To begin my research on Australia I found it easy to start at the very beginning. I mainly focused on the colonization of Australia in order to obtain a general knowledge of the roots for today’s culture and government.
In order to understand the colonization of Australia, we must first look at England. During the 1700’s England was going through a major crisis. Many small farmers were losing their land and jobs, forcing many to turn to a life of crime in order to survive. This in turn caused England’s prison systems to become overcrowded, often times mixing hard criminals with petty criminals. And just when it seemed like things couldn’t get worse for England’s criminal system, the American colonies went to war, won, and refused to take any more of England’s prisoners. This forced English government to establish a new colony in which they could send their prisoners.
The English explorer James Cook had early sightings of Australia, and due to its remoteness and vast amount of land, England decided to settle it.
And so Australia started out as a colony of necessity. It seems like a very strange way for a country to have started, especially when looking at Australia today.
Many of the convicts that were sent to Australia were Irish, but soon the diversity greatly increased as many prisoners of war were also sent to Australia. Ethnic backgrounds ranged from Americans to Indians to Africans. Although Australia was created to house prisoners, the prisons in the new colony were also becoming crowded and required a vast amount of money to keep them up. This led to the “ticket of leave system” which allowed convicts of good behavior to begin a work program. This allowed convicts to integrate into society, and also gave English settlers free labor system that essentially helped build the colonies. This system is the very roots of today’s probationary and work release system that is used in prisons systems all over the world.
But, Australia was not just an island filled with criminals; eventually the English government realized its potential as a producer for goods. John Macarthur was a powerful officer in the Corps, in addition to his high ranking military position, Macarthur also aided in making Australia a settlement. As he transitioned to Australia, he brought with him a herd of sheep. The conditions of Australia were so perfect for sheep herding that he created fine wool that would become a huge export and money maker.
As other English citizens realized there was money to be made in Australia, they too made the journey and settled. But by the end of the 1830’s Australians wanted transportation to end. By now Australia had a good population of people, many of who had been born in Australia. The reasons they wanted transportation to end was because they wanted to be independent, and as long as prisoners were being sent, it wasn’t a possibility. Secondly, Australian laborers were having a hard time finding work because many employers used the free labor of convicts on work release. This was the very start of Australian politics.
I was very surprised by the fact that Australia was first colonized in order to hold prisoners. But due to these prisoners, and their work release programs they eventually became a part of the Australian population. Many of the buildings and towns that were created were based on the labor of many prisoners. Although it seems like an odd way to start a country, the prisoners were the ones to help create the society and culture that is there today.
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