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The island is believed to have been attached to Australia until the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, when a rise in sea level separated Tazmania from the rest of the territory. By then, Tasmania was already inhabited by the so-called Tasmanian aborigines, who settled in the area at least 35,000 years ago, perhaps 43,000 years ago. At the time of British colonization in 1803, there were between 5,000 and 10,000 Aborigines in Tasmania, but their numbers were soon reduced by a systematic policy of marginalization and extermination and by disease, to the point of disappearing.



The first European to inhabit the island was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, on November 24, 1642. Tasman baptized it with the name of Anthoonij van Diemenslandt in honor of the sponsor of his trip, the governor general of the Dutch East India Company. , Antonio van Diemen. Later, the British would shorten the name to Land of Van Diemen (Van Diemen's Land).



Captain James Cook passed through the area in 1777, although the first British settlement was not established until 1803. It was founded at Risdon Cove by a small group from Sydney under the command of Lieutenant John Bowen. The following year, an alternative settlement was created at Sullivan's Cove, on the west bank of the Derwent River, where fresh water was most abundant. This last settlement would be known as Hobart Town or Hobarton (modern Hobart) in honor of the then British secretary of the colonies Lord Hobart. The settlement at Risdon was later abandoned.



The first settlers were, for the most part, convicts and their military guardians. Soon several penal colonies were created on the island, among which those of Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbor stood out for their harshness and rigor.



Van Diemen's Land was declared an independent colony from New South Wales on December 3, 1825.



The island of Tazmania, in Oceania, is a state of Australia. It is located 240 km southeast of the continent, separated by the Bass Strait. Tasmania has a population of 484,700 inhabitants (March 2005 estimate) and an area of ​​68,332 km².



The capital and largest city is Hobart, which includes the cities of Hobart, Glenorchy, and Clarence. Other cities are Launceston in the north, and Devonport and Burnie in the northwest.



Tasmania was united to the Australian continent until 13,000 years ago and after the rise in the level of the waters, it was isolated, creating the Bass Strait. Its relief is mountainous. Mount Ossa has an altitude of 1,617m and is Tasmania's highest peak. The rivers are of rapid course and together with the high precipitations they present the ideal conditions for the installation of hydroelectric plants.



The island has a temperate, stable and humid climate.

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