Backbencher

Lecture one focused on the Maori and the Aborigine of New Zealand and Australia. Dr. Isern compared the terminology used to describe these native peoples to those of the Native Americans in the U. S. He spoke of the extinction of the Diprotodon, the Giant Sloth, and the Moa, due to the arrival of Europeans. He covered how the Aborigines used "firesticking" to "shape" their land and how the Maori adapted so well to the introduction of new methods and ideas.
I would have to honestly say that I chuckled a bit when I heard of the "terra mullius". It is so typical of white Europeans to "assume" that God and Crown gave them the right to the world. No matter what history course one takes; there they are, in all there pompous simplicity.
With this in mind, the most interesting things that I find throughout history are when someone looks at a group people (originally labeled as "savages") with an open mind and realizes the intelligence and adaptability of said people. It makes those who labeled them all the more foolish. In this case it would be the Aborigines and how they manipulated the land by "fire sticking", or how the Maori adapted to the ways (and at times excelled) of the newcomers.
I am curious about HOW the Aborigines fought ( in small skirmishes) the settlers. Were they actually small battles or did they use weapons of the weak: steal livestock, burn homes, refuse to leave a particular area, etc.