Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

The original inhabitants of Australia were more than expected

Before the arrival of the First Fleet, Australia was inhabited by more people than expected, and the massacre caused by colonization was greater than expected.

A study by researchers from several Australian universities suggested that before the European invasion of 1788, the population of the continent was 2.22 million people. This figure is far from previous estimates that indicated that its population ranged from 250,000 to one million people.

According to the authors, by the time of the first censuses in Australia, the native population was severely weakened by disease and violence. Therefore, previous population estimates were low.

“after 73 years, only 7% of the original population survived.”

For the new calculation, researchers have reviewed ethnographic observations and archaeological and genetic studies. In addition, the maximum population size of people who could live throughout the continent has been calculated. The results show that the pre-colonization population was much larger than what the first censuses concluded.

With this estimate, and to match the figures with the first censuses, the new approach suggests that, 73 years after the arrival of the First Fleet, only 7% of the original population survived and 28,200 people died each year.