Diemen, Anton van
Diemen, Anton van
(än`tōn vän dē`mən), 1593–1645, Dutch colonial official. As governor-general for the Dutch East India Company in the East Indies after 1636, he captured Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Malacca from the Portuguese. He sent Abel TasmanTasman, Abel Janszoon, 1603?–1659, Dutch navigator. In the service of the Dutch East India Company from c.1632 to 1653, he made several trading and exploring voyages in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
..... Click the link for more information. on exploring voyages. Tasman called an island that he found (1642) Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania).