The Seven Provinces of Holland went on to become one of the most powerful seafaring nations of the 17th century. In 1596, a mariner called Cornelis de Houtman charted the first sea route to the East Indies, today’s Indonesia, thus securing for Holland a virtual monopoly on the spice trade. A decade later, another Dutch captain, Willem Janszoon, discovered a large landmass that became known as Terra Australis Incognita, or the 'Unknown Land in the South'. Today, we call that land mass Australia. The Dutch were justifiably proud of their achievements.