When the British chose to colonize the Australian land inhabited by the Aboriginals, their ethnocentric perspective towards the natives instigated conflict between the two communities. Initially, due to the close relationship formed between Governor Phillip and the Aboriginal Bennelong, the relationship between the two cultures was strong. Unfortunately, due to the murder of many Aboriginals by the whites, conflict arose. Since the British were more advanced when it came to strategy and weaponry, they were able to overpower the Aboriginals, and manipulate them. The Europeans tended to view the Aboriginals as animals, without rights. They were perceived as savages. These beliefs were not simply prompted by the dark skin of the natives, but rather their culture. Aboriginal people believed in the legends of the earth, and in respecting the traditions of their ancestors. With this strong belief, the natives didn’t concern themselves with clothes, and weren’t as driven by ambition as the whites. To the British, man was meant to strive for greatness, instead of being content with the natural world. As seen in the book “The Rabbits”, the ‘whites’ originally came to the native land with a more developed understanding of the world, and were able to take advantage of the inexperience of the indigenous people. “Still more of them came, sometimes we had fights-”. They soon colonized more and more people, and made it clear that they planned to take control. Since the British viewed themselves as superior to the Aboriginals, they chose not to take the Aboriginals' beliefs or feelings into account. They saw the natives as ‘barbarous’ and ‘ferocious’, and viewed them as sub-human, without genuine emotions. This was a great contributor to their drive and longing to wipe out the native ‘breed’. They didn’t want to attempt to understand or appreciate the native lifestyle, because they assumed only their 'way' was right, and all mankind should reach their 'standards'. The British chose ignorance. They rarely made attempts to learn about the Aboriginals. Instead, they gradually eradicated the culture. After failing to remove the Aboriginal nature from Bennelong, they decided that no natives could become ‘civilized’. This developed a negative stigma towards the Aboriginals, resulting in barely any whites attempting to reach out to the culture. The British simply continued to spread around Australia, ruthlessly snatching Aboriginal lands, even replacing the native crops. Many became merciless. Men, women, and children were slaughtered in order to prevent the continuing growth of the Aboriginal population. Whenever natives, such as Windradyne, attempted to fight back, the whites responded by butchering more and more innocent people. Instead of searching for a civil solution, the two cultures continued to tear each other apart. The British refused to respect or value the Aboriginals' rich culture. They not only stole and destroyed the lives of many, but they also spread an addiction to alcohol throughout an entire generation of people. Ultimately, not once ounce of positivity was seized from the experience. Children were stolen, lives were taken, and a culture began to deteriorate. If only the British had initially viewed the Aboriginal culture with a sense of humanity or civility, a massive amount of lives could have been spared. A rich culture might have been greatly preserved. No good can come from an ethnocentric mindset, as is seen throughout the history of Australia.
