A Penal Colony
History: KS3, topic 6.5.1
Australia
Australia was established as a British penal colony in 1788 after a fleet set sail from Britain in 1787. However, this had serious repercussions for the native people.
North America
- Before the War of Independence, Britain had sometimes used North America as a place to put prisoners it did not want to keep in Britain.
- However, American independence meant that this was no longer an option, and the growing British population and harsh justice system meant that Britain’s prisons were becoming severely overcrowded by the 1780s.
Penal colony
- The government decided the solution to this would be to transport some of the convicts (prisoners) to Australia, which the British had very recently colonised, and imprison them there. - This is known as a penal colony (the word ‘penal’ comes from ‘to penalise’ or ‘to punish’).
Convicts
- In 1788, the first group of convicts arrived in Australia - there were around 500 males and 200 females.
- By 1830, around 3000 British prisoners were arriving in Australia each year.
- By 1868, around 180,000 Britons had been transported to Australia as convicts.
Sheep farming
- However, it was not just convicts who settled in Australia.
- Many British people migrated to Australia, bought big plots of land, and made comfortable lives for themselves.
- Sheep farming became a key economy, with wool and meat being exported back to Britain.
Release
- After the convicts transported to Australia had served their time in prison (usually 7 years), they were able to make a life for themselves in Australia.
- Many stayed to work on the land of those who had settled in Australia, and some were eventually able to buy plots of land of their own.
Test yourself on A Penal Colony
When was Australia established as a British penal colony?