “On Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man, 24 February 1871″ Ian Duncan, “On Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle” Anna Henchman, “Charles Darwin’s Final Book on Earthworms, 1881” Cannon Schmitt, “On the Publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, 1859″ Related Articles Daniel Bivona, “On W. K. Clifford and ‘The Ethics of Belief,’ 11 April 1876″

Date

Event

Manage

Oct 1831 to Oct 1836

Darwin's voyage on the Beagle

From October 1831 to October 1836, Charles Darwin circumnavigated the world as ship’s naturalist on board the H.M.S. Beagle; he later published his first book based on the journal of his experiences and observations during the voyage. Image: Henry Maull and John Fox, Photograph of Charles Darwin (c. 1854). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.