2e euro British migrations to Australia in the 19th century

British migrations in the 19th century...

... and the resulting colonisation

A/ English speaking migrants to ... Australia

• Australia first discovered by the Dutch in 1606. But too isolated (remote) to them. In 1770 became a British territory thanks to the explorer James Cook.

• The first British permanent settlers landed near current Sydney on 26 of January 1788 (= Australian National Day) in the Eastern part of Australia, in a province soon called the New South Wales.

• Australia was soon used as a penal colony = forced migration. So first settlers = convicts (160 000 of them migrated their in total).

• Also, voluntary migration. People tried their luck as farmers, gold diggers (gold rush in Victoria province), …

• Most of the migrants were English.

• So, the European population increased dramatically. In 1914, about 5 million people lived in Australia.

• Mainwhile, the Aboriginal population decreased (land confiscation, violence, diseases, …) : from about about 300 000 and 750 000 in 1788 to less than 100 000 in the early 20^th century.