Dieppe Maps - Debates Over The Theory of Portuguese Discovery of Australia

Debates Over The Theory of Portuguese Discovery of Australia

Discussion of the Dieppe maps in contemporary Australia is exclusively confined to the Jave la Grande feature. In the media, the maps are sometimes mistakenly described as Portuguese and they are often cited as evidence James Cook did not "discover Australia".

The first writer to put these maps forward as evidence of Portuguese discovery of Australia was Alexander Dalrymple in 1786, in a short note to his Memoir Concerning the Chagos and Adjacent Islands. Dalrymple was intrigued enough to publish 200 copies of the Dauphin map.

Since then a number of other writers have contributed to the debate about the "Jave La Grande" landmass that appears on the Dieppe maps. These include;

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