If the British had never come in the first place, it is highly likely the east coast of Australia at least would be French. The Dutch might have claimed Tasmania and New Zealand both, and possibly parts of Western Australia as well.
From at least 60,000 B.C. the area that was to become New South Wales was inhabited entirely by indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with traditional social, legal organisation and land rights. The population of New South Wales was at least 100,000 with many tribal, clan and language groups.
It was suggested that the English and French should have taken the Americans to attempt an illicit trade with the Dutch Settlements[52]. This was a proof how the trade with China and East had been vital of importance so Britain established a settlement in Australia to take the control of this trade.
One reason that Australia was important to the British Empire was its size. The British Empire was the only empire in history to control an entire continent. Another reason was that it was a destination for British colonists. Australia began as a penal colony.
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts.
After Dutch navigators charted the northern, western and southern coasts of Australia during the 17th Century this newly found continent became known as 'New Holland'. It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who suggested the name we use today.
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.
The British Union Jack features predominantly on our national flag and the Queen is Australia's Head of State. British models also form the basis of Australia's legal and political systems, as well providing our national language. Up until World War II, Britain remained the dominating cultural influence in Australia.
British imperialism settled Australia as a penal colony, having ruthlessly seized it from the native people. Britain was the colonial power which established the penal colony and then developed Australia as a colony which largely supplied raw materials for British industry and imported finished products from Britain.
British imperialism used Australia as a penal colony with an added semi-peasant economy. In its early days the British imperialist idea was to develop Australia as a penal colony with this added semi-peasant economy to maintain the inhabitants.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The original inhabitants, who have descendants to this day, are known as aborigines. In the eighteenth century, the aboriginal population was about 300,000.
The first settlement, at Sydney, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers, led by Governor Arthur Phillip. They arrived at Botany Bay in the "First Fleet" of 9 transport ships accompanied by 2 small warships, in January, 1788.
Between 11,000 and 14,000 Aboriginal people died, compared with only 399 to 440 colonisers. The tallies of the dead are not the only measure of what took place, according to Dr Bill Pascoe, a digital humanities specialist and key researcher on the project. “We are always using conservative estimates,” Pascoe said.
There is no one Aboriginal word that all Aborigines use for Australia; however, today they call Australia, ""Australia"" because that is what it is called today. There are more than 250 aboriginal tribes in Australia. Most of them didn't have a word for ""Australia""; they just named places around them.
Aboriginal origins
Humans are thought to have migrated to Northern Australia from Asia using primitive boats. A current theory holds that those early migrants themselves came out of Africa about 70,000 years ago, which would make Aboriginal Australians the oldest population of humans living outside Africa.
Britain gained dominance in the trade with India, and largely dominated the highly lucrative slave, sugar, and commercial trades originating in West Africa and the West Indies. Exports soared from £6.5 million in 1700, to £14.7 million in 1760 and £43.2 million in 1800.
In the 1860s, Victoria became the first state to pass laws authorising Aboriginal children to be removed from their parents. Similar policies were later adopted by other states and territories – and by the federal government when it was established in the 1900s.
In the 16th Century, Britain began to build its empire – spreading the country's rule and power beyond its borders through a process called 'imperialism'. This brought huge changes to societies, industries, cultures and the lives of people all around the world.
English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (whether sole or partial).
The invasion by Germany of Poland on 3 September 1939 led Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Australia moved quickly to support Great Britain and also declared war. This time, there was none of the enthusiasm and joy that had greeted the news of the outbreak of the First World War.
Most introduced species were imported into Australia deliberately, as they served some purpose to people. Dogs and cats were introduced as domestic pets, foxes and rabbits were introduced to provide us with game for recreational hunting, and camels were introduced to provide transport.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia, meaning they were here for thousands of years prior to colonisation.
Aboriginal peoples
Genetic studies appear to support an arrival date of 50–70,000 years ago. The earliest anatomically modern human remains found in Australia (and outside of Africa) are those of Mungo Man; they have been dated at 42,000 years old.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders: Australia's First Peoples.