The Bounds of Australia and the British Empire - Essay Example

Running head: AUSTRALIA AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE 1 Australians of previous generations who emphasised belonging to the British Empire were suffering from an inferiority complex and a deluded sense of identity. A symptom of this condition was enthusiasm for participating in Britain’s wars. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Name Institution Introduction Australia is known as one of the two most successful multicultural societies in the 21st century. Like Canada, Australia has successfully integrated various cultural identities engendered by the stream of immigrants coming from all over the world into nation-building (Soutphommasane 2012). A multicultural society implies liberalism because of its tolerance of various ethnicities and cultures whilst at the same time expecting the abidance of shared values important to the integrity, safety and stability of the nation and society. Such liberalism and tolerance, perhaps, stemmed from the fact that Australia has no overzealous sense of nationality and identity owing to a history deeply rooted in colonialism. Moreover, there are allegations that Australians, especially the older generations, were too attached to the British Empire to the extent of expressing strong desires to fight for the British. This attitude is allegedly a manifestation of inferiority complex and a deluded sense of identity. This essay will argue that such observations are not true, and in fact, the attitude shown by these older Australians largely stemmed from the belief that Australia and the Australian people were inherently British and naturally part of the British Empire. Thus, it was not inferiority complex or deluded sense of identity that underpinned the attitude of the older generations of Australians, but pride in their ancestry and heritage. This essay will further argue that such beliefs are not unfounded and were, in fact, justified by history and the cultivation of a point-of-view engendered by the British Empire and Australian high officials that the British way and spirit were ideal and lofty. To do this, this essay will discuss and outline the history of Australia with emphasis on the colonial period, the type of claim and colonisation that was undertaken by the British Empire on the island-continent, and the general reputation, character and spirit associated with ‘Britishness.’ The Historical Justification: Australia as Part of the British Empire It was the British Empire that first made a claim that Australia was terra nullius, and as its first discoverer had the right to claim possession over it. Terra nullius is an international law doctrine that originated from Roman law. It provides justification for the claim of ownership by discoverers of land that are not subject to the sovereignty of any power. Thus, Australia was claimed by the British as theirs, populated the island-continent with British people and it was only natural that the settlers’ loyalty tended towards the British Empire. Unlike other lands they previously discovered, they did not intend to buy it from the natives. The very few natives they found on the island-continent had no interest in trade nor had the capability to fight back (Banner 2009). The British Empire diminished the stature of the original inhabitants of Australia by bringing in large number of British settlers during several waves of settler immigration into the country. The claim of ownership on the island continent was followed by waves of British settlement. Between 1778 and 1856, the British brought in about 160,000 British convicts establishing the first penal colony in Australia (Page 2003). This was the beginning of the early white settlement and the goal of continuously expanding colonies was to develop agriculture, especially in the wool industry. In addition, ensuring British colonial expansion in Australia was also aimed at protecting it as its territory from potential French incursion and adverse claim of the land during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Thus, in addition to NSW, the British established colonies with their respective administration in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia (Vrachnas et al 2011). Subsequent waves of immigration followed the first wave of settlers. The discovery of gold in 1851 prompted a new round of about 600,000 new settlers into Australia. Although the new round of settlers were not wholly British, but were joined by other non-British Europeans the British settlers still dominated the populations of settlers in Australia (Vrachnas et al 2009). The impact of these waves of settlements was to further diminish the aborigines as tiny minorities and to transplant and establish British culture and institutions to the island-continent. Not only did the white settlers dominated the population, but the settlements also brought with them diseases that the natives did not have immunity against wiping out a number of them in the process (Parsons 1999). ‘Britishness’ as the Ideal Character and Spirit Early Australian settlers cultivated a sense of loyalty towards the British Empire because they were not only transported by the British Empire, but being British brought a sense of entitlement. The colonies in Australia were not only founded or primarily populated by the British, but being British was also a ticket to claims of political rights. To be able to enjoy self-governance and democracy, the colonies had to be included in and be loyal to the British Empire. British entitlement and British subjecthood were associated with the rights to local, representative and responsible governance. The success of the British colonies in Australia in the 19th century was attributed to the British spirit and British character. The colonists were, thus, referred to as “the equals in education, and general intellectual habits, of those who ordinarily find their way into the British House of Commons” (cited Carey and McLinsky 2009, p. 15). Being British and aligning oneself with the British character and spirit were perceived as something lofty and high during the Australian colonial period. John West, an influential writer wrote in 1852 that the genius of British freedom underpinned the British colonies in Australia preventing the despotic leader from over-asserting himself whilst inspiring the weak colonist to strive more. Every movement undertaken during the colonial era were measured against British standards, such as the right to representative government, and anything that did not stand up to British standards or were alien to British way of life was met with resistance or suspicion. An Australian paper wrote in 1853, for example, “what we want is no more the birthright of every Englishman – a voice in the making of our own laws, and a power to dispose of the public revenues to which we contribute” (cited Carey and McLinsky 2009, p. 16). The implication of all these is that remembering one’s Britishness even if already settled in another land served the settlers a useful end. British Descent Australians in the early days, who closely aligned themselves with the British, based this alliance on their natural heritage. Since the British were the first foreign settlers in the island-continent and their settlement, in its wake, repopulated it reducing the original inhabitants to a tiny minority, it can be expected that most Australians in the 19th and 20th centuries, at least, were of British descent. In 1914, the High Commissioner of London, having served in Australia as high government official for a number of years, attested that its population was primarily constituted by persons of British descent. He remarked that 96% of the population had British blood and that to keep Australia white, there was a movement by Australians to encourage their relatives from Great Britain to migrate to and join them in Australia. The decision to keep Australia white was underpinned by the desire to keep the Commonwealth peaceful by preventing potential racial and ethnic conflicts that can result from mixtures of races living together in the same region (Spearitt 1993). White Australia was British Australia and both the Australian and British governments nurtured, encouraged and openly declared the close alliance and kinship between Australia and Great Britain. The British expected Australians to fight for the Crown as they did during the two world wars. The British built Australia House – a grand edifice devoted to Australian political affairs – right in the heart of London. The structure signified the importance of Australia to the British and this act by the British could have further fostered the loyalty of Australians to the Empire (Spearitt 1993). Conclusion It cannot be said that Australians of the earlier generations were deluded and suffered from inferiority complex because of their strong fealty to the British Empire, even to the extent of desiring to fight for it. The point reinforced by the discussions in this essay is that Australians, particularly those of the older generations, had historical basis for thinking they were or were closely associated with the British and the British Empire. The British had, in fact, discovered Australia and claimed it as theirs, and brought in thousands of British subjects to the land to establish settlements in the continent. It was the British who discovered Australia, filled its population with persons from Great Britain and established colonies with administrations all over the continent. Second, being British and continued ‘Britishness’ of settlers brought many political advantages to the settlers and allowed them autonomy and democracy. The British system was deeply embedded in the Australian culture and it was widely believed that the British way underpinned the success of the colonies and that the British spirit and character were lofty and ideal. Third, Great Britain cultivated the continued loyalty of Australians by openly showing the importance of the latter to the Empire. In short, older generation Australians were justified in believing that they were part of the British Empire because of their heritage, the cultivation of the belief that being British was good embedded in the Australian culture and, that being British was a ticket in claiming political rights. References Banner, S. (2009). Possessing the Pacific: Land, Settlers, and Indigenous People from Australia to Alaska. Harvard University Press. Carey, J. and McLisky, C. (2009). Creating White Australia. Sydney University Press. Page, M. (2003). Colonialism. ABC-CLIO. Parsons, T. (1999). The British Imperial Century, 1815-1914: A World History Perspective. Rowman & Littlefield. Soutphommasane, T. (2012). The Virtuous Citizen: Patriotism in a Multicultural Society. Cambridge University Press. Spearritt, P. (1993). “The British Dominion of Australia” in Arnold, J., Spearritt, J. and Walker, D. (eds.) Out of Empire: The British Dominion of Australia. Mandarin. Vrachnas, J., Bagaric, M., Dimopoulos, P. and Pathinayake, A. (2011). Migration and Refugee Law: Principles and Practice in Australia. Cambridge University Press. is a known fact that Australia was inhabited by aborigines until the British landed on it in the latter part of the 18th century. It is not surprising that many Australians of the older generations had cultivated and nurtured a keen sense of belongingness to the British and the British Empire. From a historical point-of-view, these Australians had legitimate reasons for nurturing a sense of belonging to the British Empire and for wanting to fight for Great Britain during the two world wars. Unlike other colonies that subsequently became independent, Australian colonists and settlers remained in the country and constituted the majority of the Australian population. Moreover, being associated with the British or being British in thought and in deed was considered ideal and lofty during the Australian colonial era. It is not, therefore, correct to say that they were self-deluded or had inferiority complex because they expressed affiliation with the British or the British Empire. Read More