How did British settlement affect aboriginal society?
Emma Martin
Updated on May 04, 2026
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Keeping this in consideration, how did the British affect the indigenous peoples of Australia?
Settlers often killed Aborigines who trespassed onto 'their' land. British governors and officials in Australia were generally less harsh towards the Aborigines than the settlers of British descent. After the British handed over direct rule to Australia in 1901, the treatment of Aboriginal peoples did not improve.
One may also ask, how did European settlement affect Australia? Since European settlement in 1788, the way in which people use the land has significantly changed Australia's natural systems and landscapes. Some land management practices place enormous pressures on the land which can result in damage to ecosystems, reductions in biodiversity and degradation of soils and waterways.
Just so, how did the arrival of the British in Australia affect the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?
The lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were profoundly changed by the arrival of British colonists in 1788. Lives were lost and land taken as the colonisers attempted to impose new social, economic and religious orders. New animals, plants and diseases were introduced.
What was Aboriginal life like before European settlement?
Aboriginal people lived in all parts of Australia before European settlement in 1788, in very different environments. We know that they learned how to use the environment wherever they were – in jungle, or desert, or river valleys, on coasts, or grasslands, or swamps. But did they all live in the same way?
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