On the Chinese Internet, there is a widely circulated paragraph about the origins of Australia. This is a bit sarcastic, but it also reveals the fact that Australia's initial development and construction were closely related to the British penal system of convicts and various criminals.
Although Britain stopped deporting convicts to overseas colonies in the mid-19th century, Australia did not become an independent sovereign state until 1931.
When Australia was first discovered, it was geographically huge, but it was neglected by the people of the Old World for a long time due to the high winds and rough seas and reefs in the northern seas.
Until the Age of Discovery, Europeans speculated that there should also be a huge land mass to the south of the earth, based on symmetrical imagination, but this speculation was never confirmed.
Even on the map of the Kingdom of France in 1542, although a large land mass is depicted to the south of the island of Java, this can hardly be considered evidence that Australia has been discovered in Europe, and is more likely to be a mere conjecture and actual coincidence.
Over time, the discovery of the Spice Islands led European colonists to flock to Southeast Asia to engage in a wave of exploration and geological exploration, and the outline of this vast continent became clearer in the vast ocean.
In the mid-16th century, a number of Portuguese and Spanish ships claimed to have discovered an entirely new continent in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, and a Spanish captain named it "Australia", meaning "continent of the south".
However, it was the Netherlands that actually set foot on Australian soil for the first expedition. In the mid-to-late 16th century, the Netherlands won independence from Spain through bloody battles, and quickly rose to become the largest maritime country in Europe, known as the "coachman of the sea".
The Dutch, seizing the opportunity of the decline of Portugal, quickly entered Southeast Asia and established a base in Java, forming seven Oriental ** companies, from which they made huge profits.
The Dutch's strong navy and spirit of exploration supported their commercial interests. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch were invincible, exploring the world, drawing maps and digging routes.
In 1606, a Dutch ship made its first landing in Australia for supplies while passing through the Torres Strait. Over the next few years, the Dutch gradually explored the west coast of Australia.
They also unexpectedly discovered that sailing from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa directly east to the west coast of Australia and then north into Southeast Asia was much faster than sailing along the coastline of the Asian continent from the Cape of Good Hope in the past.
This discovery prompted more and more ships to pass through Australia, and all European navigators learned of a new continent that had not yet been explored. However, the discovery of Australia did not spark a wave of colonization like the New World in the next half century, mainly because the exploration of Australia was considered a "losing trade".
At that time, the Dutch East India Company dominated Dutch interests in the East, and unlike the later British, the Dutch company was more commercial. The exploration of Australia seemed costly at the time, but there were no clear benefits in sight.
The large number of shipwrecks and the killing of Dutch sailors by the natives has given the company's management little interest, preferring to invest in well-established business models, such as buying and selling Indian rice and Chinese silk.
While a handful of explorers were adamant about investing more in Australia, their advice was met with skepticism from Amsterdam shareholders, who asked, "Why would we go to places that are so far away and unprofitable?" ”
In addition, a letter from a senior executive to the Dutch explorer Anthony van Diemen pointed out even more poignantly: "The search for gold and silver mines is not ...... your taskIn fact, we have found a way to obtain gold and silver treasures in the Indian Ocean. ”
As a result, for the next century, Australia was generally regarded as a barren undeveloped area. However, by the middle of the 18th century, an English captain who was keen to write succeeded in reversing this prejudice through his best-selling travelogues.
In 1768, the Royal Society applied to the Navy to send ships to observe the rare astronomical phenomenon of the transit of Venus. The application was approved, and the commander of the voyage was none other than the later famous Captain Cook, James Cook.
According to scientific calculations, the best observation point for the transit of Venus is on the island of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean. For Captain Cook, however, exploring new lands is much more fascinating than astronomical phenomena.
After completing his observations, he decisively adjusted his course on June 1, 1769, heading southwest.
After six months of exploration and mapping in New Zealand, Captain Cook decided to challenge the east coast of Australia, which was still shrouded in mystery, in 1770. On 20 April, his ships finally discovered the unknown east coast and landed at Botany Bay on the 30th, entering what is now Sydney Harbour.
Over the next few months, Cook explored the coast all the way north, naming it "New South Wales". When Captain Cook returned to England, his Captain Cook Diary was edited and published, documenting his amazing adventures, which immediately became a sensation throughout Europe and became a bestseller.
The legendary experiences depicted in this book have captivated many readers, including ordinary seafarers and French kings, and even young Napoleon. In the book, Australia is portrayed as a land of life, and Cook writes: "This vast land is bound to bring abundant returns as long as we grow and nurture with our industrious hands most of the grains we bring, such as fruits and root vegetables."
Forage is abundant all year round, and even herds of cattle can't eat enough. In addition to Cook's vivid description, American independence was an important factor in the British colonization of Australia.
How to settle these refugees who are in trouble because of their loyalty to the British Crown. At the same time, the independence of the United States also deprived Britain of the possibility of deporting criminals to the Americas.
Since the 18th century, the British have exiled criminals to colonies as a traditional form of punishment. However, with the independence of the United States, homegrown crime has not decreased. Instead, the prison is filled with criminals awaiting exile.
According to statistics, about 100,000 criminals were sentenced to exile at that time, but they could not be executed, which became a major problem for the United Kingdom. The British had tried to send these criminals to colonies in Africa, but the tropical climate made it difficult for them to adapt, and the ravages of malaria and fever were equivalent to the death penalty.
The famous politician Edmund Burke sharply criticized that sending criminals to Africa is not even as good as sending them directly to the gallows, at least with less torture in exile.
One solution was to create a new population colony on the east coast of Australia, discovered by Cook, and relocate all the criminals and royalists there. Australia's vast fertile land provides them with ample living resources, as well as opportunities to engage with India, China and Japan.
This plan was soon supported by the British, and the first settlement was established in New South Wales in 1786. However, the reality was different from what was originally envisaged, and the first inhabitants were mainly criminals, not royalists.
Because in the eyes of the British, it is unacceptable to allow loyal British citizens and criminals to be treated equally, as Bacon said: "It is a shameful and unfortunate thing to let scum and ** criminals become your labor partners." ”
The first fleet to Australia, led by British Governor Arthur Philip, consisted of 11 ships carrying more than 1,000 crew members and convicts. In January 1788, they arrived at Botany Bay, only to be surprised to find that the land was barren and swampy for cultivation.
Philip begins to question Captain Cook's choice, but they are far from home and cannot turn back. As a result, they could only continue to explore north. Luckily, it wasn't long before they discovered a beautiful and resource-rich bay.
It is a leafy place with all the resources needed to survive the settlement. Philip praised it as "the most beautiful harbour in the world" and named it "Sydney".
This was the beginning of the British colonization of Australia. In the early days of the construction and development of the colony, whips and nooses always accompanied their lives. Having to rely on supplies from the outside world, a storm can leave them without food.
The first colonists to arrive in Australia had the highest proportion of convicts, who were not highly motivated to work under supervised conditions. Philip also complained in the report that the criminals who were physically fit and nimble had stayed in England and had been sent by lazy and ignorant people.
He advocated the right to liberty for well-behaved criminals, and expected the British to send more experienced colonists to facilitate the construction of new colonies. However, not only are the generally capable citizens reluctant to start over in the inhospitable part of Australia, but even the British are reluctant to camp here.
Even though land was offered as a reward for the army to settle, the infantry regiments in New South Wales were still subject to frequent riots, resulting in every governor being required to deal with such incidents, and even one governor being deposed by the army.
Under these circumstances, the governors did not dare to restrain the soldiers, which led to an increasing deterioration of military discipline and affected the atmosphere of the entire colony. As a result, the British ** team, which was originally sent to manage the prisoners, became the biggest destabilizing factor in Australia.
1.The superiority of the officers' positions in importing and distributing rum allowed them to reap huge profits, which in turn led to problems with excessive drinking among soldiers and criminals, which in turn exacerbated the chaos of various social orders.
Not only did they monopolize the liquor trade, but they also began to control other commodities and even encroach on personal interests. Their private land is full of criminals, and the subsidies of ** are also embezzled by them.
The power of the army has even penetrated into the courts, resulting in the original civilian courts almost paralyzed, and the most important judicial power is in the hands of the army, making officers and soldiers more unscrupulous and domineering, and Australia has actually become a corrupt paradise ruled by the military.
2.Officers, due to the advantages of their positions, made a lot of profits on the import and distribution of rum, which led to the worsening of the problem of excessive drinking among soldiers and criminals, and aggravated the chaos of social order.
Not only do they monopolize the liquor trade, but they also control other commodities and even encroach on personal interests. Their private land is flooded with criminals, and the **subsidy is embezzled by them. The power of the army even penetrated into the courts, resulting in the original civilian courts almost paralyzed, and the most important judicial power was held by the army, making officers and soldiers more unscrupulous and domineering, and Australia actually became a corrupt paradise ruled by the military.
3.Officers had a position advantage in the import and distribution of rum, and they made a lot of profit through this route, which led to the aggravation of the problem of excessive drinking among soldiers and criminals, which aggravated the chaos of social order.
Not only do they monopolize the liquor trade, but they also control other commodities and even encroach on personal interests. Their private land is flooded with criminals, and the **subsidy is embezzled by them. The power of the army even penetrated into the courts, resulting in the original civilian courts almost paralyzed, and the most important judicial power was held by the army, making officers and soldiers more unscrupulous and domineering, and Australia actually became a corrupt paradise ruled by the military.
Despite this, the UK continues to transport criminals to Australia. This was mainly due to the fact that at that time British sentences were the harshest in all of Europe, and judges were free to sentence felons to exile.
Many of the crimes that now seem ridiculous, such as selling meat without a licence, stealing oysters, and graffiti in public, are considered felonies and sent to Australia along with kidnappers and murderers.
In addition to the excessive punishment, the unique business acumen of the British prompted a large number of criminals to be crammed into small, stuffy cabins. At that time, shipbuilders were given thirty pounds sterling for each convict they received, which allowed them to load as many people as possible regardless of the convict's living conditions, resulting in an extremely high mortality rate for convicts.
In 1790, a ship carrying 502 convicts left England, but 158 convicts were tragically killed during this perilous journey. In 1799, while 300 people boarded another ship, 95 died on arrival in Sydney.
These surviving criminals are all weak. Although they arrived in Australia, it did not mean that the suffering was over. Many criminals were forced to become serfs of officers, a phenomenon that had its roots in British regulations.
The Governor took control of the convicts' right to work and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Therefore, it was only natural for the governor to distribute this power to others.
In this work, the convicts were paid only tea and tobacco, not cash. Their other survival needs were unified by the colonial authorities**, which made their living conditions conceivable.
In the colonies, prisoners lived like purgatory, threatened with whips and nooses every day and night, and could be whipped and even lose their lives if they were not careful.
Irish convicts had united in revolt, but after being suppressed, 15 leaders were hanged, and the others were sentenced to two hundred to one thousand lashes. Many were beaten to death halfway through, only to wake up and dragged to continue receiving the rest of the whipping.
This injustice allowed the Australian authorities to gradually attract the attention of London**, especially after the abolition of black slavery in the United Kingdom, and they also realized that the prisoners in Australia were in another form of slavery.
After 1802, Britain took steps to transport convicts twice a year by specialized transport ships, and in 1810 disbanded the infantry regiments that had existed for many years, pushing the colonial governors to carry out reforms to improve the living conditions of convicts.
During the first 30 years of colonisation of Australia, it was up to the Governor to decide whether or not convicts could be freed, but since 1821, the Governor** has decreed that convicts of good behaviour can be freed for a certain period of time, even if they are sentenced to life imprisonment.
Since then, the living conditions of the convicts have improved significantly, and some convicts have even written to their fiancées in the UK, inviting them to come to Australia to marry and live together.
Historically, it was not the attitudes of London and the Governor that really drove social change in Australia, but the improvement of social productivity. In the early days, the colony was under difficult conditions of development and overpopulation, and it was unable to provide even basic food.
However, by 1823, there was a general shortage of labor in the colonies due to the expansion of arable land and the development of coal mines. Someone even applied for two thousand convict laborers in 1826, overwhelming the Governor.
In such a situation, labor becomes extremely valuable, and it is clear that forced labor is not as productive as that of a free man, so it is becoming easier and easier for criminals to regain their freedom.
These freed, we call them"Those who have been expelled from prison at the end of their sentences"After they returned to society, many of them used their strengths, some became pastors, businessmen, lawyers, teachers and even bank directors, and some lucky ones became Sydney's tycoons.
Of course, the struggle of the criminals themselves also played a key role. At the end of the 18th century, a large number of political prisoners involved in the Irish uprising were exiled to Australia. Brilliant and combative, these men quickly united the exiles and launched two major uprisings in the early 19th century.
Although the revolt was eventually suppressed, the resilience of the Irish made fears alike to the local governor and politicians in London, and the abolition of the penal system was inevitable.
In 1837, the British Parliament debated the penal system for two years, culminating in a decision in May 1840 to abolish the system of exile of convicts to Australia.
However, some conservatives and vested interests began to look for other ways to transport prisoners to Australia in order to maintain the system. What they fail to notice, however, is that Australia's native civil society has matured and that they urgently need to move away from the "prison" label, while also worrying that the convict labour will lead to a decline in local wages.
In Australia, a cruel system of blood and tears, the penal penal system, was finally brought to an end in 1855 amid opposition from cities such as Melbourne and Sydney.
Local newspapers were fiercely critical of the exile system, and the people of Melbourne rebelled against it by preventing convoys from entering the port. This system lasted for a total of 67 years, during which 100,000 people were exiled.