Theatres of Violence Massacre and Mass Killing

Question: Discuss about the Theatres of Violence for Massacre and Mass Killing. Answer: Introduction: The first crossings into Tasmania began around 50.000 years ago and later followed by a second one 10,000 years later according to Brodie.[1] During this period the sea level was lower and Tasmania was joined to mainland Australia. Indigenous people could cross on foot and this was the first crossing into present day Tasmania. The first non-indigenous person to reach Tasmania was Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. His journey was sponsored by Anthoonij Van Diemenslandt, and on reaching Tasmania decided to name it after his sponsor. The first British explorer to arrive in Tasmania was Captain Cook in 1777. This was the beginning of the second wave of migration, but which was the secondary colonisation by the British, already having first colonised Sydney. Van Diemens Land as it was known then was founded as a penal outpost by the British. Until 1776, when American declared independence from Britain, it was the major destination for convicts who had been convicted of serious crime and sentenced to the outpost.Dwyer and Lyndall lay posit the foundation of violence in this land down under. The first settlements were on the eastern side of Van Diemens Land, with the earliest recorded being at Risdon Cove in 1803.The origins of the Harrods empire can be traced to one settler, Charles Henry Harrod who was one of the first immigrants to settle in this settlements, according to Robin. Other settlements that sprung up were at Sullivans Cove, Port Dacrymple and Launceston. Early life in these settlements was characterized by farming and the rearing of sheep and cattle. This is supported by archaeological remains of the discovery of a sheep enclosure made of cobblestone. Sheep farming grew and expanded, leading to the need for more land .This was the basis for conflicts with the indigenes over land according to Jesse Shipway. The first penal settlement was founded in 1822, which lead to an increase also of the local population. This resulted in the Black War of 1820, which resulted in failure as argued by Jesse Shipway. The governor of Van Diemens Land at that time was George Arthur, who declared martial law and tried to mobilise the white immigrants to push the indigenes into the Tasmanian Peninsula. Clements gives a narrative and refers to this mobilisation as the Black line. The result of the war was a diminishing of the indigenous population through war and diseases introduced by the settlers. This called for a new strategy to deal with the locals, known as conciliation, which involved the relocation of the indigenous people to the Bass Strait. The 1840s came with an economic depression due to a drop in the price of wool in Britain. The new sealing industry along the coast of the Bass Straits, blossomed but also brought new problems with it. Joan Kavanagh and Dianne Snowden give a good detail of the companion women in their book and the social problems that arose, including vice and prostitution. There was a big demand for feathers, whale oil and meat from Britain. When sealing industry declined, there was a massive harvesting of mountain birds an s an alternative source of livelihood. Despite being recognised as an independent colony in 1825, it was only in 1856 that it was officially adopted as Tasmania. This was the first step in the journey of the amalgamation of the colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. The year 1851 had seen the discovery of gold, precipitating a Tasmania Gold Rush, similar to the California rush of 1848. Further discovery of Zinc, Tin and Copper led to the emergence of mining towns such as Queenstown. Increased prosperity led to an increase in insecurity. This insecurity was twofold- internal and external.[10] The settlers formed rifle clubs to sharpen their shooting abilities, in order to deal with security threats. Ralph Crane and Danielle Wood tells a story of Tasmania as another country, and gives a discourse of the early rifle clubs.[11] The external security threat was acuter because of rivalries of Imperial powers. By this time there was a reduced British military presence on the island. The approach to enhance the local cap ability to defend them was encouraged. This was the time when new Imperial powers like Japan were emerging and flexing their muscle. The Japanese at this time played an important role in protecting the commonwealth against German raiders. Japanese warships regularly docked within the commonwealth ports on military and diplomatic tours. The first overseas military campaign was undertaken as a commonwealth in 1898 when a contingent was sent to South Africa in the British war campaign. The commonwealth participated in the first world war of 1915, liberating German Papua. The above lecture is more from the Historical perspective and not the Aboriginal approach. Bibliography Crane, Ralph. J. and Danielle Wood. Deep south: stories from Tasmania. Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2012. Clements, Nicholas. The Black War: fear, sex and resistance in Tasmania. St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 2014. Dr Nick Browdie. Dwyer, Philip G., and Lyndall Ryan. Theatres of violence: massacre, mass killing, and atrocity throughout history. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012. FHarrod, Robin. Jewel of Knightsbridge.New York: The History Press, 2017. https://www.myilibrary.com?id=987977.(accessed March 25, 2017) Kavanagh, Joan, Dianne Snowden, and Mary McAleese.Van Diemen's women: a history of transportation to Tasmania. Dublin:The History Press Ireland, 2015. Shipway, Jesse. Memory of genocide in tasmania 1803-2013: scars on the archive. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. https://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=4733232.(accessed March 25, 2017) Clements, Nicholas. 2014. The Black War: fear, sex and resistance in Tasmania. St Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 2014.