Pemulwuy and The Frontier WarsTo his people, Pemulwuy is known as a ‘clever man’ - a warrior with mystic powers. To the British, he is a terrorist and rebel. Pemulwuy’s band of resistance fighters have been burning a path across the colony.
The local tribes have tried engagement, cultural exchange and negotiation - but the colonists keep coming. Now the Aboriginals have nowhere else to go. It’s time for Pemulwuy and his men to make a stand. (Source: https://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-story-of-us/episodes) |
Changing beliefs and attitudesInitially, the Indigenous people believed that the settlers would eventually go away, and may have tolerated the settlers living on their land. As time went on, it became clear that the settlers were staying and were going to prevent the Indigenous peoples from using the land as they had done for centuries. This was when many Indigenous peoples started to fight back and resist the invasion.
During the 1820s and 1830s, most British settlers started to believe that the Indigenous people were nothing more than savages that needed to be kept away from their settlements. Many settlers thought that killing Indigenous people for revenge, or to protect their family and property, was the right thing to do. Source: www.skwirk.com) |
RevengeRevenge attacks were common in traditional Indigenous society, so when the British settlers started abusing, injuring and killing Aboriginal men, women and children, the Aboriginal peoples wanted revenge. Often the Aboriginal people only wanted to punish particular individual settlers who had been involved in the incident or attack, and spent days preparing for the revenge.
The settlers also wanted revenge for any killings or theft, but they often killed whole groups of Aboriginal people, even if they were not involved in the crimes. The settlers wanted to overcome all resistance from the Indigenous peoples and would continue the violence until there was no more conflict. (Source: www.skwirk.com) |