Book contents
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume I
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I Regional Developments
- 1 Britain, the Industrial Revolution, and Modern Economic Growth
- 2 Continental Europe
- 3 Tokugawa Japan and the Foundations of Modern Economic Growth in Asia
- 4 China: The Start of the Great Divergence
- 5 From the Mughals to the Raj: India 1700–1858
- 6 Sustainable Development in South East Asia
- 7 The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1870
- 8 The Economic History of North America, 1700–1870
- 9 Latin America: 1700–1870
- 10 Africa: Slavery and the World Economy, 1700–1870
- 11 Australia: Geography and Institutions
- Part II Factors Governing Differential Outcomes in the Global Economy
- Index
- References
11 - Australia: Geography and Institutions
from Part I - Regional Developments
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 June 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume I
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I Regional Developments
- 1 Britain, the Industrial Revolution, and Modern Economic Growth
- 2 Continental Europe
- 3 Tokugawa Japan and the Foundations of Modern Economic Growth in Asia
- 4 China: The Start of the Great Divergence
- 5 From the Mughals to the Raj: India 1700–1858
- 6 Sustainable Development in South East Asia
- 7 The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1870
- 8 The Economic History of North America, 1700–1870
- 9 Latin America: 1700–1870
- 10 Africa: Slavery and the World Economy, 1700–1870
- 11 Australia: Geography and Institutions
- Part II Factors Governing Differential Outcomes in the Global Economy
- Index
- References
Summary
Geography and institutions both shaped Australia’s economic history. After 60,000 years continuous civilization, about 1 million people lived in all parts of the continent in 1700. Aridity, climatic unpredictability, and infertile soil influenced the development of a hunter-gatherer economy that was characterized by sophisticated technologies for food production, especially land management through fire, and kin-based distribution that ensured more than mere survival. Economic activity was governed by gender and age. There was considerable human and social capital in Aboriginal society. Competition for land arrived with British convicts in 1788 and accelerated with gold discovery in 1851 attracting more people, capital and impetus to self-government. A herding economy based on wool exports, food exports, and a busy coastal urban economy permitted a small European population very high real GDP per head from 1830, possibly the highest in the world. The absence of diseases dangerous to Europeans and low levels of income inequality underpinned their high average living standards. The impact of the European economy on the indigenous people caused a devastating depopulation of about two-thirds from starvation, European diseases, and settler violence, producing a stark contrast between the condition of the original population and the newcomers by 1870.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World , pp. 265 - 286Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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