Settler Colonialism

 In The Secret River, Kate Greenvile uses Britain’s occupation of New South Wales, now known as Australia to show settler colonialism. A key moment in the novel that shows why the occupation is settler colonialism and not another form of colonialism is through Will saying that “the authorities had realized if the place was ever to sustain itself, it would be by free labor”. This shows that the authorities planned for New South Wales to become a British state, kind of, rather than eventually leave. Some of the long-term effects of settler colonialism, we have already started to hear about. For instance, the Aboriginal people have already started to pick up on English, as Blackwood tells everyone at Will’s new land that “one of the blacks had a bit of English”. Another example is how Will says that “everyone knew the blacks did not plant things”, but it obviously seemed like an aboriginal had planted things where Will claimed his land, which is probably just one of the effects of settler colonialism. 

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Between the two books, the natives in There There seem more intelligent and humane than in The Secret River. However the Aboriginals are extremely good hiders in The Secret River, which is probably where they focus their intelligence on and they spared Will, when it looks like he completely stole their land. Also we learn of and see the Aboriginals from Will’s perspective in The Secret River and he has a negative perception of them, while in There There we only see native americans from the perspective of a Native American.


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