Were the miners at Eureka traitors or revolutionaries? Justify your view.
A revolutionary wants to make a radical change. At Eureka the miners who hadn't found gold couldn't pay for their licences.The licence fee was 30 shillings a month which is equivalent to $200 today.
The diggers tried to tell the government their point of view. If you didn't find gold, you couldn't afford a licence. After Governor Hotham's visit things got worse. He ordered licences hunts twice a week.
Eventually 500 people built a stockade and swore "By the southern cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberty's." The troops snuck up on them before dawn. The battle lasted 20 minutes. The troopers won.
No-one involved was convicted of treason and the law was changed. There were no more gold licenses, only a Miner's Right which cost 1 pound per year. This gave them the right to mine for gold and have land for a house and garden. They could also vote. Eight new members of parliament were elected to represent the gold fields. This was the beginning of true democracy in Australia. Therefore, the miners were revolutionaries.
