Reasons for the British decision to colonise Botany Bay in 1788

Since 1786, when the British government decided to transport their convicts to Australia, many people discussed and debated their real reasons. One of the main streams of thought is that the East coast of Australia was settled with the sole intention of relieving Britain's overcrowded prisons. This side of view is contemporary to the official position of the British Government at the time. Beside this, a second argument believes in another purpose. The British settlement of Botany Bay must be based on imperial reasons with a greater benefit than to simply separate convicts from society. The debate on the origins of the settlement in New South Wales continues and for both arguments evidence is available. Nevertheless the essay will explore the second view and show that the British government made a momentous decision based on non-convict motives like economic benefit or strategic naval moves.

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Essay from the year 2010 in the subject History - Australia, Oceania, grade: 1.7, University of Newcastle, course: Foundations of Australian History, language: English, abstract: Since 1786, when the British government decided to transport their convicts to Australia, many people discussed and debated their real reasons. One of the main streams of thought is that the East coast of Australia was settled with the sole intention of relieving Britain's overcrowded prisons. This side of view is contemporary to the official position of the British Government at the time. Beside this, a second argument believes in another purpose. The British settlement of Botany Bay must be based on imperial reasons with a greater benefit than to simply separate convicts from society. The debate on the origins of the settlement in New South Wales continues and for both arguments evidence is available. Nevertheless the essay will explore the second view and show that the British government made a momentous decision based on non-convict motives like economic benefit or strategic naval moves.