Convict transportation in global context, c. 1700–88

Abstract

On 18 January 1788 the Royal Navy's armed tender, Supply, sailed into a large estuarine inlet on the eastern seaboard of the continental mass of Australia. This was a place that British vessels had been to before. James Cook had visited in April 1770, naming it Sting Ray Harbour on account of the large number of fish of that species netted by the crew of the Endeavour. He later renamed the expanse of water Botany Bay - a reference to the haul of exotic plants garnered by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, the expedition's scientists. Yet it was the subsequent visit of the Supply that was to make Botany Bay a British household name. Over the following two days a collection of six blunt-nosed and round-bodied transport vessels slipped into the harbour, accompanied by three store ships and HMS Sirius. On board were officers, seamen and marines, plus 736 convicts. This 'First Fleet' was a harbinger of things to come. Over the next So years it would be followed by a further 8oo transports that would deliver a total of 16o,ooo convicts to Britain's Australian colonies.