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(PDF) Ongoing Colonization in Australia

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Added on  2021-05-30

(PDF) Ongoing Colonization in Australia

   Added on 2021-05-30

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Running head: Colonizing AustraliaColonizing AustraliaName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
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1Colonizing AustraliaIntroduction:The history of western colonization of Australia begins with the arrival of the FirstFleet in 1788, which comprised of 11 British ships (2 royal navy vessels, 3 storage vesselsand 6 ships carrying convicts (1000 to 1500). The ships arrived at Sydney in New SouthWales, and set up a penal colony followed by European Land Exploration of Australia andlater with the establishment of colonies and set up of democratic governments in the colonies(Day & Day, 2015; Gergis et al., 2010; Bateson, 1983). The essay will critically analyse boththese conflicting versions to develop an argument on this topic, and understand both theperspectives of the western colonisers as well as the indigenous inhabitants of Australia. The attempt to create colonies in Australia was based on several different factorswhich supported the decision of the United Kingdom to create colonies there. Each of thesefactors is discussed along with how such contexts have affected the Indigenous populationsof Australia.Possibility of a Perfect Colony:From the British perspective, Australia was an untouched, empty continent, whichthey could occupy without any opposition. Even though the land was discovered parts ofAustralia long before the arrival of Captain Cook, there was no attempt by them to settle inthe land (Harvey, 1849; Madden, 2018). Moreover, Captain Cook thought that the natives ofthe land were of docile nature, and did not show any intentions for resisting Europeansettlement in their lands. This served a significant factor in the British Decision to set upcolonies in Australia, and also do so in a peaceful and civilized manner (Eisler & Eisler,1995). However, from the perspective of the first settlers in Australia, the continent wasconsidered very unfriendly, due to its harsh environment, remoteness and the lack of anyinfrastructure on which the colonisers could work upon. This significantly challenged the
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2Colonizing Australiaprospects of the colonisers settling in the country (Cawthorn & Archaeology, 2016). From theperspective of the native Australians, this move resulted in the early conflicts between thecolonisers, as they slowly started to displace the natives out of their lands (Leane, 2010; Hall,2002). Since the Aboriginal cultures were based on the principles of sharing the land, theynever protested being displaced, and accommodated the outsiders to share their resources.However, with further development of the colonies, the access of the natives to their ownresources became constrained by the European colonies (Graham & Davoren, 2015).A Place to Deport British Criminals:Based on the ideas from the American colonies like those in Georgia and Carolinas,the British considered Australia to be the site of the new convict settlement, after theAmerican independence (Sheridan, 1960). This was an important move towards reducing thepopulation of convicts in the UK, as well as help in the selection of people who can be thefirst western colonisers of Australia (Chesterman, 1999; Rickard, 2018). The remoteness ofAustralia ensured that the convicts are unable to escape the continent and instead are forcedto live their full sentence in the convict settlements. Such attributes could have been decisivein their ability to settle in land with a harsh environment and deal with any hostility from thenative people (Keen, 2004). From the perspectives of the native Australians, the rapid influxof Europeans resulted in the set up on Penal Colonies in which they were no longer allowed,and resources on those lands becoming out of reach for the natives (Then, 2015). Thisincreased their struggle to continue with their way of life, as well as created a boundarybetween the native people with the western colonisers. The aggressive nature of the westernconvicts arriving in Australia was probable another factor that facilitated the dispersion of thecolony, as the docile inhabitants rarely would challenge the spread of the colonisers in theland (Rechniewski, 2015).
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3Colonizing AustraliaThe Vagabonds Act 1597 and the Transportation Act 1717:The Vagabonds Act of 1597 legislated the lawbreakers of Great Britain to be expelledfrom the country. After the Transportation Act of 1717 came to a halt after the American warof Independence, which resulted in war between British colonisers and 13 of their formercolonies in 1775 (Goldberg, 2018; Knight, 2018). Transporting the convicts from Britain tothe Americas under the Vagabonds Act and Transportation Act was no longer consideredfeasible, since the American economy already relied on an existing supply of slave laboursfrom Africa. This caused the British prisons to be overcrowded. The British Government thenstarted converting old wartime ships into floating jails to keep these prisoners. From theBritish perspectives, Australia seemed like the perfect place to be explored further for Britishsettlements, as well as an ideal place to incarcerate the convicts due to its remote location(Day & Day, 2015). From the perspectives of the natives, however, such act only resulted inthe transportation of criminals and law breakers into their land, and this increased the chancesof more violence and hostility between the natives and the western colonisers (Harris, 2003;Edmonds, 2016).Spreading the British Reach:Increasing the British reach also allowed them access to new natural resources whichcould be exploited and thus help the ailing economy of Great Britain at that time. Thestrategies for exploration of the continent were aimed to find more habitable locations wherecolonies could be set up, and thus create a network of infrastructure for the inhabitants(Fedorowich & Thompson, 2015). However, the inhabitants considered for these advantageswere the British settlers in Australia, and not the indigenous population. The Aboriginalsinitially never had a proper framework of exploiting and distributing resources, and dependedon a hunter gatherer lifestyle, which so far was good enough for their sustenance. However
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