Senior Library Books
Resource Key
LEVEL 1
brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)
LEVEL 2
provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.
LEVEL 3
lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)
Key Words
- Zuytdorp Some time in June 1712, the 700 ton VOC ship Zuytdorp, Captained by Marinus Wijsvliet, was wrecked on the Western Australian coast, called New Holland at that time, crashing onto rocks at the bottom of cliffs just south of Shark Bay. The cliffs are now called the Zuytdorp Cliffs.
- Vergulde Draek On the night of the 28th of April 1656 the VOC ship Vergulde Draeck (also known as Gilt Dragon) under the command of Pieter Albertszoon ran onto a reef off the coast of Western Australia about mid-way between what are now the towns of Seabird and Ledge Point. The site is about 100 kms north of Perth.
- de Vlamingh 1688 de Vlamingh joined the VOC and on 26 November of that year he was on his way to Batavia. On December 31st 1696 de Vlamingh landed on Rottnest Island.
- Hartog Dirck Hartogh was born in 1580. He was a private merchant before joining the Amsterdam chamber of the VOC (United Dutch East Indies Company).
- Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) VOC stands for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (United East Indies Company). It was formed in the Netherlands in 1602 with the aim of sending ships to East Asia to buy pepper, cinnamon and other spices and trade them on European markets. The VOC grew rapidly to become a multi-national company with trading forts in southern Africa and all over Asia. Halfway through the 18th century, the VOC employed 25,000 persons, 3,000 in the Netherlands. The VOC built its own ships, a total of 1500, which together made 5000 journeys to Asia. They established a network of trading posts stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Chinese Sea.
Library Resources on VOC
- Scotch Senior Library
This search lists the library books, databases and movies containing information relating to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) available at the Senior Scotch library.
Linked Databases
- Britannica Schools This link opens in a new window Britannica School covers the core subject areas of English, Maths, Science and History. Interactive lessons, activities, games, stories, worksheets, manipulatives, study guides and research tools.
- West Australian Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The West Australia Archive Digital Editions provides full text searching of past issues of the West Australian. Each issue is searchable the day after publication.
- World Book Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
Online version of the complete reference work along with dictionary, atlas, links, magazines, historical documents, audio, video, images, and 3D photograph
Introduction
Welcome to Marine History and Archaeology in Western Australia. This guide has been created for Year 11 students studying the Dutch East India Company and its significance to Australian maritime history.
The Dutch East India Company (often called the VOC, the initials of its name in Dutch) was set up in 1602 to help Dutch traders and explorers work together to find and supply spices from across the world. Seeking riches in the South Land (as Australia was called), the VOC sponsored explorations increased the knowledge of the location, size and shape of Australia, as is evident in Dutch maps drawn and engraved during the 17th century. By 1628, about 4,000km of Australia’s western, southern and northern coastlines had been surveyed and delineated on charts which were issued to VOC skippers.
Putting Australia on the Map
National Library of Australia. (2013, November 3). Putting Australia on the map [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/embed/yw0xq7vT_z4
Martin Woods, Curator of Maps at the National Library of Australia, discusses early depictions of 'the great south land', from ancient Greek interpretations of the Antipodes to maps of New Holland by the Dutch in the 1600s and 1700s with the various names used including Terra Australis, Jave Le Grande and Magallanica.
Charting Australia
- National Library of Australia. (n.d.). Dutch charting of Australia. Retrieved from http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/60542/20060914-0000/www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/southland/Mapping-of_New_Holland.html
Mapping of New Holland
If mapmakers of the mid-1600s are to be believed, New Holland was discovered in 1644, the year in which Abel Tasman charted Australia's northern coastline from Cape York to North West Cape.
Even though Dutch sailors had mapped much of its west and south-west coasts, the continent remained for the most part cloaked in mystery. (New Holland, the name given by Tasman to the continent, remained in use until at least 1817, when Australia, the name recommended by English navigator Matthew Flinders, was officially sanctioned.)
Charting New Holland's Coastline
National Library of Australia. (1644). Hollandia Nova. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231299866/view