Tasmania

History:
Tasmania, located off the south shore of Australia, use to be a part of Australia itself quite a while ago. Rising sea levels cut off this land mass and created the area known as Tasmania. There were roughly 5,000-10,000 indigenous Tasmanians when the British discovered the island in 1804. Just like Australia, the British were greedy for more land so they invaded this island. The tide of new settlers and conflict caused the destruction of the culture of the indigenous people and the population itself. In 1832 the last free groups of indigenous Tasmanians were basically sent to a concentration camp on Findlers Island, and in 1847 the survivors of that were returned to Oyster Cover near Hobart. By 1876, the last of them had died. In 1901, the island became a state in the New Commonwealth of Australia.

Why was it settled?
Well, the first reason was just pure greed for new land. Once the British started sending convicts to this island in 1822 (due to overpopulation), this island could be considered a penal colony. Later on, some of its purposes included being a very important whaling fleet homeport; and it was very rich in mining and agriculture.

Contributions now:
Agriculture-- potatoes, peas, beans, and carrots. Also, they produce among the finest and most expensive wool in the world.
Mining-- leading producers of zinc, and recently major mines of gold, silver, iron and tin have been discovered.
Forestry-- fueled by its fine state's plantation timber.
Tourism-- this a huge part of this countries economy due to its pristine environment and diverse attractions along with natural characteristics of the state (seafood)