Australia

Prehistory According to Australia, the prehistoric period is from the immigration of the original inhabitants to the first European sighting confirmed in It is considered that the Australian prehistory few thousand years is more extensive than elsewhere because there are no writings.

The first Australians were the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians today, arrived via land bridges and short sea steps length from Southeast Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers with a complex oral tradition and spiritual values based on the worship of the earth and in the belief of the time sleeping.

European exploration Records showing the discovery of the Australian continent by European expeditions, date back to the early 17th century.The first known sighting was in 1606 by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. Some writers have argued that Portuguese navigators discovered Australia in the 16th century and there is a map that probe it.

But officially the expedition of the Endeavour discovered Australia. The expedition was under command of British Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook navigated and charted the east coast of Australia, making first landfall at Botany Bay on 29 April He named it New South Wales.

British settlement and colonisation In New South Wales established a settlement at Sydney Cove by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January This date later became Australia's national day. Then in a few years later all the island was colonized by Britain. Between 1855 and 1890,Australia managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.

Federation and the World Wars On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a Dominion of the British Empire The Federal Capital Territory was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra.

The Federal Capital Territory was renamed to the Australian Capital Territory in The shock of Britain's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.

Post-war prosperity Following World War II the Australian government instigated a massive program of European immigration. Australia remains a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II the Queen of Australia; the 1999 referendum to establish a republic was marginally rejected. Australia and Britain remain significant. The Coral Sea Islands Territory was established as a Territory of the Commonwealth under the Coral Sea Islands. In 1989 when the Australian Capital Territory achieved self government.

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