The document provides background information for a mock trial about whether white settlers should be punished for their treatment of Australian Aborigines. It introduces the claimants as the Aborigines, who were the original inhabitants of Australia, and the defendants as the European settlers who began arriving in the 1700s. It notes that conflicts arose as the settlers fought with the Aborigines for land and sought to colonize the continent and subjugate the indigenous people. The settlers had technological advantages with guns and horses compared to the Aborigines' spears. The information is meant to help student "councilors" prepare as the jury for the upcoming trial.