AUH - Aborigines and Early Colonization (Lesson)
Aborigines and Early Colonization
Introduction
The Aborigines in Australia faced the same challenges that the indigenous people in the Americas did – diseases like smallpox, influenza and other contagious illnesses that decimated their populations, encroachment on their land by Europeans who seemed to think that they had a “right” to take the Aborigines’ land and the discrimination in the European and Aboriginal relationships.
The Aborigines
Australian Aborigines have the oldest continuous culture on the planet. Experts believe that they arrived in Australia by boat about 50,000 years ago. When the European colonizers arrived in Australia in the late 18th century, there were approximately 1,000,000 Aborigines living there. They were hunter-gatherers and were grouped in 500 different clans (or nations) and they spoke about 700 languages.
The Aborigines had a “spiritual connection” with the land yet they travelled a great deal to trade, find water and seasonal produce and for ritual gatherings.
The Aborigines people lived (and live) in the mountains, the rainforest and the outback.
The Aborigines people believed (and believe) in Dreaming. For the Aborigines, their ancestor spirits forged all aspects of life and continue to link the past and present and the people and the land. Dreaming stories depict journeys of the ancestors’ spirits and are told through song, dance, storytelling and painting.
Traditional Aboriginal societies were (are) governed by councils of elders that implemented corporate decision-making processes.
European Exploration and Colonization
The Dutch were the first Europeans to explore and map the Australian coastline. Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon visited the north and west coasts of Australia in 1606. French explorers also visited Australia in the years following Dutch exploration.
One hundred sixty-four (164) years later the most famous explorer, British captain, James Cook, landed in Australia in April 1770 and explored and mapped the southeast coast of Australia. (For years following British colonization explorers trekked across Australia.)
Aboriginal people served as guides for the European explorers and the Europeans were met with different reactions from the Aborigines—some were hostile, some were helpful to European explorers. The Aboriginal guides were vital to the success of the expeditions.
Originally the colonies in Australia were supposed to be populated with American Loyalists (who wanted to leave the United States after the British loss of the American Revolution,) Chinese and South Sea Islanders, but not prisoners.
The first fleet of 11 ships (about 1530 people) arrived in Australia and settled at Port Jackson in May 1787. On January 26, 1788, the settlers moved to Sydney Cove because of its fresh water supply and safe harbor. January 26 became Australia Day, Australia’s “national day.”
New South Wales was settled by English convicts guarded by Royal Marines, many of whom stayed in the colony as settlers after serving out their sentences.
Australia as a Penal Colony
Australia was a “penal” colony or a colony settled by English prisoners. One in three convicts were from Ireland; and of those 1/5 were connected to political or agrarian disturbances. While the prisoners were reasonably well-equipped, they didn’t have the skills needed to make a colony self-supporting. A few of the first convicts had farming or trade experience, but they had no understanding of Australia’s seasonal patterns and their initial attempts at farming failed, leaving them with only the animals and birds they were able to shoot. The early colonists nearly starved. There was some relief in 1790, but the first couple of years were very difficult.
The convicts served 7 – 14-year sentences or “for the term of their natural lives.” Often the death sentences were imposed for a wide variety of crimes and these sentences were commuted.
The prisoners did different kinds of work: tradesmen did skilled jobs and the unskilled prisoners were assigned to work gangs to build roads. About 20% of the convict population was made up of women who were assigned as domestic help to soldiers.
For those prisoners who were well-behaved, tickets of leave were issued, giving convicts some freedom.
Convicts who served out their sentences typically became settlers in Australia who were responsible for feeding and disciplining other convicts who were assigned to their land to work. In return for supervising convicts, the settlers (freed prisoners) were given land grants.
Take a Closer Look...
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National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution. "Smithsonian Learning Lab Resource: 2sh-6p brown Aborigine single." Smithsonian Learning Lab. 10 Feb. 2016. Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access. 23 Feb. 2021.
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