StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

How European Invaders Viewed Tasmanians - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The author of the paper "How European Invaders Viewed Tasmanians" will begin with the statement that there are several paintings and art on Trucanini and her companions as they were among those who survived the initial constraints of colonization on Tasmania Island.  …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.7% of users find it useful
How European Invaders Viewed Tasmanians
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "How European Invaders Viewed Tasmanians"

? Trucanini Trucanini There are several paintings and arts on Trucanini and her companions as they were among those who survived theinitial constraints of colonization on Tasmania Island. From the images presented by various artists, scholars are able to understand how European invaders viewed Tasmanians at the time of their invasion of the island. Trucanini was the most famous Tasmanian Aborigine and this was as a result of her association with George Augustus Robinson a Methodist brick layer who later began to protect the natives. Trucanini was born and lived on the Bruny Island - an island that had become a focal point for exploration by the Europeans. The Tasmanians then, were known to be flourishing, friendly and accommodating, a habit that made it rare for them to fight with the Europeans and other communities. However, with time, European diseases and invasion reduced their population to 250 people. They had a culture different from other communities and such distinct features led to the now modern paintings we have. The European explorers expected that they would come into contact with the hierarchical structures and the social class systems. This made them to have inappropriate facilities that would enable them handle the natives. During the 18th century, most individuals were viewed as being the noble savage since they were heroic as they were close to nature and not accompanied by complexions of civilizations (Marien, 2002). Such character is evident in the engravings made by the artists. They would employ techniques that would depict them with the heroic methods employed to ensure that they were not oppressed by the Europeans. The engravers had acute knowledge about the classical sculpture from which he would apply in their art work. As for Trucanini it was a water color work by Thomas Bock in 1830. The Trucanini image is one woman who is trying to come to terms with the frequent changes in the world which to her she cannot manage to change them. On the face the woman appears to have given up but the youthful beauty is still evident. The image depicts her as seated looking at the viewer with a traditional shell necklace and on her shoulders is the kangaroo skin. The photographic images were limited in the sense that by the time, the era of photography arrived in Tasmania in 1858 most of the population was dead a reason that explains why it was difficult to retrieve records. To add to this, during the colonial period there were a few artists and therefore the paintings were rare to find since they were not free to settle near the culture of civilized individuals. There were only two portfolios of Tasmian Aborigines that were known to these artists. The water color paintings would indicate women who had their hair shaved and only a circle of hair was left round the head while for the men they were bearded, unshaven hair and had no necklace (Lines, 1991). Given the poor rate of photography the power of the image of Trucanini was not portrayed well. For instance in the first portfolio, it was an amateur painting and sketch which were photographed in a squalid condition where the Trucanini are depicted as being comfortable with no hesitation. They have resigned to submit to the idea of imprisonment that was presented to them by the European colonies. No effort has been made by the photographers to arrange them in a formal way. The photographs have adopted a social viewpoint since the Aborigines valued their culture more during this period. Through the social viewpoint, the photograph manages to overcome the atmosphere of melancholy over the already condemned people of Bruny Island. The photographs are able to appreciate and celebrate the dying era of the noble savage. This made photography to become a vital aspect in establishment of the empire in the 19th century. This is evident with reference to the second portfolio of photograph that was taken by Charles Woolley who mostly concentrated on the colonies and their families. He took photographs of the few remaining Tasmanian at the island (Shoemaker, 2004). He rejected the oyster cove as a method of photography so as to avoid the negative rejection by the public. She produced a portrait of Trucanini one that isolated her from the traditional roots that were present in the island. She was made to correct the initial misunderstanding that had been presented by the previous portraits. They had started to dress in the European dresses, a sign that civilization was underway as they had even gone ahead to associate themselves with them. Since photographs depicted an era of evolution, it was an eye opener to the residents on the island to come up with the several administrative units on the island in order to have law and order. With the empires they were able to organize themselves into several defensive groups so as to protect themselves from attacks by Europeans. It was evident that diseases that had attacked them reduced their population drastically. It was easy for European colonies to rule the lesser population by introducing divide and rule policy and therefore without laying down proper strategies then the island would be overtaken by the colonial powers. Some of the people on the island had started to shift away from their tradition to adopt the tradition n introduced by the European (Marien, 2002). In some photographs, there were pictures that were taken when some of the people were dressed in European dresses. Others had shifted their religious interests to become Christians. With the empire, it would dictate what was to be done by its members. The photographs helped them to understand the living standards that had been experienced before by the previous generation’s one where individuals dictated their own lifestyles. With the arrival of the Europeans, Tasmania was isolated and the expeditions led to the death of many. Having presented the photographs of women who were almost naked and men who had been imprisoned by the colonies, there was need to reestablish their stand on how they would protect themselves from the colonialists. Conclusion From the discussion above, it is clear that in order to understand the Tasmanian Aborigines, one has to refer to several sources including the paintings, sculpture and photographs. Photographs by Thomas Book depict Trucanini as young and one full of vitality while for Charles Woolley shows her as having grown old and full of sadness. The decisions made by the photographer will indicate how the pictures will be presented and how they will be interpreted by the viewer. Interpretation of the photographs therefore helped the people on the island to understand themselves. References Marien, M.W. (2002). Photography: a cultural history. London. Lawrence King Publishers. Shoemaker, A. (2004). Black words, white page: Aboriginal literature 1929-1988. Australia ANU E Press. Lines, J.W. (1991). Taming the great south land: a history of the conquest of nature in Australia California. University of California Press. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Trucanini Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1423266-trucanini-art
(Trucanini Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1423266-trucanini-art.
“Trucanini Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1423266-trucanini-art.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF How European Invaders Viewed Tasmanians

Summary of a scientific article

It takes no time for the invaders to make native plants refugees; this is what the article talks about.... It takes no time for the invaders to make native plants refugees; this is what the article talks about.... Suitable examples are being given everywhere in the article, the article points out towards the example of deserts where less invaders are seen because human activity is very limited, stressful environments have also been talked about in the article, it is also realized that stressful environments provide good conditions for the invader to invade and supersede native grass....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Natural Resource Management: Australia

"Natural Resource Management: Australia" paper states that Tasmanian forests face a variety of challenges associated with wood chipping and there is a need to have better stewardship ecological system models to be adopted so as to facilitate ecological sustainability.... ... ... ... There is a linkage between social and ecological systems as far as the management of forests in Tasmanian forests is concerned....
13 Pages (3250 words) Case Study

Aboriginals' Reaction to Seeing First White People

The first european settlers arrived in 1788 when Aborigines were the only once in Australia.... The first european settlers arrived in 1788 when Aborigines were the only once in Australia.... Points: 2) At first contact, in what european things (appearance, possessions, etc....
17 Pages (4250 words) Assignment

Aborigines and European in Colonial Australia

The Aboriginal tasmanians had no right to the territory since they were not using the land in a European fashion and also lacked legal title under British law.... he myth of inevitability and the lie of empty land supported perpetrators to rationalize genocide and the transfer of responsibility to impersonal forces that resulted in the deaths of Aboriginal tasmanians.... Windschuttle, (2002) argued that there was brutal treatment of the indigenous inhabitants especially tasmanians by the invasive white settlers....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Mining in Tarkine North West of Tasmania

This literature review "Mining in Tarkine North West of Tasmania" discusses Tasmania as a beautiful island on the Western side of Australia.... The island was formed through glacial action as water levels rose in the ocean and completely cut off Tasmania from the mainland.... ... ... ... The local Aborigines were cut off too and remained there for many years until 1803 when the British first entered the island....
7 Pages (1750 words) Literature review

Diversity and Complexity of Indigenous Australian Cultures

The reconciliatory pathway between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians since the 1970s necessitated the creation of european Australian-Indigenous relations (Trepanier & Creighton-Kelly 2011).... The insightful influence of the european invasion on the lifestyles of Indigenous Australians is, therefore, understood in terms of the new cultures they had to assimilate.... he concept of Aboriginal culture and cultural diversityKugelmann (2010) describes culture as a routine and learned manner humans utilize in organizing behaviors, work patterns, and thoughts, relative to their environment, and how they act and interact....
8 Pages (2000 words) Literature review

Prevention of Hypertension - Awareness of Tasmanians of the Modifiable Risk Factors for Hypertension

The paper 'Prevention of Hypertension - Awareness of tasmanians of the Modifiable Risk Factors for Hypertension' is a good variant of a research proposal on health sciences & medicine.... The paper 'Prevention of Hypertension - Awareness of tasmanians of the Modifiable Risk Factors for Hypertension' is a good variant of a research proposal on health sciences & medicine.... The paper 'Prevention of Hypertension - Awareness of tasmanians of the Modifiable Risk Factors for Hypertension' is a good variant of a research proposal on health sciences & medicine....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Proposal

The Impact of Marriage Inequality on People in Same-Sex Relationships in Tasmania

The paper 'The Impact of Marriage Inequality on People in Same-Sex Relationships in Tasmania' presents an investigation on the impact of marriage inequality on people in same-sex.... The proposal intends to make an investigation on this topic on people in same-sex relationships in Tasmania.... ... ...
12 Pages (3000 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us