What impact did the arrival of the First Fleet have on the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia?

Answer 1

The arrival of the First Fleet had lasting effects on the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia.

Convicts of the First Fleet were put to work immediately on building projects, particularly roads, and farming. They cleared the land and native plants, and prepared the ground for tilling and planting. This had an impact on native hunting grounds. This was the first example of early settlement impacting upon the pristine natural land and Australia's native flora and fauna.

The arrival of the First Fleet had other lasting effects upon the indigenous people of Australia. When the white settlers came, the Aborigines were dispossessed of their land and, much later, "encouraged" onto reserves, supposedly for their protection. They were forced off their traditional hunting grounds, and certainly herded away from the fertile coastal areas where there was plenty of food. White settlers wrecked the very effective native fishing traps, cleared native habitats and reduced the native food supplies, as well as polluting their water.

Massacres of the indigenous people occurred on a regular basis, although this was not initially a problem associated with the First Fleet, but rather, once settlement had been established for a few years. The Europeans also introduced foods and diseases, all of which were perfectly harmless to the white settlers, but lowered the life expectancy of the aboriginal people. Simple diseases like Measles and Influenza had devastating effects on Aborigines. Foods containing wheat and sugar resulted in Heart disease and obesity among the indigenous Australians. Europeans introduced new flora and fauna which took over native habitat, leading to the extinction of many plants and animals on which the Aborigines relied.