Black War

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Black War
Part of the Australian frontier wars
An 1833 painting of Aboriginal Tasmanians attacking John Allen's Milton Farm near Great Swanport
Date Mid-1820s–1832 Location Tasmania Result British control of Tasmania
Belligerents
British Empire	Aboriginal Tasmanians
Casualties and losses
Dead: 219 Wounded: 218 Total: 437[1]	600–900 dead

The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832, as British settlement spread rapidly over the traditional Aboriginal lands.

The conflict was fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides; some 600 to 900 Aboriginal people and more than 200 British colonists died.^[2][3] The near-destruction of the Aboriginal Tasmanians and the frequent incidence of mass killings is regarded by many contemporary historians as an act of genocide by the colonists. Others, however, argue that the colonial authorities did not intend to destroy the Aboriginal population.^[4]