Example research essay topic: Of European Invasion Upon The Aboriginals Frontier - 1,372 words

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... r own hands, laws became blatantly disregarded and often violence towards the Aboriginal people was the outcome. Consequently reports of violence from the frontier, especially reports from those in isolated areas often appeared to be more outrageous than the violence which occurred closer to government protected settlements. Windschuttle argues that there were 118 plausible Aboriginal deaths at the hands of whites. British colonists killed very few Aborigines in Van Diemens Land. (Windschuttle, 2001) The overall conclusion appears inescapable; during the Black Wars, more than twice as many whites were killed as blacks. (Manne, 2003, p. 29) By reading these statements one is given the opinion that not even the historians can agree or even know the exact numbers of Aboriginals that were actually killed due to violence or from violent crimes, and it is clear that they do not know how many Aboriginal people truly existed in Australia before the frontier was invaded and developed. If Windschuttle is correct and only 118 Aboriginal people were killed in what is now Tasmania, How did thousands of these people disappear with no trace?

Manne tries to explain this by stating fabrication attempts to draw definitive conclusions about what is, to a large extent, unknown. (Manne, 2003, p. 40) The spread of disease throughout the frontier and the Aboriginal deaths caused by it is an issue of debate that has and has never truly been solved. Many historians still debate this issue today. They debate on the actual number of Aboriginal deaths from disease, how these diseases spread, and if these diseases were spread on purpose, and the actual existence of disease, such as smallpox before the Europeans arrival. An epidemic thought to have been smallpox (but which could have been chicken-pox) killed half of the Gamaraigal people surrounding Sydney in 1789 and the swept down as far as Port Philip. (Broome, 2001, p. 62. ) Introduced diseases devastated Aboriginal people throughout the nineteenth century, but their effects were compounded by European colonisation. The loss of land caused by the expansion of the frontier meant that many Aboriginal people had to survive on a relatively poor food supply or a food supply from the Europeans which was of less nutritional value than what they were used to. Once contact was made with the Europeans, further epidemics of smallpox, measles, influenza swept away many Aborigines.

Even after 20 years of contact epidemics raged. Lung and chest complaints killed hundreds. Others were ravaged by diarrhoea, dysentery and tuberculosis. Their new diets not only caused malnutrition, but appeared to case other health issues such as blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. (Broome, 2001, p. 62) Many diseases that were endemic in Europe had never been experienced by Aboriginal people and therefore had a destructive impact on them and their cultures throughout Australia. The impact of introduced diseases on the Aboriginal population was immediate and catastrophic.

Many early Australian historians have come to the same conclusion, that is disease had disastrous effects on the lives of Aboriginal people and their survival within the colony and afterwards. Death through disease had an impact on the beliefs of the survivors. Since all deaths were thought to be due to sorcery, Aboriginals believed that there were outside influences that caused the death of so many of their kinsmen. Perhaps their faith in their own sorcery was shaken when the sick could not be restored to health. (Broome, 2001, p. 63) Aboriginal resistance and guerrilla warfare against the European government and the frontier invaders also suffered the impact of introduced diseases. Since many Aboriginal lives were lost to disease, the numbers of young men available for warfare were low, which made it difficult to build up and maintain resistance parties. When looking at the spread of diseases throughout the Aboriginal population, one question remains, Was the spread of disease in the colony and its surrounding area a form of early biological warfare?

European violence towards the Aboriginal people of Australia had damaging and long-lasting effects. The notion of reconciliation can never truly be expected to occur if the past is not investigated, documented and reported openly. Violence of the frontier and the degree to which it affected the lives of Aboriginal people is an ongoing area of debate amongst historians. This disbelief of the violence can be seen by Manne's statement which reads since the 1820 s, a number of writers have suggested that massacres have been exaggerated and that, especially in the later stages of the war, Aborigines had the best of the fighting. (Manne, 2003, p. 19) The violence during the frontier affected not only the lives of the Aboriginals during this time, but those of future generations.

Their lives have been affected by the neglect of acknowledgement of this violence that was thrust upon them by the first European settlers. The different forms of violence suffered by the Aboriginals meant that they had to change their fighting tactics when encountering Europeans. Aboriginals used their knowledge of the terrain to their advantage, as they knew where to hide and where to retreat to. They also became quickly aware of the firing distance of the Europeans weapons and they also realised how long it took to reload. They then used this newly gained knowledge to their advantage. (Reynolds, 1995, p. 99 - 100) Aboriginal lives were also affected by violence in the forms of massacres. Denholm states that in Australia are the remains of almost 700 Aboriginal communities.

That means, possibly, a quarter of a million people- men, women and children, young and old lost their lives in such events It is possible that only one Aboriginal in six survived colonial Australia. (Denholm, 1979, p. 27. ) One can gather from this statement, that violence had a devastating effect on all aspects of Aboriginal life. These affects would be felt by future generations due to the fact that population sizes would become smaller. With smaller groups of Aboriginal people comes starvation which was due to the fact that the violence killed many of those responsible for reciprocity duties. Massacres are still affecting the lives of many Aboriginal people today in regards to the issue of reconciliation. Historians and Australians need to recognise that these massacres did occur and that the Aboriginal people still suffer the affects of these. How can they trust the words and actions of those that refuse to acknowledge what their forefathers had done to a race of people?

In conclusion the colonisation of Australia has had and continues to have disastrous effects on the lives of many Aboriginal people. With colonisation came the need for land expansion, which for Aboriginal people meant closer contact to a race of peoples who were different in many ways. Due to European arrival and the frontier, dispossession, violence and diseases were forever present, all of which caused great losses to the Aboriginal people. These factors of the frontier affected Aboriginals in many ways, from the loss of their traditional land and culture to death. Even though historians have stated their opinions and argued about the nature of the affects of the frontier upon Aboriginal people, they have all, at least in some form agreed that the affects from the colonisation of the Australian frontier have affected Aboriginals in ways which may never truly be known. How would people in society cope with such an event if it was to be done to them tomorrow?

Reference List Broome, R. (2001) Aboriginal Australians: Black responses to White Dominance 1788 - 2000, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Cavanagh, P. and Fischer, L. (1999) Historical Issues A, OTEN, Sydney Campus. Crotty, M. and Eklund, E. (2003) Australia to 1901: Selected Readings In The Making Of A Nation, Victoria: Territory Press.

Denholm, D. (1979) The Colonial Australians: Men Bearing Arms, Victoria: Penguin Books Australia. Grassy, A. and Hill, M. (9188) Six Australian battlefields, Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Manne, R. (2003) Whitewash: On Keith Windschuttle's Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Melbourne: Black Ink.

Reynolds, H. (1995) The Other Side of The Frontier, Victoria: Penguin Books Australia Windschuttle, K. (2001) Wrong on Mistake Creek, Australian financial review, p. 1 - 4. WWW: Australian Museum. (2004). Timeline Contact History 1500 - 1900. Received 17 / 04 / 05 from the WWW: web

Research essay sample on Of European Invasion Upon The Aboriginals Frontier