How Does Ethnocentricity Cause Conflict?

Ethnocentricity is what caused conflict between the British and the Aboriginals when the British first arrived in Australia to colonize and take over the land. The ethnocentric eyes the British looked through when first coming into contact with the Aboriginals is what caused them to form racist first opinions, which would later lead to conflict. When the British first saw the Aboriginals, they believed they were animals or some strange creature, because they had dark skin which was foreign to the British, and wore very little clothing. The British first described the Aboriginals as barbaric and uncivilized, just because their culture was different from the British’s. These accusations were affected by the ethnocentricity of the British. They were very ignorant to ignore the fact that not all cultures were going to be the same as theirs, but in their minds, anything any different from the background that they come from, was wrong, and not nearly as good as theirs. This was another key starter in conflict because Aboriginals did not think they should be treated any worse than any of the British people, just because they looked different or had different cultures. The act of standing up for their rights, and trying to get back what was theirs, started conflict between the two nations. The ethnocentricity of the British towards the Aboriginal culture is what caused conflicts between the two nations, such as the battle for crop space. Once the British claimed Australia as their own, they started taking big steps to commit harsh acts, such as replacing the Aboriginal crops with their own. The British seemed to think that they deserved more respect than these “beasts” and therefore figured their needs were much more important than those of the Aboriginals. Another ongoing event that caused conflict between the two races was that any half-cast children (half Aboriginal half white) were spotted, reported, captured, and taken to camps, where they were treated like slaves, only fed and clothed. The children were forced into the “white way of life” and were punished for wrong doings, and were not even allowed to speak their native language. Overall in this time period, the ethnocentricity of the British caused conflict with the Aboriginals because their cultures were both very different, and it was not possible for the British to comprehend the beliefs of the Aboriginals, and therefore they fought for what they loved.