Terra nullius

Aboriginal people of their lands. The Aboriginals lived peacefully, their culture and society sacred and complex. The land, a fundamental component of their spirituality and identity. However with the arrival of the British, Australia was declared Terra Nullius, a land that belonged to no one. In the 1900s while white Australia enjoyed houses with water, power, food and a wide range of state benefits. Aboriginals continued to be the most disadvantaged group in Australia. Given only basic…

The Racial Contract So the story has been told, it has been agreed upon by many, and the origins of a civil polity is as follows: In the beginning, humanity lived in a horrible state of nature. Man wandered hither, taking from here, and taking from there. All around, you could examine a pure, and unadulterated state of chaos. To your left, you could see one hunting a buffalo, and in the next, the kill is stolen by another. To your right, you could examine one being ravaged,…

and fauna list, although a delayed and not-so grand gesture, this referendum established a greater sense equality amongst indigenous Australians and white Australians. Then in 1992 the Eddie Mabo decision was made abolishing the legal fiction of terra nullius, a term meaning that the land was empty and owned by no one before British settlement. The Mabo case established the existence of native title at common law in Australia, finding that native title survived colonisation and therefore…

In From Imperium to Imperialism, Mattingly argues that the majority of the scholarship of the Roman Empire has overlooked the brutal, autocratic nature of the Empire and that the historiography would benefit from researchers being more critical of their preconceptions of Roman glory and imperium. Mattingly believes, contrary to many scholars, that meaningful contrasts and comparisons can be drawn between the Roman Empire and modern empires of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most notably…

1. A shared sense of history can be explained in many ways and can go on forever, however to summarise it in a brief summary it began many years ago. The Aboriginal people had lived in Australia for a long period of time, for more than 50, 000 years ago, before the European settlers and Captain Cook arrived, and set foot on the land. However, the Aboriginal people were said that they had so little attachment to the land. They lived off the land by hunting for their food, making their houses from…

It was in 1788 when the first group of Europeans arrived in Australia and declared Australia as terra nullius – land belonging to nobody, meanwhile, denying Indigenous rights’ and their special connections to the land (Reconciliation Australia, 2017). Under the protection policies, Indigenous were forced to leave their homelands onto reserves or missions…

Blog: Critical Reflection During the time of the European invasion of Australia, many of the events that occurred have left a lasting impact on the Indigenous people in Australia and have made me feel quite astounded as to how a group of people could treat anyone in that manner (Axelsson et al. 2016, pp. 1-7). It is extremely important in our nursing practice to be able to examine and understand what has happened in the past and critically reason how this information can help us improve on our…

through the life of a Meriam man, Eddie Koiki Mabo. The audience is taken through Mabo’s life as he battles with discrimination, segregation, injustice and his identity. Mabo’s determination and tenacity is also seen as he contests the claims of terra nullius and land ownership rights in the high court. The viewers of this film see firsthand the dehumanising, unfair, and degrading treatment which the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander community was and subjected to. As Mabo overcomes…

poor health care, little education access, unpaid work, no money control or marriage freedom, and no freedom of religious beliefs. (Gordon. S, 2015) In Indigenous pasts, their connection to the land was very strong. It was based off the idea of Terra Nullius meaning that the land did not have specific inhabitants like the way us Europeans do today. With the British invasion, Aborigines have constantly struggled to maintain possession of their land, causing the gradual petition for their rights.…

only invaders, but also philosophers, thinkers, writers and scientists as well. Its aura and cultural strength defeated even Britain to hold it forever; something they could succeed to do elsewhere, like America or Australia declaring them as ‘Terra Nullius’. Though they faced a tough resistance and challenge from this enlightened nation which they, too, encountered with the Repressive State Apparatus, yet the British colonizers succeeded to control the Indian minds through, what Althusser…