The “Peopling” Process of Australia



The “Peopling” Process of Australia

Introduction

In 1788, James Cook took possession of the Australian territory in the name of King George III. Immediately, he awarded the title of this earth “terra nullius”. By this proclamation, James Cook rejects the idea and possibility of the existence of another nation in “unexplored continent.” This concept of ownership, related to property rights in vogue in Europe, strongly opposes the concept of aboriginal land. “The land is not theirs, they belong to the earth. “All beliefs associated with the Dreamtime ancestors and spiritual vow to mother earth the greatest respect. For them, everything emanates from the earth since the gods and goddesses have filed their essence. Every lake, every mountain is emerging according to the time of creation. The landscape is an imprint of ancient times. He draws the traces of memory to unite the present to the origins.

Carried away by his new discovery and its imperialist vision on behalf of England, Cook established a racist regime and controlling who can have a profound impact on the founding people. To better appropriate the territory, a denial to recognize Aborigines as the first Australian people justify their conquest without reservation. Colonizers bring a xenophobic mentality about First Nations in their “meet all the bad things that should never have humanity, and several monkeys with blush, their congeners” (Calwell, 1994).

Discussion

In precolonial times, nomadic tribes roamed 500 Southern soil with the seasons and resources. All clans were scattered sporadically over the vastness of the continent. Thus, significant differences characterized the tribes. This people, installed for about 40 000 years in this land, paid and still paying dearly for the excesses of thirsty British power and domination. Epidemics and the massacre of these people are reducing their number from 1 million to 60 000 individuals in just a century of invasion (Markus, 1987).

Early this century, Australia adopt measures to remove the assimilation Aboriginal people. The racist policy of “Australia for whites” is then introduced. Thousands of Métis children are being abducted from their families to give them an education “white.” These strategies of assimilation for “the integration of Aborigines into white society” have, in fact, intended to “erase all traces of culture and aboriginal language.” Groupings among tribes bury several traditions to materialize and the designs of the invaders. They are white families and missionary institutions catering for children to take charge of their learning “civilized”.

In 1967, the Commonwealth government held a referendum giving the State the right to legislate on the Aborigines, and in all Australian states. From that moment, the Aborigines are being granted the right to exist! They become subjects of his Majesty. After two centuries of repression, theft and robbery, the Australian government now counted in the census (Calwell, 1994).

Despite their struggles, the aborigines had to wait until 1992 for the repeal of the law of Terra nullius. Nevertheless, the Aborigines are still being denied ownership of their ancestral lands. The government is using every means to obstruct peoples austral land ...