Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

Discovery of New Britain by William Dampier

When
1700
Where
New Britain
Episodes
1

In 1700, William Dampier became the first known British man to visit New Britain, dubbing it Nova Britannia. He also traced the coasts of nearby islands and charted the Dampier Strait, mapping the region now known as the Bismarck Archipelago.

Episodes

  1. 27 February 1700 · New BritainFirst British Visit

    Dampier arrived at New Britain on 27 February 1700, becoming the first known British man to visit the island.

Background and detail

Voyage Context. William Dampier was appointed commander of the 26-gun warship HMS Roebuck in 1699. The expedition departed on 14 January 1699, heading toward New Holland via the Cape of Good Hope after missing the season for the Horn.

Discovery and Naming. On 27 February 1700, Dampier became the first known British man to visit New Britain. He dubbed the island Nova Britannia, a Latin name meaning 'New Britain', marking his initial contact with the island.

Charting the Archipelago. Dampier traced the south-eastern coasts of New Hanover, New Ireland, and New Britain. He charted the Dampier Strait between these islands and New Guinea, mapping the area now known as the Bismarck Archipelago.

People involved

Sources

  1. New Britain Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-22
  2. William Dampier Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-02

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.