6.5.2

The Native Population

Test yourself

Aborigines

Australia was established as a British penal colony in 1787, but this had serious repercussions for the native people.

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Aborigines

  • As with America, the British were not colonising an empty land.
  • Australia was inhabited by native Australians, known as Aborigines.
  • Like the Native Americans, they were nomadic hunter-gatherers, and they had lived in Australia for over 50,000 years.
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Disease

  • British settlement of Australia was a disaster for the Aborigines.
  • Many caught British diseases brought over by the settlers and died from them.
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Extermination

  • Many were also exterminated by settlers who were intent on taking control of the land.
  • Between the British arrival and 1900, it is thought that the Aboriginal population fell by 90%.
  • On the Australian island of Tasmania, Aborigines were completely wiped out within a hundred years.

Jump to other topics

1Empires East & West: 1000 AD

1.1The Rise & Fall of Ancient China’s Empire

1.2The Medieval Greatness of the Byzantine Empire

1.3The Golden Age of the Islamic Empire

1.4The Politics & Power of the Holy Roman Empire

1.5Medieval Religion

1.6The Influence of the Church in Medieval Times

1.7How Religion Tested the Power of Kings

1.8Dynastic Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.9Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.10Revolts, Rebellions & Rights

1.11Medieval England & Her Neighbours

1.12European Renaissance

1.13Norman Conquest & Control

1.14Historical Skills

2The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

2.1Anglo-Saxon England

2.2The Contest for the English Throne

2.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

2.4King John

2.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

2.6The Black Death

3Worldviews

4The Empire of Mali: 1076-1670 AD

5The Renaissance & Reformations: 1500-1598 AD

6The British Empire: 1583-1960 AD

7The Peasants' Revolt: 1381 AD

8Religion in the Middle Ages

9Slavery: 1619-1833 AD

10The English Civil War: 1642-1660 AD

11The Industrial Revolution: 1750-1840 AD

12US Independence: 1775-1783 AD

13The French Revolution: 1789-1815 AD

14The British Empire: 1857–1930 AD

15Suffrage: 1840-1928 AD

16World War 1: 1914-1918 AD

17The Inter-War Years: 1919-1939 AD

18World War 2: 1939-1945 AD

19The Cold War: 1947-1962 AD

20Civil Rights in the USA: 1954-1975 AD

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