Countries of the English language. Страны английского языка. Учебное пособие

self-government in the mid-19th century, and an act federating the colonies into a commonwealth went into effect in 1901. Constitutional links allowing British interference into the governmental procedures were formally abolished in 1968, and Australia has started to play a major role in Asian and Pacific affairs. The debates about giving up its British ties and becoming a republic still occur.

Task 5.2. Read Text 5.2, find out the meaning of the new words. Develop a plan of a guideline with bullet points or a numbered list of short key statements. Use the History Guidelines in Tasks 3.1, 4.2 as a model for your plan. Compare and discuss the plans with your groupmates.

Text 5.2. Australian History Overview

Australia has long been inhabited by Aborigines, who began arriving at least 60,000 years ago and developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and oral histories. Estimates of the population at the time of European settlement in 1788 range from 300,000 to 1,000,000. It is also supposed by historians that China’s control of South Asian waters could have extended to a landing in Australia in the early 15th century. From the 12th century onward the Portuguese debated the issue of a terra australis incognita (Latin: “unknown southern land”) but a widespread European knowledge of Australia began with 17th-century explorations. In 1528, the Portuguese expeditions discovered the Australian landmass. The Dutch led by Abel Tasman landed on the continent in 1606–1644. They were the first Europeans to reach and land in Australia, explore and map the western and northern coasts. They named the continent New Holland but made no attempts to permanently settle it. Later, in 1688 the British landed as well, but the first large-scale expedition was that of English captain James Cook in 1770, which established Britain’s claim to Australia. Cook’s voyages led to settlement but did not complete the exploration of the Australian coasts.

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The first British settlement at Port Jackson, now Sydney, was founded in 1788 and consisted mainly of criminal convicts and seamen; convicts were to make up a large proportion of the incoming settlers. Great Britain began the colonisation of the continent and established New South Wales and then Tasmania as penal colonies to relieve the pressure upon its prisons, intensified by the loss of its American colonies, which until that time had accepted transported felons. Great Britain and Ireland sent more than 150,000 convicted criminals to Australia before ending the practice in 1868.

The reception of convicts was a major factor in social and economic life of the colony. Gradually, these people – working as farmers and graziers – began to expand their fields around Sydney. Within the course of the 19th century. Four more colonies were established: Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). The settlement of Melbourne and Adelaide date back to 1835 and 1837 respectfully. Finally, they came into more direct contact with Aboriginal Australians and met the issues of incompatible lifestyles.

These contradictions, along with contagious diseases brought into the land by Europeans and a policy in the 1900s that forcefully removed Aboriginal children from their parents, reduced the Aboriginal Australian population from more than 700,000 pre-European contact to a low of 74,000 in 1933.

At the same time, within the rigid military structure of the penal colonies, social and political factions started to develop. Most important was the assertion of the New South Wales Corps, stationed at Sydney from 1791. Some officers of the corps sought power and profit, which led to clashes with the early governors. This culminated in the events of 1808, an uprising known as the Rum Rebellion that deposed the Governor, who earlier got famous for the Bounty mutiny.

The governors were all service officers. There were no representative institutions, but in the 1820s executive and legislative councils were introduced. The colony was expected to be

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used for strategic purposes and as a springboard for economic exploitation of the area, but the maintenance of convicts entailed very considerable expenditure by the British government.

Wealth was won by the prisoners working in agriculture and supplying government stores with food and grain. Since the 1820s whaling and sealing as well has become an important part of income from Australia. Europeans were clearing land for agriculture and settling areas away from the coasts.

In the 1850s Australia experienced gold rushes that brought thousands of new immigrants to New South Wales and Victoria, helping to reorient Australia away from its penal colony roots. In 1854 diggers (miners) resented tax imposition and the absence of fully representative institutions. Discontent reached a peak at Ballarat, Victoria, at the Eureka Stockade, European troops and diggers clashed, and some were killed. This event became a background event for Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes

The Boscombe Valley Mystery.

The 1860s witnessed the development of the two bedrocks of Australian economic growth: sheep wool and minerals. The “squatter” – an illegal occupier of crown grazing land beyond the prescribed limits of settlement – became a stereotype of Australian history as the inroad of squatters contributed to the growth of the country’s wool industry and to the development of a powerful social class. Since that period wool has become the primary object of the Australian economy.

Through the period of 1850s to 1901 Australian colonies were all gradually granted self-government, when they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia. Although many Australians criticised Britain in the 1910s for being negligent of local interests, the dominant note was profound loyalty to the empire. Colonial troops had fought in both the Sudan and South African (Boer) wars. Australia fought alongside the British in World War I. Some 330,000 Australians served in World War I; 60,000 died, and 165,000 suffered wounds. The most famous engagement of the Australia and

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New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was in the Dardanelles Campaign (1915).

During the World War II (1938–1945) about 30,000 Australians died, and 65,000 were injured preventing Australia’s occupation by the Japanese. The Royal Australian Air Force was active in the defence of Britain. The Australian Navy operated in the Mediterranean Sea (1940–1941). Australian troops fought in the seesaw battles of North Africa. Australia severed most constitutional links with the UK in 1942, and in 1951 signed the Australia, New Zealand, and US (ANZUS) Treaty, cementing its military alliance with the United States. As a result, it joined the U.S. in the Korean (1950–1953) and Vietnam wars (1954–1970).

Australia’s post-war economy boomed and by the 1970s. While some groups suffered disadvantages, that period ranked as a golden age. The population nearly doubled by 1976, with expenditure per head increasing by roughly the same proportion. This prosperity reflected the general Western experience and depended much upon the export of basic commodities (wool and minerals). In 1962, Aboriginal people claimed for their rights, received the franchise and, for the first time, were to be counted in the national census. Aboriginal claims moved from wage equality with Europeans to land rights over territory with Aboriginal associations.

In the early 2000s, Australian politics became unstable with frequent attempts to oust party leaders. In 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US announced the AUKUS enhanced trilateral security partnership to maintain and expand the three countries’ edge in military capabilities and critical technologies. For example, Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the AUKUS security deal, tightening strategic ties with the US.

Task 5.3. Using the information from Tasks 5.1, 5.2 prepare a brief history chart (see the template in Table 5.1) for Australia. Choose the most important events, that influenced

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the future of the country and the people. Compare the chosen events with your group members. Try to explain the priority of your choice. Add or remove events after the group discussion to make the final version of the history chart.

Task 5.4. Study the information from Tasks 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and answer the case study questions.

1.What were the economic and political reasons for British colonisation of the Australian continent? Who were the first settlers and why other countries didn’t claim the territory for themselves?

2.What is the role of penal colonies in the history of Australia? How did they influence the agricultural lifestyle of European settlers? Describe the transformation of the Australian way of life from a penal colony to agricultural dominion.

3.What are historically the main products of the Australian economy and who are the squatters? How did the development of the European settlements and farms influence the aboriginal population of Australia?

4.What are the most important historic periods in the life Aboriginal Australians? Can you name the highest and lowest points of their development in the course of Australian history? What is the difference between aboriginal and European lifestyles in Australia?

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5. What was the role of Australia in the warfare of the 20th century? What were the main objectives of their participation in the World Wars I and II, American wars in Korea and Vietnam?

6. What is more politically reasonable for Australia: to maintain its historical connections with the UK as the Commonwealth member or develop the relations with the USA within the AUKUS block?

Task 5.5. Read Text 5.3, find out the meaning of the new words, retell.

Text 5.3. Australian Economy Overview

In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its proximity to East and Southeast Asia. The wars of the 20th century profoundly affected domestic affairs. Economically, the warfare acted as a super-tariff, benefiting especially textiles, glassmaking, vehicles, and the iron and steel industry. Such products as wool, wheat, beef, and mutton found a readier market in Britain, at inflated prices.

Today Australia has an enviable, strong economy with a per capita GDP comparable with the dominant West European economies. Robust business and consumer confidence as well as high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products fuelled the economy in recent years, particularly in mining states. The country’s economy is basically free enterprise; its largest components include finance, manufacturing, and trade.

However, drought and forest fires, massive import demand, infrastructure bottlenecks and a tight labour market constrained growth and contributed to a weakening of the Australian dollar. Tight global liquidity has challenged Australia’s banking sector, which relies heavily on international wholesale markets for funding. The current macroeconomic problems are

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the aging population and therefore workforce and the accepted export-led model. The challenges to the Australian economy are also associated with high post-pandemic inflation. Considering these factors, economic relations with China have become more stable in the 2020s and this is expected to provide a lift in the country’s economy.

Task 5.6. Prepare a description of Australian national symbols: the flag, the coat of arms, the national anthem, etc. Explain their historical meaning.

Task 5.7. Prepare a presentation on Australian culture: a popular writer / singer / artist / public figure / celebrity.

Task 5.8. Find any popular stereotypes about Australia and the Australians. Discuss the stereotypes in your group. Are the stereotypes true or false? Can they help understand Australian culture?

6. NEW ZEALAND

Task 6.1. Read Text 6.1, find out the meaning of the new words, retell.

Text 6.1. A General Overview of New Zealand

Polynesian settlers may have arrived in New Zealand in the late 1200s, with widespread settlement in the mid-1300s. They called the land Aotearoa, which legend holds is the name of the canoe that Kupe, the first Polynesian in New Zealand, used to sail to the country; the name Aotearoa is now in widespread use as the local Maori name for the country. Competition for land and resources led to intermittent fighting between different Maori tribes by the 1500s as large game became extinct. Dutch explorer Abel TASMAN was the first European to see the islands in 1642 but after an encounter with local Maori, he sailed away. British captain James COOK was the next European to arrive in New Zealand in 1769, fol-

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lowed by whalers, sealers, and traders. The UK only nominally claimed New Zealand and included it as part of New South Wales in Australia. Concerns about increasing lawlessness led the UK to appoint its first British Resident in New Zealand in 1832, although he had few legal powers. In 1835, some Maori tribes from the North Island declared independence as the United Tribes of New Zealand. Fearing an impending French settlement and takeover, they asked the British for protection. In 1840, the British negotiated their protection in the Treaty of Waitangi, which was eventually signed by more than 500 different Maori chiefs, although many chiefs did not or were not asked to sign. In the English-language version of the treaty, the British thought the Maori ceded their land to the UK, but translations of the treaty appeared to give the British less authority, and land tenure issues stemming from the treaty are still present and being actively negotiated in New Zealand.

The UK declared New Zealand a separate colony in 1841 and gave it limited self-government in 1852. Different traditions of authority and land use led to a series of wars from the 1840s to the 1870s fought between Europeans and various Maori tribes. Along with disease brought into the islands, these conflicts halved the Maori population.

In the 1890s, New Zealand initially expressed interest in joining independence talks with Australia but ultimately opted against it and changed its status to an independent dominion in 1907.

New Zealand provided more than 100,000 troops during each World War, many of whom fought as part of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). New Zealand reaffirmed its independence in 1947, signed Australia, New Zealand, and US (ANZUS) Treaty, and militarily supported the US in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Beginning in 1984, New Zealand began to adopt nuclear-free policies, contributing to a dispute with the US over naval ship visits that led the US to suspend its defence obligations to New Zealand in 1986.

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In recent years, New Zealand has explored reducing some of its ties to the UK. There in an active, minority movement about changing New Zealand to a republic, and in 2015–2016, a referendum on changing the New Zealand flag to remove the Union Jack failed.

Task 6.2. Using britannica.com/place/New-Zealand prepare a brief history chart for New Zealand (see the template in Table 6.1). Choose the most important events, that influenced the future of the country and the people. Compare the chosen events with your group members. Try to explain the priority of your choice. Add or remove events after the group discussion to make the final version of the history chart.

Task 6.3. Using britannica.com/place/New-Zealand and the information from previous topics about the government in Canada and Australia as a model, write a 250–300-word description of New Zealand’s governmental structure. Consider the following questions: 1) the capital of the country; 2) the formal and ruling heads of the country; 3) the 3 branches of power; 4) major political parties and issues they deal with.

Task 6.4. Read Text 6.2, find out the meaning of the new words, retell.

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Text 6.2. New Zealand Economy Overview

Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes – but left behind some at the bottom of the ladder – and broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector. Per capita income has risen. Debt-driven consumer spending drove robust growth, helping fuel a large balance of payments deficit that posed a challenge for economic managers. The economy fell into recession in 2008. In line with global peers, the central bank has cut interest rates aggressively; the new government is responding with plans to raise productivity growth and develop infrastructure.

Nowadays New Zealand is a high-income Pacific island economy with strong agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and energy sectors. Although reliant to a considerable extent on Chinese market for exports the country sustains its economic growth, specifically, after COVID-19 lockdown. Consumer price inflation will remain high in 2020es, amid global supply-chain disruption and strong domestic demand. The central bank is expected to increase its policy rate further in order to quell inflationary pressures and cool economic activity. New Zealand may avoid a technical recession, but growth will be below long-term averages.

Task 6.5. Case study questions.

1.What were the key issues in the relations between the aboriginal Maori population and the European settlers in New Zealand? How is the situation changing in recent decades?

2.What was the role of Great Britain in the history of the country? Characterise the current relations of New Zealand with Great Britain and the USA.

3.Is there an official religion in New Zealand? Why? Are there any religious misunderstandings between people in New Zealand? Give examples.

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