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3. Discovery: Terra
Incognita & Aotearoa
Outline of Lecture
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Introduction
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The passion for discovery, and what
makes a great explorer, according to historian J.C. Beaglehole.
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Early Spanish
and Dutch Voyages
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Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe
begins the story of European exploration of the South Pacific. This, along
with the subsequent Spanish colonial presence in South
America, sets in motion a chain of Spanish discovery in the
1500s and early 1600s. This is followed by a chain of Dutch discovery,
coming from the west, throughout the 1600s. These explorations situated Australia and New Zealand on maps and in
minds, but did not bring about familiarity with these lands or serious
interest in them.
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Getting to
Know Australia & New Zealand
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The voyages of Abel Tasman in the mid-1600s brought
detailed knowledge of Australia
and New Zealand
to the notice of Anthony van Dieman and Dutch
colonial authorities. The late 1600s and the 1700s, however, brought
English and French explorers to the region, culminating with Bouganville’s reconnaissance of 1767-69. Australia and New Zealand, having attracted
European attention, appear up for grabs.
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Beaglehole’s Delight: The Voyages of James C.
Cook
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The arrival of James Cook in the region of Australia and New Zealand, from the point of
view of Europeans, changes everything. His voyages of the late 1700s not
only fulfill Beaglehole’s criteria for heroic
exploration (thus confirming English superiority) but also result in
colonization. At the same time the botanist Joseph Banks brings the lenses
of English science to bear on the new lands.
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Exploration
& Identity
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Exploration is a formative theme in national identity.
The way the story is told must accord with what we think about ourselves.
Whereas the dominant story of exploration confirms the English affiliation
of New Zealand, it creates
doubts in Australia,
where historians and citizens have created counter-mythologies of
exploration.
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