Naslov
Botany Bay: Where Cultures Converge

Autori
Markasović, Valentina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, ostalo

Skup
ISHA Seminar "Memory Spaces"

Mjesto i datum
Marburg, Njemačka, 07.01.2019. - 13.01.2019

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
Botany Bay ; Australia ; James Cook ; Aborigines

Sažetak
In the year of 1768, a British navigator and explorer by the name of James Cook set out on a journey whose purpose was originally scientific, as the point was the reach Tahiti in time to observe the transit of Venus in April 1769. Cook and his ship Endeavour captained a fleet that rose to fame less thanks to its scientific endeavours and more because of landing on the shores of a land mass that had then not yet been claimed. Unexpectedly, the British fleet was forced to seek refuge by the South-East side of this uncharted continent – Australia – and to enter a bay henceforth called Botany Bay. The bay was named so appropriately due to its rich flora, with species yet unknown in Europe and the Americas. Among the crew of Cook's fleet there was a botanist, Joseph Banks, whose importance lies not only in his research, but also in the fact that it was he who, in 1779, suggested Botany Bay as a perfect place for the transportation of convicts. This started an influx of Europeans into Australia – most people went unwillingly, as convicts, but very often the families of convicts would follow their family members on the journey. But, inevitably, they came into contact with the people who were already living there. The Aborigines – called the 'Noble Savages' by the Europeans – suffered from the hands of the 'white man' from the start, be it from diseases, alcohol, or outright violence. This is why Botany Bay, as the place of the first contact, is immensely important in the Australian history. The landing of Governor Phillip's fleet (26 January 1788) in Botany Bay is today celebrated as Australia Day, but the indigenous population commemorates the day as 'Invasion Day' or 'Survival Day'. Cook's landing in the same place is also important, not only in the Australian culture, but in its historiography, as it is often used as the starting point of Australian national history, hence starting a debate on whether the Australian national sense began to develop with the arrival of the British explorer or with the arrival of the convict fleet in 1788.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
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