Indigenous People of Australia Essay Example

Indigenous people of Australia, also known as aboriginal Australians from as early as 1789, are defined as the original inhabitants of the Australian continent, as well as the surrounding islands. They were original migrants from Africa, and have been residing in what is known today as Australia for around 50,000 years. Currently, the aboriginal population suffers hardships concerning economy and society as a whole. There are many matters taken into account when examining the current situation of aboriginal people in Australia. When England first colonized Australia in 1788, they brought along diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, and smallpox, which are estimated to have killed up to 90% of Darug, one of the aboriginal nations. Controversy immediately arose between the English settlers and indigenous Australians. Since the day the British flag was first raised at Sydney Cove, on January 26, 1788, the aboriginal people saw the European settlement as an invasion. European civilization spreading throughout Australia nearly sabotaged Aboriginal civilization. Although the British government had no intention of creating tension between the settlers and aboriginal people, that soon deteriorated. The settlers did nevertheless take the land that Aboriginals were living off, and had no respect for the aboriginal culture. Europeans considered their civilization to be superior, and intended to lend a helping hand to the indigenous people. With a mutual misunderstanding of each other’s cultures and intentions, the aboriginals were pushed to the edge of European settlement and took up weapons to defend their land, which led to the settlers seeing them as savages who needed to be taught a lesson. By the end of the 19th century, it was apparent that the European invasion had had negative impacts on the aboriginal people. The British government of Australia has had a very poor record when it comes to the treatment of its Aboriginal citizens. They were stripped of their