Did you know that Australia was once thought of as an undesirable place to live?
Long before Australia started to be considered one of the best places in the world to live, it was thought to be completely unlivable. In the 15th century, the European race to claim land began. Despite the fact that Australia was a large landmass, no nation believed it was worth colonizing. The land was claimed by the Netherlands. However, little exploration happened there.
Many countries actually believed it to be uninhabitable. However, the Aboriginal populations had already been thriving on the land for millennia. This allowed the Australian Aborigines the opportunity to truly develop their unique and complex cultures and systems. Nearly one hundred years after the Dutch-named the landmass New Holland, James Cook, a British captain, charted the eastern coast. He suggested it should be revisited.
Interest in Australia was timed perfectly with the independence of the United States, which forced England to search out new territories to create penal colonies since their own prisons were overrun. For decades, Australia’s European inhabitants were mostly convicts. Eventually, these convicts would be emancipated, and other Europeans headed to the country. Australia was explored, and fertile land was discovered.
From this point on, colonization sped up exponentially. Mass immigration took place, as did conflicts with the Aboriginal populations. Since Australia was so isolated from England, it developed its own unique culture, as all colonies do, and it gradually pushed toward independence.
In this book, you will learn about:
Long before Australia started to be considered one of the best places in the world to live, it was thought to be completely unlivable. In the 15th century, the European race to claim land began. Despite the fact that Australia was a large landmass, no nation believed it was worth colonizing. The land was claimed by the Netherlands. However, little exploration happened there.
Many countries actually believed it to be uninhabitable. However, the Aboriginal populations had already been thriving on the land for millennia. This allowed the Australian Aborigines the opportunity to truly develop their unique and complex cultures and systems. Nearly one hundred years after the Dutch-named the landmass New Holland, James Cook, a British captain, charted the eastern coast. He suggested it should be revisited.
Interest in Australia was timed perfectly with the independence of the United States, which forced England to search out new territories to create penal colonies since their own prisons were overrun. For decades, Australia’s European inhabitants were mostly convicts. Eventually, these convicts would be emancipated, and other Europeans headed to the country. Australia was explored, and fertile land was discovered.
From this point on, colonization sped up exponentially. Mass immigration took place, as did conflicts with the Aboriginal populations. Since Australia was so isolated from England, it developed its own unique culture, as all colonies do, and it gradually pushed toward independence.
In this book, you will learn about:
- Where Australia’s first people came from
- The diet, lifestyles, and beliefs of Australia’s Aborigines
- How the first European contact with the Aboriginals actually went
- The exciting discoveries of the British voyages to Australia
- How well did the Aborigines and the European settlers get along?
- All the political, social, and judiciary developments in the settlements
- The Australian gold rushes and how they impacted the region and beyond
- Australia’s development into a unique nation, one separate from England
- How big of a role did Australia play during World War I and World War II?
- What is Australia up to today?