Terra Australis Incognita: from the Lost Continent to the very found one
by João Lopes Marques* ( Eesti keeles ) When the subject is historical fabrication, there is no better example than Australia. In fact, the surname Cook of the official English discoverer unveils almost everything: the discovery of Australia was cooked by London and its ambitious Admiralty. Those who have the military and economic power tend to have free hand to write and rewrite History their way. Let's face it: truth, whatever it means, is far from being essential in this exploration business. A good founding lie suits best as long as people don't question it too much. Antipodal distance helped and time accommodates the rest: Terra Australis Incognita has been a self-perpetuated fetish since Ptolemy and the ancient astronomists. Yet unlike mysterious Atlantis, there is plenty of evidence the "Lost Continent" was found and lost and found again several times throughout the millennia. By the Aboriginals, some 60,000 years ago. By the Javanese, Timorese and other Malay...