Aborigines In The 19th Century

The forced removal of the Tasmanian Aborigines in the 19th century was an act of genocide. This was due to the Mass killings, rape and kidnappings. This time was given the name The Black war. This was because this was a small war between the Tasmanian aborigines and the European settlers. This essay will talk about the nature of the conflict, the causes and effects of it, what genocide is and who the aboriginal Tasmanians were. European settlement had a severe and shocking influence on Indigenous people. Their dispossession of the land, introduction to new diseases and involvement in violent conflict, resulted in the death of a large number of the Aboriginal peoples. The small fraction of Aboriginal people who did not die during these early decades of the colony, were not unaffected. The impact of the white settlers changed their lives and the lives of future generations forever.
Genocide is “the deliberate extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.” (Dictionary.com, 2016). Which is exactly what the Europeans were doing to the aborigines so it is classed as genocide according to the definition. The Europeans were assassinating, raping and kidnapping the aborigines. According
to (Clements, 2014) over 600 to 900 aboriginal lives were lost during this time of war but disease also was a part of this. This is because when the Europeans came they brought diseases like chickenpox, smallpox, typhoid, measles and influenza. (Skwirk, 2016). These killed the aborigines because they had no immunity to them as they were new to Australia. The Europeans were trying to wipe out the entire population of Tasmanians so that they could take the land form Britain. Just from this definition this War was genocide against the Tasmanians.
The Aboriginal Tasmanians are the indigenous people of the state of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. Their culture before the war was based around spirituality and being active. These activities included Cosmology, basket and necklace making, visual art and ceremonies. (Wikipedia, 2016a).Tasmanian aboriginal culture is one of the world's most lasting. The women in the tribes were highly skilled in the hunting of seals and foods such as seabirds Aboriginal culture was disrupted severely in the 19th century after their loss of the land and imprisonment of aboriginal people. They spoke Palawa Kani a compound language, and includes words from lots of the original Tasmanian Aboriginal languages. They culture was developed by their tribes and evolved so they had no influence by any other cultures until the “invasion”.
The nature of this conflict was in the early 1800s Europeans colonised Tasmania and quickly expanded further onto Aboriginal land. Europeans and Aboriginal people began competing for the same resources causing conflict between the groups. As a consequence the government introduced strategies to try to eliminate the “Aboriginal problem”. George Robison was sent to Tasmania. Robinson was to be brought in as a peacemaker between colonizers and Aborigines. His assignment was to round up the Aborigines to relocate them at the camp of Wybalenna on Flinders Island. (Wikipedia, 2016b).
The main reasons for this conflict were the aboriginal’s loss of land, exposure to new diseases and participation in violent conflict, resulted in the death of a huge number of the Aboriginal people.
(Skwirk, 2016). The Black War was provoked by the fast spread of British settlers and agricultural cattle throughout areas of Tasmania that had been traditional Aboriginal hunting grounds. (Wikipedia, 2016c). The effects of this were kidnapping, rape and murder of Aboriginal females and girls, by convicts, settlers and soldiers, but predominantly from the late 1820s the Aboriginal people were also motivated by hunger to rob settlers' homes for food as their hunting grounds minimized, native animals disappeared and the risks of hunting on open ground grew. (Wikipedia,
2016c).
European settlement had a devastating impact on aboriginal people. Their loss of the land, exposure to new diseases and participation in violent conflict, resulted in the death of a large number of the Aboriginal peoples. The impact of the white colonizers changed their lives, and the lives of future generations, forever. This essay covered the nature of the conflict, the causes and effects of it, what genocide is and who the aboriginal Tasmanians were. The colonisation of the Europeans should be classed as an invasion to Australia. This conflict according to all this information was an act of genocide and was a huge impact on modern day life in Australia.”