Australian in the 18th Century and the Society of Europeans

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Table of Contents

Geography
The people of Australia
Religion
Politics and Government
Agriculture
Industry, Trade and Commerce
Conclusion
Reference List
Footnotes

Geography

In the 18^th century, many Europeans considered voyages to a distant land called Australia. In the imagination, Australia was a small island with few inhabitants whose preoccupation found little industriousness, inventions, and innovation relative to their own society. This view considered the prevailing extreme cold climate reported early navigators from Australia. The Europeans imagined an Australia with simple civilization characterised by minimal influence on the entire island. Early explorers such as Captain Philip and Lieutenant John Cook presented mixed views some indicating that Australia existed in the same location as New Zealand, New Caledonia and New Guinea somewhere in South Pole.

While Europe experienced the dawn of industrial revolution, they imagined of an Australia at the age of agrarian revolution. In this case, the Europeans thought out a country where people practice animal husbandry, ploughed crops in small farms acquired or owned by inhabitant in small groups such as clans. In addition, in their views Australia might have various resources such as rich agricultural soils that could support forestry and crop farming. Other potentials presented by similar characteristics included mineral resources suitable for building and construction. In this research paper, European imagination derives from records of 18^th century while their expectation of an Australian society suiting their wish derives mainly from early 19^th century records.

The people of Australia

According to the stories presented to European governors by first navigators and explorers, the Europeans dreamed of an Australia with simple people depending only ¹on the basics of life support systems. In their views, the Australian inhabitants occupied just some small portion of the entire country. Since the Europeans saw little activity characterizing the lives of the aborigines, the picture presented high potential area of initiating major social, economic and political activities that would finally transform the primitive society to their utmost advantage. Following the findings of Captain Cook on the shores of Southern Australian society, The Europeans thought the inhabitants survived on bear environment without permanent shelter and putting on scanty cloths. In their view, this situation indicated a society fit for European civilization. Since they did not depend on domestic agriculture, the aborigines spent a lot of time in hunting and gathering of wild food for living.

By using abundant flax, hides and animals skin, as well as timbers availed from Australian jungles, the Europeans imagined they would colonise Australians by giving them processed items from their natural resources in exchange of labour and land. Although they planned in far and distant content, Europeans managed to assess the social economic potential of Australian’s society based on its inhabitants and geographical characteristics. Ultimately, they ended up with basic ideas, close to the real situation on the ground. Therefore, they thought a number of possibilities concerning the outcome of a new society in Australia suitable to their needs strategized in spreading European civilisation to Australia and colonising the land through assimilation and acculturation. A broad picture of European imagination of Australia and the possibility of a “Europeans’ society in Australia” shows an Australia that is part of Europe but only separated by distance and other geographical barriers such as the sea.

With their estimation at less than a million residents in the country, Europeans forecasted a particular advantage of associating with the aborigines. They thought the multi-linguistic ability would prove important in forging ties with other nations near Australia. Consequently, they would corporate with their leaders to improve their foreign relations with countries like, Indonesia, Tasmania and other neighbouring islands. Ideally, the aborigines shared many social features with most nearby countries from which they migrated. Therefore, imagining that they would play critical roles in reshaping Europeans culture to suit relations with Hispanics and cross-cultural communities in places like Canada and South Asia was undoubtedly clear in their minds. To validate this proposition, historical records of Sir John Franklin and George Arthur show similarities in social relations between Australian and Canadian cultures based on language and colonial history. For example, , shipping of some 154 Canadian nationals to Sidney and New castle as convicts to serve community service sentence because of participating in political uprising in Ontario in the period 1837-38 forms a linkage between Australians and Canadians. Similar stories from different aborigines in Australia in mid 1700s show close association between Australians and people in different continents

Following the wide spread knowledge of the aborigines as the inhabitants of that distant land, The Europeans generally thought that Australia had no true natives.² The findings of European explorers such as William Dampier and James Cook, further informed the ideas of Europeans validated their insights about Australia because the whites still believed in myths and stories from wide travelled and experienced people. In their view, the people would possibly provide easy and cheap labour in their sprouting industry. The first explorers brought convicts from Australia as slaves to faces charges in Europe where they served as labourers in their iron industries in definitely.

Given this background, European in Britain imagined Australia as a potential source of economic benefits such as timber as flax forming inputs for their home industries. Australian History of the 18^thcentury probably forms the genesis of modern Civilized Australia. Approximately two decades before Lieutenant James Cook discovered New South Wales, Majority of the Europeans mainly comprising of British soldiers and government representatives thought of an Australia endowed with mineral wealth and open vast lands potential for human settlement.³ In their views, the Europeans imagined the port of Sidney in Australia as an important facility in their voyage and conquest of the aboriginals’ territory.⁴ Consequently, the harbour at Sidney would serve in the ferrying of slaves captured as convicts from continents’ shore. In turn, the slaves would offer labour in their home industries.

Religion

Projected imagery of Western Oceania religion portrayed a picture of polytheist society where people pay homage to many gods based on their doctrinal cultures and sub-cultures. This school of thought followed from the belief of aboriginals’ culture as immigrants from different locations. Early explorations suggested that Australians ancestry draws from the history of immigrants from more than 600 islands north of Australia in anthropology. Independent worship of an abstract god characterised the religious aspects of their lives. However, it remained clear in the minds of the Europeans that Australians believed in a God of order and plan by design. This belief cast the image of self-consciousness about originality of the aborigines despite emerging from different backgrounds. Definitely, the occurrence of aborigines in Australia presented interesting religious views in the communion of Europeans and it set the message clear; though having varied historical backgrounds, the aborigines found solidarity in fate of a single geographical location. This mystery would inevitably defy many forms of social and economic heterogeneity inherent in their sub cultures to the dismay of Europeans who thought, planting seeds of Christianity among them would pave way for civilization.

Nevertheless, Europeans determined to send missionaries to Australia to explore the land as they convert the country’s inhabitants from their ancestral religion to Christianity. It did not matter whether they proceeded into Australia in different denominations, the Europeans’ mainly concerned with important findings that would lead to Australian invasion, settlement and ultimate colonization. Their plans found credence at the thought of a weak religious Australian society. Unfortunately, the European found great opposition after the arrival of Captain Arthur Philips crew in 1787. Although the confrontation did not last, it slowed the process of societal conversion of Australians towards materialism⁵. In the mean time, the aborigines returned to their pacific associated with offering rituals to some god whose role in their lives include maintaining cosmic order and sustaining life. In addition, the Australians formed millennial movements to oppose the invasion of Europeans. For example, in New South Wales, the formation of Tuk⁶a movement proposed the continuation of traditional religion as opposed to European cultures. Consequently, these religious movements hampered the acculturation techniques of Europeans calculated towards making Australia a British protectorate.

Politics and Government

The imagination of few aborigines inhabiting Australia in the 18^th century, found little credence in the thought of Europeans because they tended to overlook the organization of those communities in small groups knit together in clans and sub-tribal bases. Hence, the Europeans envisioned their political invasion and rapid dominance in the overseas Australian continent. Simple transport and communication systems envision by early development centres such as Melbourne, Sidney and Newcastle generally formed concise administrative and commercial centres for controlling the country in the site of Europeans⁷. This way, they would easily spread their policies and subdue the island using troops deployed strategically while invading the Australians territory. Ultimately, they would establish a government in Australia answerable to the central government in Europe such as Britain, France, Belgium, Spain and Germany. In effect of gaining significant control of the land, The Europeans would have all tribute from commerce and industrial activities of Australia paid⁸ to their independent governments in Europe. Moreover, the Europeans imagined they would colonize the country and control all of its resources.

Agriculture

In the 18^th century, many societies made strong associations between locations and climatic conditions, Europeans were no exception to these belief style. Therefore, as they thought of Australia near Antarctica, they imagined of a vast land with fertile soils suitable for crop production and animal rearing. The suitability of corn and textile production dominated the thoughts of Victoria’s leadership in Britain as well as other European leaders. The findings of Leichardt, Forrest, Ned Kelly and William Buckley gathered during exploration period spanning the 18^th century, shows that Australia would support a variety of agricultural activities in the Murray-Darling Basin. In particular, observations of Leichardt and Sir George Grey (1846-47; 1837-40) indicated that sheep rearing for wool would provide valuable financial income to any enthusiastic farmer in New South Wales⁹. This followed failure of the Europeans to establish high potential land in Austral as thought out earlier. However, poor agricultural soils with high acidic composition favoured sheep ranching in the North, particularly in the pampas region that received low rainfall and experienced prevalent droughts.

Industry, Trade and Commerce

The probability of gaining control of Australia in the ideas of Europeans evidently implied that they would finally derive optimal economic benefits from the land. They would acquire primary resources by some means and run large-scale business operations using their armies in Australia before repatriating the benefits accruing to their economic activities. Considering that, Australia had maturing agricultural economy in contrast to industrial economy commencing in Europe, the whites placed low opinion on the aborigines imagining the as low-industrious and motivated people. The geographical characteristics of Australia presented to the Europeans (by first explorers) in theory spanned their imagination to the view of an Australia of few innovators and inventors since they had not yet embarked on revolutionised iron age of machine production. Therefore, Europeans thought that Timber, Flax, coal and aluminium among other resources would definitely form inputs necessary in driving their home industries. Through their formal administration in Australia, Europeans colonialist thought they would control trade and gather revenue in various forms such as taxes and interests to build their home economy and build personal settlements in Australia. Hence, they would engage in trade and commercial activities by intermingling with established aborigines in speculation of managing their economic affairs.

The idea of having convicts to serve sentences of subjected hard labour augured well with the farming activities thought by Europeans after Australia’s transformation. Generally, immigration characterized the pattern of movement and settlement in Australia. Therefore, believing that Australia’s attraction to Europeans would follow the same suit as many immigrants still migrating into the land helped shaped more views. European administration of South part of Australia following Captain Phillips and Victoria victories compounded the view that Australia would home both free persons and slaves. Consequently, the British agreed to have open prison for convicts in New South Wales. Finally, the European ideas about Australia would result in to creation of vast wealth through slave trade that flourished in the 18^th century. Similarly, the primary resources comprising of gold and aluminium would benefit only powerful individuals in European nation that could stand and win raging wars among themselves. Eventually, the episodes in this century that transpired between Australian aborigines and Europeans saw the rise of powerful leaders in Britain and facilitated industrial revolution in Europe.

Conclusion

The ideas generate by Europeans about Australia played important roles in shaping their views concerning appropriate strategies of invasion. Though they failed to establish most of their imagination at the actual encounter and interaction with Australia, most of their views found relevance in different ways. For example, they managed to establish administrative centres at emerging strategic locations such as Melbourne and Sidney in Australia. Therefore, embarking voyage to discover and confirm their imaginations led to tremendous development in their home economies as well as transforming the Australian society in the 18^th century. However, to this day, Australian aborigines who fled Australia find it hard to reconcile with these views because of hash treatment faced by their ancestors in the hands of the Europeans. In effect, Europeans drove out some aborigines through forceful slave trade from Australia and owned up the land previously belonging to the Asian immigrants. Nonetheless, Europeans contributions to development of Australia in the 18^th century formed suitable basis for its current position in the modern civilized world.

Reference List

Arthur, Paul. ‘Imaginary Conquests of Australia’, Journal of Australian Studies, 23, No.61, (1999), 35-142.
Atkinson, Alan. The Europeans in Australia Vol 1, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1997. p. 294
Behrendt, Stephen and Rawley James. The transatlantic slave trade: a history. New York: Thomson, 2005. pp.189-210.
Clancy, Laurie. Culture and customs of Australia. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. pp. 1-33.
Dixon, Robert. The Course of Empire: neo-classical culture in New South Wales, 1788-1860. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Harris, P.M.G. The History of Human Population: Migration, Urbanization, and Structural Change. Westport: Greenwood Publishers, 2003 pp. 94, 199-222.
Maddock, Keneth.The Australian Aborigines: a Portrait of their Society.London: Harmondsworth, 1974.
Swain, Tony. A place of Strangers: Towards a History of Australian Aboriginal Being. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Tantiprasut, Joanne C. Australian aboriginal Culture. Geraldton: R.I.C. Publications, 2003.

Footnotes

Clancy, Laurie. Culture and customs of Australia (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004), 1-33.
Atkinson, Alan. The Europeans in Australia Vol. 1(Melbourne: Oxford University Press 1997), 294
Arthur, Paul. ‘Imaginary Conquests of Australia’, Journal of Australian Studies 23, No.61, (1999), 35-142.
Harris, P.M.G. The History of Human Population: Migration, Urbanization, and Structural Change (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishers, 2003) 94, 199-222.
Swain, Tony. A place of Strangers: Towards a History of Australian Aboriginal Being (UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
Dixon, Robert. The Course of Empire: neo-classical culture in New South Wales, 1788-186, (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1986).
Maddock, Keneth.The Australian Aborigines: a Portrait of their Society (London: Harmondsworth, 1974).
Arthur, Paul. ‘Imaginary Conquests of Australia’, Journal of Australian Studies 23, No.61, (1999), 35-142.
Behrendt, Stephen and Rawley, James The transatlantic slave trade: a history (New York: Thomson, 2005), 189-210.

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