"The victory of the American colonists over their British rulers in the War of Independence near the end of the eighteenth century raised new dangers for the survival of the indigenous American Indian tribes. But it also spelled hard times for the Australian Aborigines. In search of new outlets for their growing population, both free and convict, the British formally established their first colony in the Antipodes, New South Wales, in 1788. Although the French also made some efforts to explore Australia during the same period, the British— perhaps through their North American experience— understood the importance of transporting colonists to establish a foothold in the new land mass. Magnificent harbors and rich land in Australia gave the British the confidence to send shiploads of both convicts and freemen to develop their new territories. The indigenous aboriginal tribes that lived in Australia and engaged in a variety of hunting and gathering occupations did not stand a chance against the new settlers, especially since the latter were backed by military units and armed militias. Although the British insisted that they meant no harm to the Aborigines and intended to protect their rights, the inherent conflicts between stock farmers, in particular, and the Aborigines soon led to violent resistance. In what became a familiar pattern in most settlements in the coastal regions of Australia, the Aborigines stole and slaughtered livestock of the interlopers to protect their lands, while the settlers engaged in massacres against the Aborigines. From the pre-colonization population of some 1 million Aborigines, only 31,000 survived by 1911, a devastating reduction of 97 percent."