Thursday, March 24, 2011

Ethnocentrism causing conflict between the British and the first Australians

Owing the fact of the Australian’s savage reputations, the British viewed them in an ethnocentric way causing conflict between the two cultures.The British viewed the aboriginals of Australia as uncivilized and uneducated natives as they were nude and savage autochthons. The British judged the natives as inferiors as they had never seen black as a skin tone and were labelled as animals. The British also insulted them by calling them savages, barbarous and ferocious. As the British held more power than the aboriginals, they tried to take over their lands thinking that the aboriginals were "animals"; by replacing the crops and making mansions and streets; giving pressure on the aboriginals to change their appearances to the well regulated looks of the British citizens, which caused huge conflict between the two cultures as the aboriginals did not seem to accept the British’s act. The aboriginals had hardly any space left for them in their own country so, they retreated by burning all of the crops that the British had placed; and replaced it with their own crop. This seemed to cause more hatred for the aboriginals as their impressions for the British remained as savages and ferocious animals.