Port Jackson
On the 13th of May, in 1787, the British Government sent a fleet of 11 ships on a mission to start up a new colony led by Captain Arthur Phillip. Captain Arthur Phillip was born on the 11th of October, 1738, in London. Phillip went to school at Greenwich and later served an apprenticeship in the merchant navy. He was then transferred to the Royal Navy during the Seven Years War but then retired to become a farmer in Hampshire. After he served his time as Captain in the Portuguese Navy, Phillip re-joined the Royal Navy. Phillip was then asked to be governor of the penal colony at Botany Bay which brings us back to our story.
The British needed a new colony because of overcrowding in the English gaols and prison hulks. There was so many convicts because the laws back then were harsh, the punishment for murder was the same punishment given if you were caught stealing. Their goal was to get the convicts as far away from England as possible. They had a couple places in mind for the new colony to set up; America became out of the question after they had chosen to become an independent country and after attempts to settle in Africa had failed, they were forced to choose Botany Bay in New Holland (Australia). Captain James Cook had reported that Botany Bay was a suitable place for settlement after he had sailed the East Coast of Australia in 1770.
Out of the eleven ships headed for Botany Bay, six were transporting convicts, there were a total of 756 convicts and 200 of them were women. The convicts were crammed below the decks with many soldiers guarding them. The fleet sailed via the Canary Islands, Rio de Janiero and the Cape of Good Hope. The first ships arrived at Botany Bay in 1788, on the 18th of January. Phillip realised that Botany Bay was not as good as Cook and Banks had described it. The bay was too shallow and not protected from storms and strong winds. The land was either too sandy or too marshy and there wasn’t a good water supply.
A place called Port
The British needed a new colony because of overcrowding in the English gaols and prison hulks. There was so many convicts because the laws back then were harsh, the punishment for murder was the same punishment given if you were caught stealing. Their goal was to get the convicts as far away from England as possible. They had a couple places in mind for the new colony to set up; America became out of the question after they had chosen to become an independent country and after attempts to settle in Africa had failed, they were forced to choose Botany Bay in New Holland (Australia). Captain James Cook had reported that Botany Bay was a suitable place for settlement after he had sailed the East Coast of Australia in 1770.
Out of the eleven ships headed for Botany Bay, six were transporting convicts, there were a total of 756 convicts and 200 of them were women. The convicts were crammed below the decks with many soldiers guarding them. The fleet sailed via the Canary Islands, Rio de Janiero and the Cape of Good Hope. The first ships arrived at Botany Bay in 1788, on the 18th of January. Phillip realised that Botany Bay was not as good as Cook and Banks had described it. The bay was too shallow and not protected from storms and strong winds. The land was either too sandy or too marshy and there wasn’t a good water supply.
A place called Port