TASMAN'S VOYAGE OF 1642 263 



skipper of a yacht ; and from that time " we can trace 

 his career from day to day." We find him, in the records, 

 seeking safe routes among the dangerous seas, chastising 

 rebellious islanders, cruising in search of smugglers. His 

 crew on one occasion accused him of having sold their 

 victuals to the natives ; but the accusation is held by the 

 modern critic to be not proven. 



In 1639 Tasman sailed, as second in command, in a Golden 

 voyage to discover famous islands which, according to ^Q^ 3 m 

 a persistent story, existed in the North Pacific, Eastward Pacific, 

 of Japan. Long ago, the story said, Spanish ships had 

 been driven by a storm to " a large and high-rising island," 

 where " gold and silver were almost to be picked up at 

 discretion on the shore," and where " the kettles and other 

 cooking utensils of the natives were made of these metals." l 

 Attempts to rediscover the island had failed ; and it 

 was piously believed that " the Lord God, considering 

 the wickedness of the Spanish projects, may have 

 frustrated their plan, being unwilling to allow the 

 poor natives to be robbed of their heritage and posses- 

 sions." The Lord God, in short, was reserving another 

 good thing for His Dutchmen. The Government at 

 Batavia, then, thought well of the plan. Likely enough 

 the islands would be found to contain good gold and silver, 

 and would provide an excellent market for cloth. The 

 Directors in Holland pushed the proposal with enthusiasm. 

 ' The gold-bearing island " would be the one thing that 

 the Company needed " to get over its heavy burdens, 

 and come into ^ the real enjoyment of the profits of the 

 East Indian trade." 



In June 1639 two ships sailed on this quest under a The voyage 

 seaman named Quast, with Tasman second in command, and xTsman, 

 In case they failed to find the golden islands, they were l6 39- 

 to explore Corea and Tartaria ; for trade with these coun- 

 tries, it was believed, would prove some compensation 

 in case, " contrary to our hopes, the trade to Japan should 

 prove less profitable in the future." If unfavourable 

 winds made this plan impossible, the ships were to sail 

 1 Heeres' Tasman, p. 18. 



