How and why did the First Fleet occur?

Answer 1

The First Fleet travelled from Portsmouth, England to Santa Cruz, Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

After that, it journeyed to Rio de Janeiro and on to Cape Town.

It sailed along the southern part of the Australian continent, around Van Diemen's Land to Botany Bay. botany Bay proved unsuitable for settlement, so the Fleet moved to Port Jackson and Sydney Cove.

The First Fleet came this way because this was the known route which earlier explorers had charted. The skippers knew where the established ports were, and what weather conditions to expect along the way.

Answer 2

The First Fleet made three stops on the way from Portsmouth, England to New South Wales.

• From Portsmouth, Britain to Tenerife in the Canary Islands , off the north western coast of Africa.
• From the Canary Islands, the Fleet passed the Cape Verde Islands, off the west coast of Africa, but strong winds prevented the Fleet from stopping there. From the Cape Verde islands the Fleet moved on to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, where it reprovisioned.
• The next stop was the Cape Town, on the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), from where it continued on to New South Wales.

The entire journey of the First Fleet lasted 8-9 months. Along the way, new supplies of fresh meat, fruit and vegetables were required in order to maintain the utmost health of the crew, the officers and marines, and even the convicts. The only to obtain these was to make stops at major ports.

Answer 3

The First Fleet occurred because, for various reasons, the British Government chose to establish a colony in New South Wales, claiming the land for its empire. The First Fleet involved sending 11 ship loads of people, including convicts, to colonise the land.

Conditions in England in the 18th century were tough: the industrial revolution had removed many people's opportunities to earn an honest wage as simpler tasks were replaced by machine labour. As unemployment rose, so did crime, especially the theft of basic necessities such as food and clothing. The British prison system was soon full to overflowing, and a new place had to be found to ship the prison inmates. The American colonies were no longer viable, following the American war of Independence. Following Captain Cook's voyage to the South Pacific in 1770, the previously uncharted continent of New Holland proved to be suitable. Cook had claimed the eastern half of the continent for England, naming it "New South Wales", and determined that a small bay in the south which he named "Botany Bay" would present the ideal conditions for a penal colony.

On 18 August 1786 the decision was made to send a colonisation party of convicts, military and civilian personnel to Botany Bay, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, who was appointed Governor-designate.

Answer 4

The First Fleet took less than a year to reach Australia. The First Fleet departed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787, and reached its final destination in New South Wales on 26 January 1788. It made a number of stops along the way in order to resupply, with each stop lasting 3-4 weeks.

Answer 5

The skippers of the First Fleet followed navigation charts which combined the knowledge of the Dutch explorers who charted the western coast of the Australian continent, with the new knowledge James Cook had added following his journey to the South Pacific. They used the stars and constellations of the Southern Hemisphere, particularly the Southern Cross, to help guide them in unfamiliar waters.

Answer 6

The First Fleet came from Portsmouth in England.

The ships first arrived in Botany Bay, but moved north to Port Jackson, which is where the first settlement was established.