Help with Question about Economic History (Australian)

Hi Guys, i'm really having troubble "understanding" this question, i think im approaching it in the completley wrong way :

"In the period of exclusively Indigenous settlement of Australia, economic development involved humans adapting to Australia's geography. By contrast, in the period of European settlement, Australia's geography has been forced to adapt to economic development." Discuss these statements.

Could someone please try and help me break down this question so i can start to properly plan my essay?

Thanks.

Greetings!

I'd be glad to help! This reminds me of the old joke, "how do you eat an elephant? ... one bite at a time!" Let's take it one bite at a time to make it more manageable.

"In the period of exclusively Indigenous settlement of Australia, economic development involved humans adapting to Australia's geography." - I've never visited Australia, but my understanding is that it is, over much of the continent, a very wild place, full of inhospitable weather and hazardous wildlife. This means that it was necessary for the natives to learn to deal with what nature presented them, and try to turn it to their advantage -- or at least, keep it from killing them! You'll have to do some research to learn how the indigenous people managed this.

Now, let's look at the second half, "in the period of European settlement, Australia's geography has been forced to adapt to economic development." - As technology advanced, so did humans' ability to control the environment. I know that in America, for instance, great rivers were tamed by dams to control flooding and provide a water resource for growing cities. I would imagine it's similar in Australia. Where there's development, forests are cleared, mountains are blasted, lakes are formed by dams, roads cut through previously unoccupied (except for wildlife) areas, which, as we now know, has a big impact on the environment; it changes the geography of the land.

I hope this helps give you some ideas for where to start! Best of luck!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com

Hi Sarah, Thank you for your reply.

I follow what you're saying for the First part of the question, but for the second part i dont quite understand how Australias Geography is being forced to adapt to economic development?, And i'm really not sure what to research here inorder to answer this question, Could you please give me a few pointers..

Thanks.

Greetings!

I would suggest researching what types of economic development there have been, and looking for any impact this development may have had on the environment. Have large amounts of areas been deforested? Have rivers been "tamed" because of dams needed for the creation of a stable water supply? You'll need to know what types of development have happened, probably, before you can see the effect on the geography. Look for trends in industry; try search terms like "development," "economy," "new business" and so forth to see if you can find out what types of economic development there have been.

I hope this helps!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com