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Anthonie van Diemen
1593–1645

The driving force behind Abel Tasman's significant voyages of discovery in 1642 and 1644 was Anthonie van Diemen, the ambitious Governor-General of the East Indies from 1636 to 1645. Among the energetic Governors-Generals who supported voyages of discovery, van Diemen in particular had dreams of consolidating Dutch power in the east. (Tasman named Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, in his honour; Maria Island, off Tasmania's east coast, was named for van Diemen's wife.)

Born in Culemborg, in the Netherlands, van Diemen became a merchant in 1616. In the following year, he joined the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and sailed to Batavia.

In 1626, he was appointed Director-General of Commerce and a member of the Council for the Indies, and in 1635 was named Governor-General of the East Indies.

Van Diemen is credited with fuelling the VOC's interest in the potential economic benefits of expansion south and east. When these benefits did not materialise, exploration all but ended.

Many governors oversaw voyages of exploration, but few were as enthusiastic as van Diemen. Under his guidance, Dutch power was established in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the VOC's influence expanded throughout Asia.

 

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