It's strange how many people like to think of the British Empire as being some sort of vast charity concern with its subjects best interests at heart.

At the end of the day it was a vast money making machine, which perhaps is one (pedantic) point that can be made against the opinions expressed in the opening post. Normally when the British Empire was doing something awful to its subjects it's in the name of making money (ie: Exporting food from India whilst Indians starve) or putting down challenges to British rule. Attempting to out and out exterminate certain ethnicites rarely figured. A good argument could be made for guilty as charged in the case of Tasmania however.