In January 1788, eleven ships of the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove carrying over a thousand people, including several hundred convicts, along with marines and officials, establishing Britain's first European settlement in Australia.

Background

Britain turned to establishing a penal colony in Australia partly after losing the option of transporting convicts to its former American colonies following the American Revolution, seeking an alternative destination to relieve overcrowded prisons.

“Losing one set of colonies pushed Britain to found another, an ocean and a hemisphere away.”

The Key Events

The settlement's arrival marked the beginning of sustained European colonization of Australia, a process that brought devastating disease, violence, and land dispossession to Aboriginal communities who had lived on the continent for tens of thousands of years.

Legacy and Lasting Impact

Transportation of convicts to eastern Australia continued for decades before ending in the mid-19th century, and the colony's convict-era origins remain a significant, still openly discussed thread in modern Australian national identity.

Quick facts
  • The First Fleet comprised eleven ships and arrived in January 1788.
  • Convict transportation to eastern Australia continued into the mid-19th century.
  • The colony's founding began a long, often devastating period of dispossession for Aboriginal Australians.
Australia Colonial History 18th Century

References & Further Reading

  1. State Library of New South Wales, First Fleet collection
  2. Robert Hughes, *The Fatal Shore*
  3. Britannica, entry on the colonization of Australia
  4. National Museum of Australia, First Fleet and early colony exhibits