29 



be associated the said Pilot-Major Visscher and other capable 

 officers. 



The ships were ready for sea. The Heemskerck had for 

 skipper Ide Tjercxszoon, the Zeehaen Gerrit Janszoon. Tasman 

 as commander and Visscher as pilot-major were on board the 

 Heemskerck, Gilsemans the merchant or supercargo on the 

 Zeehaen. In all Dutch discovery and trading expeditions ihe 

 merchant or supercargo was an important personage. He had 

 the direction of the commercial part — which in the Company's 

 voyages was the chief part of the undertaking — and consequently 

 had a large voice in the direction of the expedition. Gilsemans 

 is spoken of as having a competent knowledge of navigation 

 and as being also a skilful draftsman, and it is doubtless to his 

 capable pencil that we owe the vigorous sketches which 

 illustrate the original journal of the voyage. 



The instructions to Tasman were printed by Swart in 1859, 

 and are entitled, " Instructions for the Captain-Commander 

 Abel Jansz Tasman, the Pilot-Major Eranchoys Jacobsz 

 Visscher, and the Council of the ship Heemskerck and fly- 

 boat the Zeehaen, destined for the exploration of the Unknown 

 and Discovered Southland, the South-EastCoastof New Guinea, 

 with the Islands lying round about." They begin with an 

 elaborate exordium recounting the priceless riches, profitable 

 commerce, useful traffic, excellent dominion, great might and 

 power which the kings of Castile and Portugal had brought 

 to their crowns by the discovery of America by Columbus and 

 of the Cape route to the Indies by Vasco da Gama ; likewise 

 what uncounted blind heathen had thus come to the wholesome 

 light of the Christian religion. Yet hitherto no serious attempt 

 had been made by any Christian king, prince, or republic to 

 explore the still unknown part of the globe situated in the 

 south, which might be supposed to be as great as either the 

 old or the new world, and might with good reason be expected to 

 contain many excellent and fruitful countries, and also lands 

 as rich in mines of precious metals as the gold and silver 

 provinces of Peru, Chili, or Sofala. No European colony 

 was so suitable for the starting-point of such an expedition as 

 the town of Batavia, situated in the centre of the known 

 and unknown Eastern India ; therefore the Governor and 

 Council of India had resolved to take the discovery in hand, 

 and to despatch for that service the ships Heemskerck and 

 Zeehaen. 



The instructions then prescribe the course which the vessels 

 are to take, following exactly the recommendations of Visscher's 

 report, except that, if the ship's council for any sufficient 

 reason thought is best, they might vary the route by making 

 the east end of the known South Land, or the islands of St. 



