Why did the british send the first fleet to new south wales?

Answer 1

The British decided to send the First Fleet to New South Wales for the following reasons:

1. To expand the British empire, and prevent the French from gaining a foothold in the Australian continent or in that part of the Pacific.

2. The continent had Natural Resources and raw materials which England wanted.

3. Primarily: to solve the problem of Britain's overcrowded prisons by establishing a new penal colony in a land which showed promise for eventually becoming self-supporting.

4. Sir Joseph Banks, one of three botanists aboard James Cook's The Endeavour which charted the eastern coast of Australia in 1770, was a passionate advocate of British settlement and colonisation of the Australian continent. Cook claimed the eastern coast of Australia ("New South Wales") for Britain in 1770. It was largely upon his and Banks's recommendation that Australia ultimately was colonised.

Answer 2

The British decided to send the First Fleet to Australia's east coast - then known as New South Wales - for the following reasons:

1. To expand the British empire, and prevent the French from gaining a foothold in the Australian continent or in that part of the Pacific.

2. The continent had natural resources and raw materials which England wanted.

3. Primarily: to solve the problem of Britain's overcrowded prisons by establishing a new penal colony in a land which showed promise for eventually becoming self-supporting.

4. Sir Joseph Banks, one of three botanists aboard James Cook's The Endeavour which charted the eastern coast of Australia in 1770, was a passionate advocate of British settlement and colonisation of the Australian continent. Cook claimed the eastern coast of Australia ("New South Wales") for Britain in 1770. It was largely upon his and Banks's recommendation that Australia ultimately was colonised.

Answer 3

The British Government decided to establish a colony in Australia and sent 11 ship loads of people, including convicts, to do it.

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.

The advantage of sending the convicts to Australia was that there was very little likelihood that they would return to Britain - and indeed, most of them stayed to help establish the new colony, because opportunities were better for them in Australia.