On behalf of Great Britain, Captain James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia in 1770. He declared Australia to be Terra Nullius, meaning " the land belonging to no one. Under 18th-century law, people in another country could legally acquire land that had no owner. British colonization began with the arrival of the First Fleet to establish a penal colony in what became Sydney in January 1788. However, before British colonization, it is estimated that there were at least 300,000 Aboriginal and Islander people in the Torres Strait in Australia and over 500 different people. clan groups or “nations” across the continent, many of which have distinct cultures and beliefs. Therefore, the event of British colonization is described by many historians as the European invasion of Australia. After 1788, the British continued to seize land and gave little thought to compensating the Indigenous Australians they had displaced. The indigenous population lost access to sources of food and water that they were once able to use freely, as well as to their various sacred sites. The Aboriginal community found themselves living in a world ruled by locals who believed that people with white skin were superior to those of other races. From the mid-19th century, Australian governments began to implement various "protection" policies which, in effect, segregated Aboriginal people. people in Australian society, consuming their daily lives. These laws restricted the areas in which Aboriginal people could live and work, limiting their access to wages, prohibiting the practice of Aboriginal traditions, limiting admission to education, removing Aboriginal children from families and denying the environment 'education. paper ......ratif | Exploration of the New World and English ambition. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr2.html [Accessed June 8, 2014]. Robson, P. (2014). 222 years of indigenous struggle | Treaty Republic – Australia's Indigenous sovereignty, genocide, land rights and rent payment issues. [online] Treatrepublic.net. Available at: http://treatyrepublic.net/content/222-years-aboriginal-struggle [Accessed June 9, 2014].Royal.gov.uk, (2014). [online] Available at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Australia/Historyandpresentgovernment.aspx [Accessed June 8, 2014].Scholastic Teachers, (2014). African American History | Scholastic.com. [online] Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/african-american-history [Accessed June 8, 2014]. Woods, M. (nd). What 21st century historians say about the causes of disunity. 1st ed..