[OOC] Relevent History
Timeline style. If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to contact me.
-Australia first inhabited by the Aboriginals as far as 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Some historians believe this occurred even earlier-around 70,000 years ago.
-China may have had some knowledge that Australia existed. Ancient texts mention a southern land. The illusions to fire which may indicate volcanoes point to the conclusion that it was Indonesia they referred to instead.
-1606 saw the first European contact with Australia by the Dutch. In March the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula was charted and in July/August Torres Strait was sailed through. A French navigator however claims to have discovered Australia three years earlier.
*European charting of the Australian coastline continues well into the 1600’s and early 1700’s.
*In 1616 Dirk Hartog from Holland lands at an island off the coast of Western Australia. The Western half of Australia (the only half the world has any knowledge of) is referred to as ‘New Holland’.
* 1642 the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman circumnavigates Australia in its entirety (without realising it) and claims Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) for Holland.
*No attempts at settlement are made because Australia is believed to be a dry, barren, unhospitable land.
-In the late 1600’s the first maps of Australia in English are made.
-Captain James Cook lands at Botany Bay, charts part of the eastern coastline and claims Australia under the doctrine of terra nullius in 1770.
*terra nullius is a Latin phrase that roughly translates to ‘land belonging to no one’. Under British law, this constituted that Australia was land for the taking under the control of the British Crown (King George III). British law was automatically put into effect because Australia was a ‘settled country’ as opposed to a ‘conquered country’. The indigenous peoples and their culture were not recognised. The general theory was that because there was no existing culture, the British could bring all their laws and customs with them.
-The American Revolution and the War of Independence between 1775-1783 causes problems for England. With the loss of the penal colony and the advent of the Industrial Revolution, London (and English cities in general) becomes overcrowded and crime becomes a greater issue, thus prisons are also subject to crowding. England sees the need to create another colony and what better place than Australia?
*In order to kill two birds with one stone the first settlers are convicts, English Imperial Forces to lay down the law and their accompanying civilians. The convicts are criminals convicted of lesser offences such as crimes against property and being a member of a union, etc as opposed to more serious offences like murder. (Crimes punishable by approx. 7 years.) As a result a cheap and economically advantageous work force is provided to build up the new colony.
*Contrary to popular belief, the majority of convicts themselves were in fact not English. Predominately people from Ireland, Scotland and Wales made up the majority of the convict population. Other nationalities including Austrians, Italians, French, Germans, Greek, Dutch, Hollanders, Swedish, Canadians, Americans, Egyptians, Polish, Indians, Hungarians, Russians and Latvians also contributed. The convict population greatly outnumbered the English Imperial forces and their attached civilians.
-1788 the First Fleet arrives in Australia at Botany Bay. The Bay is found unsuitable for settlement so Sydney Cove is chosen instead.
*The colony of New South Wales is formally established at Sydney Cove on the 26 January 1788. NSW consists of the entire east coast including land which would later become the colonies of Tasmania and South Australia. Part of New Zealand is also claimed as the new colony. Western Australia remains un-colonised.
*On the exact same day a French expedition led by Admiral Jean-François de La Pérouse arrives off of Botany Bay and Sydney Cove. The British see this as a problem, but receive the Frenchmen cordially and offer them supplies after which they depart never to be seen again.
*Continuing with tradition however, England and France find themselves in a race to be the first to colonise Australia. By 1792 another French expedition of two ships lay anchor in one of the southern-most harbours of Tasmania. The French create scientific drawings of native flora and fauna, etc., influence some place names before sailing back to France.
-Australia first inhabited by the Aboriginals as far as 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Some historians believe this occurred even earlier-around 70,000 years ago.
-China may have had some knowledge that Australia existed. Ancient texts mention a southern land. The illusions to fire which may indicate volcanoes point to the conclusion that it was Indonesia they referred to instead.
-1606 saw the first European contact with Australia by the Dutch. In March the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula was charted and in July/August Torres Strait was sailed through. A French navigator however claims to have discovered Australia three years earlier.
*European charting of the Australian coastline continues well into the 1600’s and early 1700’s.
*In 1616 Dirk Hartog from Holland lands at an island off the coast of Western Australia. The Western half of Australia (the only half the world has any knowledge of) is referred to as ‘New Holland’.
* 1642 the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman circumnavigates Australia in its entirety (without realising it) and claims Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) for Holland.
*No attempts at settlement are made because Australia is believed to be a dry, barren, unhospitable land.
-In the late 1600’s the first maps of Australia in English are made.
-Captain James Cook lands at Botany Bay, charts part of the eastern coastline and claims Australia under the doctrine of terra nullius in 1770.
*terra nullius is a Latin phrase that roughly translates to ‘land belonging to no one’. Under British law, this constituted that Australia was land for the taking under the control of the British Crown (King George III). British law was automatically put into effect because Australia was a ‘settled country’ as opposed to a ‘conquered country’. The indigenous peoples and their culture were not recognised. The general theory was that because there was no existing culture, the British could bring all their laws and customs with them.
-The American Revolution and the War of Independence between 1775-1783 causes problems for England. With the loss of the penal colony and the advent of the Industrial Revolution, London (and English cities in general) becomes overcrowded and crime becomes a greater issue, thus prisons are also subject to crowding. England sees the need to create another colony and what better place than Australia?
*In order to kill two birds with one stone the first settlers are convicts, English Imperial Forces to lay down the law and their accompanying civilians. The convicts are criminals convicted of lesser offences such as crimes against property and being a member of a union, etc as opposed to more serious offences like murder. (Crimes punishable by approx. 7 years.) As a result a cheap and economically advantageous work force is provided to build up the new colony.
*Contrary to popular belief, the majority of convicts themselves were in fact not English. Predominately people from Ireland, Scotland and Wales made up the majority of the convict population. Other nationalities including Austrians, Italians, French, Germans, Greek, Dutch, Hollanders, Swedish, Canadians, Americans, Egyptians, Polish, Indians, Hungarians, Russians and Latvians also contributed. The convict population greatly outnumbered the English Imperial forces and their attached civilians.
-1788 the First Fleet arrives in Australia at Botany Bay. The Bay is found unsuitable for settlement so Sydney Cove is chosen instead.
*The colony of New South Wales is formally established at Sydney Cove on the 26 January 1788. NSW consists of the entire east coast including land which would later become the colonies of Tasmania and South Australia. Part of New Zealand is also claimed as the new colony. Western Australia remains un-colonised.
*On the exact same day a French expedition led by Admiral Jean-François de La Pérouse arrives off of Botany Bay and Sydney Cove. The British see this as a problem, but receive the Frenchmen cordially and offer them supplies after which they depart never to be seen again.
*Continuing with tradition however, England and France find themselves in a race to be the first to colonise Australia. By 1792 another French expedition of two ships lay anchor in one of the southern-most harbours of Tasmania. The French create scientific drawings of native flora and fauna, etc., influence some place names before sailing back to France.