Recently, there has been much debate over whether this colonisation of Australia was an invasion or settlement. An invasion is an unwelcome intrusion into another’s domain. Whereas a settlement is the process of establishing a settlement or settlements.
Was Australia settled by the English or invaded?
This article was first drafted this time last year in response to a passionate debate around Australia Day on whether Australia was settled by the English, or invaded. The view has long been held, hardly without question, that the English indeed settled in Australia in 1788.
How did the colonisation of Australia affect First Nations?
The colonisation of this land we now call Australia had a devastating impact on First Nations people, who have lived on this continent for thousands of years. Prior to British settlement, more than 500 First Nations groups inhabited the continent we now call Australia, approximately 750,000 people in total. [1]
Was colonisation a European invasion or a British settlement?
Labor described colonisation as a "European invasion" while conservative documents labelled it a "British settlement". [2] The National Museum of Australia and the Australian War Memorial have also fought over which term is appropriate.
What do Australians think about the British Invasion of Australia?
While most Australians proudly commemorate the history of the Anzacs or Australia's contribution to the World Wars, they are very reluctant to acknowledge the British invasion of Australia. [3] But this view is slowly changing.
Was the colonisation of Australia an invasion of sovereign territory?
It is also concluded that describing colonisation as an 'invasion' of sovereign territory accords with the doctrinal language of the period.
What was Australia called before invasion?
After Dutch navigators charted the northern, western and southern coasts of Australia during the 17th Century this newly found continent became known as 'New Holland'. It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who made the suggestion of the name we use today.
Is colonisation and invasion?
Labor described colonisation as a "European invasion" while conservative documents labelled it a "British settlement". The National Museum of Australia and the Australian War Memorial have also fought over which term is appropriate.
What was Australia originally colonized as?
The First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony, the first colony on the Australian mainland. In the century that followed, the British established other colonies on the continent, and European explorers ventured into its interior.
Why was Australia settled?
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts.
Was the colonisation of Australia Legal?
International law and colonialism This law denied the pre-colonial peoples of Australia had either property rights in land (the issue that the High Court of Australia reassessed in 1992 in the Mabo case) or sovereignty (meaning the authority to govern territory). But international law is a separate legal system.
When did Australia get invaded?
January 26 1788January 26 1788 is the day Sir Arthur Phillip raised the British flag at Warrane (Sydney Cove) to claim the land as a British Colony. This day marks the beginning of a long and brutal colonisation of people and land.
Who settled Australia first?
Governor Arthur PhillipThe first settlement, at Sydney, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers, led by Governor Arthur Phillip. They arrived at Botany Bay in the "First Fleet" of 9 transport ships accompanied by 2 small warships, in January, 1788.
Did the British invade Australia?
From then onwards, as ships came out on a regular basis with convict labour and supplies on board, the colony flourished and the gradual exploration and settlement of the continent began. The reasons that led the British to invade Australia were simple.
What happened to natives when Australia was colonized?
After European settlers arrived in 1788, thousand of aborigines died from diseases; colonists systematically killed many others. At first contact, there were over 250,000 aborigines in Australia. The massacres ended in the 1920 leaving no more than 60,000.
What was Australia like before federation?
Australia in the late 19th century consisted of six self-governing British colonies that were subject to the British Parliament. Each colony had its own – often quite distinct – laws, railway gauge, postage stamps and tariffs.
Why is Australia known as Downunder?
Australia is known as 'the land Down Under' for its position in the southern hemisphere. The discovery of Australia began when European explorers searched for a land under the continent of Asia. Before Australia was discovered, it was known as Terra Australis Incognita the unknown southern land.
When was Australia first Colonised?
January, 1788The first settlement, at Sydney, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers, led by Governor Arthur Phillip. They arrived at Botany Bay in the "First Fleet" of 9 transport ships accompanied by 2 small warships, in January, 1788.
Who first found Australia?
James Cook was the first recorded explorer to land on the east coast in 1770. He had with him maps showing the north, west and south coasts based on the earlier Dutch exploration.
Who was the first British colonist to occupy land in Australia?
Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook had instructions to negotiate with the Natives and gain their consent to occupy land. From April to August 1770, without the consent of the Indigenous Peoples or consultation Captain James Cook landed at a number of sites on the eastern coast of Australia claiming it for the British Crown.
When did the English settle in Australia?
The view has long been held, hardly without question, that the English indeed settled in Australia in 1788 . Many Indigenous Australians beg to differ; often quite vociferously around this time of year. Fueled by emotion rather than evidence, they insist it was an invasion.
Why did Cook declare the continent terra nullius?
By declaring the continent terra nullius (no man’s land) the English found a legal lie to take custody of it. Because the observable Aborigines did not grow crops and because Cook assumed there were no fishable rivers inland, he erroneously concluded that the land’s interior was empty.
What did Banks think of the Aborigines?
Banks, meanwhile, thought that the Aborigines would run away and abandon their rights to land. A totally stupid assumption, especially given that after an encounter with local people in Botany Bay Cook wrote that “all they seem’d to want was us to be gone.”.
Who was the first Englishman to encounter the Aborigines?
The English, especially, considered themselves well credentialed. As the first Englishman to encounter Aborigines, William Dampier instilled in other Englishmen’s minds the preconceptions about these people when he wrote that they were “the miserablest people in the world.” And the image of the Aborigine was to leave no impression of excitement or significance on Cook, merely accepting the Aborigines as Dampier had earlier reported. Cook had brought with him images of indigenous peoples as noble savages, largely the antithesis of Europeans. Cook was probably also influenced by the writings of Rousseau, whose saw native peoples as unadulterated by the evils of civilisation.
When was the second case of Bonjon?
The second event takes us forward to 1841 and the case R. v. Bonjon in the Supreme Court of New South Wales before Willis J., 16 September 1841, Melbourne from where I’ll add further to the claim that the continent certainly was invaded. The following three paragraphs are a summary of the proceedings. Bear with me. They are complex.
Is the Aborigines a British subject?
No statute states that Aborigines are British subjects, and there is no treaty or compact showing their submission to British authority; their assent was necessary. Nor is there any reciprocity between them and the Crown to render them amenable to the criminal law. It is impossible to apply the whole of that law to them.
What is the significance of the term invasion?
The key significance of the term “invasion” is that it demonstrates force, a lack of negotiation and Indigenous experience and resistance. Captain Cook’s diaries are complex and dense texts that resist easy summary.
Who was the Torres Strait Islander who fought for the recognition of their rights as the traditional owners of?
However, one of the greatest blows to the idea of terra nullius came from the “Mabo” Native Title decision in 1992 in which Eddie Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander – Australia’s second Indigenous community, who live between Papua New Guinea and mainland Australia and in various diasporic communities across Australia – successfully fought for the recognition of their rights as the traditional owners of their land. One of the things that made Mabo’s case successful was that it was easier to create an analogy between Torres Strait property relations or agricultural practices and those in European and Australian law than on mainland Australia.
What did the University of New South Wales use to describe Captain Cook?
The University of New South Wales recently found itself in a firestorm for reportedly encouraging students to use the terms “invasion”, “occupation” or “colonisation” when discussing Captain Cook, who had hitherto often been described as “discovering” Australia in the 18th century, as part of the history of British “settlement”.
Is the recognition of Indigenous peoples today a causal link?
While not directly causal, there is a link between the language you use, the recognition of Indigenous peoples today and the redistribution of wealth, property and power to those peoples. It is not merely about being “politically correct” nor is it restricted to the past.
Is settlement more appropriate than invasion?
They merely suggest that “settlement” is “less appropriate” than “invasion” or the other suggested words – “colonisation” or “occupation” – all of which imply different historical and political positions and interpretations. Language matters, and emphasising a change of terminology – or, more importantly, emphasising that there is more ...
Was Australia empty?
Contrary to a common reading of terra nullius as “empty” or no-one’s land, Cook and his advisers were eminently aware that “Australia ” was not empty. The key point for them was whether property relations could be established between Indigenous people and the land via evident signs of occupation, architecture and/or agricultural cultivation. They could not or would not see such signs and so deemed the land amenable to possession.
What happened to the Aboriginal people in Australia?
Remember also that Australia's history is littered with reports of massacres on Aboriginal people, and that there were frontier wars which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Aboriginal people. These events seem to be incompatible with settlement, a term usually associated with peaceful undertaking.
When did Sydney declare invasion?
In 2011 the City of Sydney officially declared the settlement of Australia an invasion. The word was to be included in the Aboriginal statement for the council's 10 year corporate plan. But a poll of more than 2,000 readers of the Daily Telegraph found that less than 15% agreed with the council's decision. More than 85% rejected it. [5]
What did the 1990s Australian government do to the curriculum?
Australian governments in the 1990s amended curriculum documents based on their preferred term. Labor described colonisation as a "European invasion" while conservative documents labelled it a "British settlement". [2] The National Museum of Australia and the Australian War Memorial have also fought over which term is appropriate.
Did Queensland schools tell the truth about the way Australia was settled?
But there was also powerful support. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk admitted that "for many years, Australian schools and Australian institutions have not told the truth about the way in which Australia was settled. A lot of Indigenous people lost their lives—there were massacres and the truth always must be told." [8]
Do Australians celebrate the Anzacs?
While most Australians proudly commemorate the history of the Anzacs or Australia's contribution to the World Wars, they are very reluctant to acknowledge the British invasion of Australia. [3]
Was the settlement of the British peaceful?
The settlement of the British was not peaceful, and is increasingly accepted as being a countrywide invasion.
Was Australia settled peacefully?
It goes on to say that "Australia was not settled peacefully, it was invaded, occupied and colonised. Describing the arrival of the Europeans as a 'settlement' attempts to view Australian history from the shores of England rather than the shores of Australia.". [6]
When did Australia begin colonizing?
Australia. In Australia: European settlement. …South Wales in 1786, and colonization began early in 1788.
Who was the British flag hoisted at Sydney Cove?
On January 26, 1788, Arthur Phillip, who had sailed into what is now Sydney Cove with a shipload of convicts, hoisted the British flag at the site. In the early 1800s the date, called Foundation Day, was celebrated….
