500th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Island of Amsterdam cap. El Cano

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Anatol
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

500th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Island of Amsterdam cap. El Cano

Post by Anatol » Tue Aug 16, 2022 6:11 pm

In 2022, TAFF released a block dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the discovery of AMSTERDAM Island in the Indian Ocean by a member of F. Magellan's round-the-world expedition, cap. El Cano.
The first person known to have sighted the island was the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián de Elcano, on 18 March 1522, during his circumnavigation of the world. Elcano did not give the island a name. On 17 June 1633, Dutch mariner Anthonie van Diemen sighted the island, and named it after his ship, Nieuw Amsterdam. The first recorded landing on the island occurred in December 1696, led by the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh.
French mariner Pierre François Péron wrote that he was marooned on the island between 1792 and 1795. Péron's Memoires, in which he describes his experiences, were published in a limited edition, now an expensive collectors' item. However, Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were often confused at the time, and Péron may have been marooned on Saint-Paul.
Sealers are said to have landed on the island, for the first time, in 1789.[6] Between that date and 1876, 47 sealing vessels are recorded at the island, 9 of which were wrecked. Relics of the sealing era can still be found.
The island was a stop on the Macartney Mission during its voyage to China in 1793.
On 11 October 1833, the British barque Lady Munro was wrecked at the island. Of the 97 persons aboard, 21 survivors were picked up two weeks later by a US sealing schooner, General Jackson.
John Balleny in command of the exploration and sealing vessel Eliza Scott (154 tons) visited the island in November 1838 in search of seals. He returned with a few fish and reported having seen the remains of a hut and the carcass of a whale.
The islands of Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were first claimed by France in June 1843. A decree of 8 June 1843 mandated the Polish captain Adam Mieroslawski to take into possession and administer in the name of France both islands. The decree as well as the ship's log from the Olympe ship from 1 and 3 July 1843, stating that the islands had been taken into possession by Mieroslawski, are still preserved.
In January 1871 an attempt to settle the island was made by a party led by Heurtin, a French resident of Réunion. After seven months, their attempts to raise cattle and grow crops were fruitless, and they returned to Réunion, abandoning the cattle on the island.
In May 1880 HMS Raleigh circumnavigated the island searching for a missing ship the Knowsley Hall. A cutter and gig were despatched to the island to search for signs of habitation. There was a flagpole on Hoskin Point and 45–65 m (50–70 yards) north were two huts, one of which had an intact roof and contained three bunks, empty casks, an iron pot and the eggshells and feathers of sea-birds. There was also an upturned serviceable boat in the other hut, believed to belong to the fishermen who visited the island.
The island were attached to the French colony of Madagascar from 21 November 1924 until 6 August 1955 when the French Southern and Antarctic Lands was formed. (Madagascar gained independence in 1958.)
The first French base on Île Amsterdam was established in 1949, and was originally called Camp Heurtin. It is now the Martin-de-Viviès research station.
The Global Atmosphere Watch still maintains a presence on Île Amsterdam.
French Southern and Antarctic Territories 2022;1.5e.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele_Amsterdam.
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