The Effects of British Colonisation on Indigenous Australians.
The Effects of British Colonisation on Indigenous Australians
There are many effects of British colonisation on Indigenous Australians. One of the worst impacts was the loss of land. The land is the sole provider of food, medicine and other basic needs to Indigenous Australians. It is also the main part of their spiritual and cultural beliefs.
The Indigenous Australians lived ‘nomadic’ lifestyles. They lived in tribes that moved around, using only what they needed, recycling what they could, and moved on when they felt that the resources at the site had been exhausted. This gave the site time to recover and recuperate, and so, their resources never ran out.
To the Europeans, land stated how wealthy the owner was, and they linked land ownership with power. The more fertile land you owned, the wealthier and more powerful you were considered to be. This, of course, did not apply to all Europeans who came to Australia, as most were convicts who were given land to farm and provide food for their community.
When the Europeans came to Australia, their main aim was to build another colony, as well as find another place to situate their convicts. There were many reasons for the British to build extra colonies. These reasons include politics, religion and economics.
Politics plays a very important part in colonialism. Extra colonies provided status, power and influence over the settlers, for the colonizer. This power enabled other effects of colonisation to take place, e.g. the spreading of religion
Religion was a vital part of everyday life for the British. They felt that they had been ‘burdened’ with the task of having to spread their faith – Christianity. When the British had come into contact with the Aboriginals, they tried to ‘save’ them by introducing them to their religion, however, the Aboriginals had their own religion – the dreamtime.
Building extra colonies also provided access to more natural resources, goods for trade and opened new markets for trading around
There are many effects of British colonisation on Indigenous Australians. One of the worst impacts was the loss of land. The land is the sole provider of food, medicine and other basic needs to Indigenous Australians. It is also the main part of their spiritual and cultural beliefs.
The Indigenous Australians lived ‘nomadic’ lifestyles. They lived in tribes that moved around, using only what they needed, recycling what they could, and moved on when they felt that the resources at the site had been exhausted. This gave the site time to recover and recuperate, and so, their resources never ran out.
To the Europeans, land stated how wealthy the owner was, and they linked land ownership with power. The more fertile land you owned, the wealthier and more powerful you were considered to be. This, of course, did not apply to all Europeans who came to Australia, as most were convicts who were given land to farm and provide food for their community.
When the Europeans came to Australia, their main aim was to build another colony, as well as find another place to situate their convicts. There were many reasons for the British to build extra colonies. These reasons include politics, religion and economics.
Politics plays a very important part in colonialism. Extra colonies provided status, power and influence over the settlers, for the colonizer. This power enabled other effects of colonisation to take place, e.g. the spreading of religion
Religion was a vital part of everyday life for the British. They felt that they had been ‘burdened’ with the task of having to spread their faith – Christianity. When the British had come into contact with the Aboriginals, they tried to ‘save’ them by introducing them to their religion, however, the Aboriginals had their own religion – the dreamtime.
Building extra colonies also provided access to more natural resources, goods for trade and opened new markets for trading around
Bibliography: Retroactive 1 – stage 4, world history. First published 1999 by John Wiley and sons Australia, Ltd. Lisa-Marie Long’s excursion booklet http://www.aboriginalart.com/aboriginal_australia.html - visited on the 24/11/08 http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-17_u-504_t-1361_c-5239/QLD/5/Consequences-of-British-colonisation-for-Aboriginal-People/British-colonisation-of-Australia/Colonisation-resources/power-and-exploration/SOSE/ - visited on the 24/11/08