A history of Tasmania's original inhabitants from pre-settlement to the present day. This edition includes a new introduction, two new chapters on the history up to Mabo, and a new appendix providing statistical evidence of the extent of Aboriginal resistance to the settlers.

Lyndall Ryan began research into the Tasmanian Aborigines in 1970 and, after publishing the first edition of this book in 1981, has expanded her research and teaching to include gender, race and class relations in colonial Australia. The second edition of this book is the result of continuing research into the Tasmanian Aborigines today. She is reader in Women's Studies at Flinders University.'...by far the best and most scholarly work on the Tasmanian Aborigines in the twentieth century.' Henry Reynolds, National Times'An enthralling read, the first comprehensive regional study of Aboriginal-European relations from 1800 to the present day.' Peter Dwyer, Weekend Australian Magazinesitish

List of illustrationsList of mapsAbbreviationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1 The Aboriginal landscape2 European visitors, 1642-18023 European invaders: the sealers, 1800-18374 European invaders: convicts and agriculturalists, 1803-205 European invaders: the pastoralists, 1820-286 War in the settled districts, 1829-31: the European response7 War in the settled districts: the Aboriginal response8 Robinson the conciliator, 1828-509 From conciliator to captor10 The resistance of the Aborigines beyond the frontier, 1832-3411 The reckoning12 Flinders Island 1835-39: false hopes and broken promises13 Flinders Island 1839-47: a push for independence14 The fragments15 The Islanders: emergence of a new Aboriginal community16 The Tasmanian Aborigines in the twentieth centuryConclusionAppendicesBibliographyIndex