Black War

‘Black War’ – the name given to the conflict between British Colonialists and the Tasmanian Aboriginal People.

Best understood as the officially sanctioned time of Martial Law declared by the British Colonial Government between 1828 and 1832.

Although historians vary on exactly when the conflict began and ended, the Black War, almost entirely wiped out the Indigenous Population of Tasmania, and is regarded by many as an act of Genocide.

The German Genocide in Namibia of 1904-08

Colonialism Past & Present

From the 16th Century, Europeans colonised the Americas, Asia and Africa.  

Land long inhabited by non White-Europeans was seen as free to take, occupy, rule and plunder. 

 Although colonialism is now recognised as a breach of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights; the remnants and colonial attitudes persist, with devastating effect on peace and economic equality for indigenous communities. 

In late 1830 the Black Line was a series of offensive lines formed by over 2,000 colonists.

The colonists drove the Aboriginal people away from their homes and onto the Tasman Peninsula, where they were imprisoned.

In its aftermath,  the 220 surviving members of the Aboriginal Population were relocated to the Wybalenna Aboriginal Mission on Flinders Island; where infectious diseases and a low birth rate cut the Aboriginal population down to 46 when the mission was closed in 1847.

(‘Black War’ can also refer to later conflicts between European colonists and Aboriginal Australians on mainland Australia.)

Next: Governor Arthur’s proclamation…