В 1788 г. началось заселение Австралии

On this day, a caravan of 11 ships flying the British flag approached the eastern coast of Australia that, after Cook’s surveys, had felt lonely for 18 years. The First Fleet, under the command of newly appointed colony governor Arthur Phillip, brought the first settlers to the ends of the earth – over 700 prisoners and 300 jailers. There would be no fortune for the southern continent, but another country’s independence helped: the United States that had split off the mother country unambiguously refused to accept foreign convicts. Lord Sydney, the British Minister of the Colonies and the duty-bound expert in all remote places, saved the situation. The Minister was thanked for that: the settlement founded by Arthur Phillip with his supervised people was named after him.