New Holland (Australia)

New Holland (Australia)
Map of a part of New Holland made by William Dampier in 1699

New Holland is a historic name for the island continent of Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman as Nova Hollandia, naming it after the Dutch province of Holland, and remained in use for 180 years.

History

William Dampier's account of exploring the region used the name in his account.[1] The American author Edgar Allan Poe also referred to New Holland as late as 1833, in his prize-winning short story "MS. Found in a Bottle": "the hulk flew at a rate defying computation (...) and we must have run down the coast of New Holland".[2]

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau - an American author, poet, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher and leading transcendentalist - mentioned the term New Holland (referring to the territory of the "wild" indigenous Australians) in his book Walden; or, Life in the Woods, in which he writes: "So, we are told, the New Hollander goes naked with impunity, while the European shivers in his clothes. Is it impossible to combine the hardiness of these savages with the intellectualness of the civilized man?"[3]

After the establishment of a settlement at New South Wales in 1788, which encompassed the eastern part of the continent, the term New Holland was more often used to refer only to that part of the continent that had not yet been annexed to New South Wales; thus it referred to the area of land that is now Western Australia.

The abandonment of the name is due to Matthew Flinders, who used the name Australia for the continent, and recommended its official adoption. This was rejected at the time, but in 1824 the name change received official sanction by the United Kingdom; though the term "New Holland" was still in use as late as 1837 in official correspondence between the Government in London and the colony of New South Wales, referring to the entire continent of present-day Australia. [4]

In the Netherlands Nieuw Holland would remain the usual name of the continent until the end of the 19th century; it is now no longer in use, the Dutch name now is Australië.


See also

References

  1. ^ Dampier, William,(1981) A voyage to New Holland : the English voyage of discovery to the South Seas in 1699 edited with an introduction by James Spencer. Gloucester : Alan Sutton. ISBN 0904387755
  2. ^ http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/msfnda.htm
  3. ^ (page 8)
  4. ^ Richards, J., The Secret War: A True History of Queensland's Native Police, 2008, p. 49)



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • New Holland — may refer to: Places (geography) New Holland (Australia), a historic name for the island continent Australia New Holland (Brazil), Dutch West India Company territories on the northeast coast of Brazil New Holland Island in Saint Petersburg,… …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland Publishers — is an international book and map publisher with a head office in South Africa and offices in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. External links New Holland Publishing website New Holland UK website New Holland Australia website New… …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland Honeyeater — Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland Frog — Conservation status Least Concern  …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland Mouse — Conservation status Vulnerable ( …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland seahorse — Conservation status Data Deficient ( …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland Agriculture — For early history see New Holland Machine Company New Holland Agriculture Type Brand Industry Agricultural equipment Capital lending Founded …   Wikipedia

  • New Holland — /nju ˈhɒlənd/ (say nyooh holuhnd) noun the name given to Australia by the Dutch explorers of the 17th century. {Latin Nova Hollandia} The name New Holland originally applied to that part of Australia near the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). After… …  

  • NEW HOLLAND —    See AUSTRALIA …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • New Holland — old name for Australia discovered by Dutch navigators …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”