Australia was seen as the ideal place to empty Britain's overcrowded prisons. At that time, the banishment of prisoners was the solution to this space problem. Australia seemed ideal as a penal colony because of its remoteness from the rest of the world.
On May 13, 1787, the first eleven ships left for the new colony with 600 sailors and soldiers on board and 568 male criminals, 191 women and 13 children. A year later, on January 26, 1788, they came ashore and the British flag was hoisted at a spot now called Port Jackson - just above Sydney. Today this day is still celebrated every year on January 26 as Australia Day. Captain Arthur Philip then became Australia's first governor.
The first years of the new British colony had various problems with, among others, the original inhabitants of Australia, the Aborigines. Australia was an uninhabited country for the British. They called it "Terra Nullius", which means empty land and therefore belonged to nobody. This is of course untrue, because the country actually belongs to the Aborigines.
The British were ruthless towards the Aboriginal people and expelled them from their land or killed them. But the new land itself was also difficult to inhabit at first due to lack of food and the confrontation with the flora and fauna unknown to the British. The ex-prisoners were put to work as forced laborers to cultivate the land.
Members of the newly formed New South Wales Corps were tasked with ensuring that everything went smoothly. However, this got quite out of hand. The Corps was more involved in a lucrative liquor business led by John Macarthur.
On May 13, 1787, the first eleven ships left for the new colony with 600 sailors and soldiers on board and 568 male criminals, 191 women and 13 children. A year later, on January 26, 1788, they came ashore and the British flag was hoisted at a spot now called Port Jackson - just above Sydney. Today this day is still celebrated every year on January 26 as Australia Day. Captain Arthur Philip then became Australia's first governor.
The first years of the new British colony had various problems with, among others, the original inhabitants of Australia, the Aborigines. Australia was an uninhabited country for the British. They called it "Terra Nullius", which means empty land and therefore belonged to nobody. This is of course untrue, because the country actually belongs to the Aborigines.
The British were ruthless towards the Aboriginal people and expelled them from their land or killed them. But the new land itself was also difficult to inhabit at first due to lack of food and the confrontation with the flora and fauna unknown to the British. The ex-prisoners were put to work as forced laborers to cultivate the land.
Members of the newly formed New South Wales Corps were tasked with ensuring that everything went smoothly. However, this got quite out of hand. The Corps was more involved in a lucrative liquor business led by John Macarthur.
