Jan Carstenszoon

January Carstenszoon (, Jan Carstensz ) was a Dutch sailor in the 17th century.

Work

In 1623 he led on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, an expedition to the coast of New Guinea. Carstenszoon commanded the Pera; Captain of the second ship of the expedition, the Arnhem, Willem van Cool Steerd was. The journey should confirm the reports Janszoons Willem, who in 1606 traveled the region for the first time, and knowledge of previously unexplored for Europe countries bring to the south.

Starting from Ambon sailed Carstenszoon on January 21, 1623 in the region of the Torres Strait. However, he missed the passage as previously Janzoon and sailed instead on the western side of Cape York Peninsula south to the Gulf of Carpentaria, which he charted and named after Pieter de Carpentier, the Governor-General of Batavia. In a shore he met Aborigines, which he denied any knowledge of precious metals or spices and they therefore described as " underdeveloped " and " non-performing". The crew of the Pera kidnapped one of the locals and killed another of the group, as they tried to free the prisoners. The ships reached 17 ° 8 ' south latitude, before they decided to turn back and returned home on different routes. The fate Carstenzoons after returning to Ambon nothing is known of his discoveries, however, were already included in the new 1628 cards.

After Carstenszoon the Carstensz Pyramid is named, the highest with 4884 m summit of Oceania. This Carstenszoons original reports had been ridiculed by the sighted glaciers of the mountain at that time in Europe, as it was not ready to believe in snow in such southern climes.