What happened when European colonists arrived in Australia?

The First Fleet originally arrived in Australia at Botany Bay on January 18, 1788.

The fleet consisted of 11 ships, carrying over 1400 people, including 700 convicts. The majority of the convicts were male, but there were also around 200 women and children.

However, after just a few days at Botany Bay, Arthur Phillip decided that the location was unsuitable for a colony and began to search for an alternative site.

He eventually decided to move the new colony to Sydney Cove, which is where the current-day city of Sydney is located, arriving on 26 January 1788.

This day is currently now commemorated as Australia Day. 

The British government chose Captain Arthur Phillip to be in charge of the new colony as he was an experienced sailor who had served in the Seven Years' War.

He believed in the importance of treating people fairly. This would later prove to be important in his dealings with the Indigenous Australians.

When he arrived in Sydney, Captain Phillip immediately set about establishing some basic rules for the new colony.

As governor, he was responsible for the welfare of all the colonists, both free and convict.

He also made it clear that theft and violence would not be tolerated. 

The British government had hoped that the new colony would be a self-sufficient community, but this was not to be.

The soil in Sydney Cove was poor and there was very little water. The colonists were therefore forced to rely on the goodwill of the local Indigenous people for food and other resources.

The first few years of the colony were extremely difficult. There was a shortage of food which led to starvation, and many of the convicts were sick.

In a letter he wrote to Lord Sydney in 1788, Phillip said that the colony was 'in a most distressed state' but that he was willing to remain in charge as long as was required.

However, in 1789, things became so bad that Captain Phillip considered abandoning the colony and sailing back to England.

Eventually, though, he decided to stay and try to make the colony work.

A controversial decision made by Arthur Phillip was to allow convicts to own land. 

This was something that was not allowed in other British colonies. However, Phillip believed that it would help to encourage the convicts to make a success of the new colony.

This decision resulted in the displacement of the Indigenous people who were already living in the area.

The convicts were put to work building houses and roads and farming the land.

They were also used as a source of cheap labor for businesses. This led to the development of a class system in which the free settlers were at the top, followed by the convicts, and then the Indigenous Australians.

Phillip is regarded as an enlightened leader for his timely recognition of the importance of peaceful coexistence with Indigenous Australians.

One of the most important things Arthur Phillip had to decide was how to deal with the Indigenous Australians who were living in Sydney at the time.

There were around 1500 of them, belonging to about 30 different tribes. They had their own language and culture and were completely unfamiliar with the British.

Captain Phillip's first encounter with the local Indigenous people took place on 29 January 1788, just two days after the colonists had arrived in Sydney Cove.

This meeting was recorded by one of Phillip's officers, Watkin Tench:

"A party of men, women and children were collected on the rocks near the cove; they seemed very timid, and we could not prevail upon them to come down. Mr. White [one of Phillip's officers] went up to them with a flag in his hand, and made signs of friendship, but they only answered by looking at him without appearing to understand what he said.

Two men then advanced from the rest, and came within fifty yards of the party; these we supposed to be chiefs. They were both armed with spears, clubs and shields, and had their bodies painted with a sort of red ochre, which had the appearance of being mixed with grease. They made many gestures, but we could not understand them."

The First Nations peoples were understandably wary of these strange new people who had arrived in their land.

However, Phillip was keen to establish friendly relations and so he sent out parties of men to explore the area and try to learn more about the local people.

He also arranged for some of the Indigenous people to be brought down to Sydney Cove so that they could be observed more closely. 

Captain Phillip decided that the best way to deal with them was to try and make peace.

He made it clear that he did not want to fight them and that he wanted to live in harmony.

To help achieve this, he established a policy of mutual respect, which meant that the British would not interfere in their way of life and the Indigenous Australians would not interfere with the British. 

One of Phillip's main goals was to find a way to communicate with the Indigenous people.

He eventually succeeded in doing this with the help of a young Indigenous man named Bennelong.

Bennelong had been captured by the British and taken back to Sydney Cove, but he managed to escape and return to his tribe.

However, he soon became curious about these strange new people and so he decided to go back to Sydney Cove of his own accord. 

Bennelong learned English and was eventually given a job as an interpreter. He helped to establish friendly relations between the British colonists and the local Indigenous people.

He also acted as a go-between, helping to negotiate trade deals between the two groups. 

Bennelong became a close friend of Captain Phillip and was even given the honor of eating dinner with him on several occasions.

Unfortunately, Bennelong's life was not always easy. He often found himself in the middle of conflict between the British and the Indigenous Australians.

In 1792, he was taken hostage by some of his fellow tribe members after a dispute over land.

He was eventually released but he decided to stay in Sydney Cove for fear of being killed if he returned home.

Bennelong sailed to England with Arthur Phillip, who had to leave Australia due to poor health.

However, Bennelong became homesick and returned to Australia in 1795. 

Bennelong eventually settled on the land now known as Bennelong Point, where he built a hut and grew crops.

He continued to act as an intermediary between the British and the Indigenous people and was even given his own land. 

Bennelong is remembered as one of the most important figures in the early history of Australia.

Arthur Phillip's decisions about the Indigenous Australians have had a lasting impact on the way Australia is now shaped.

While his policy of peaceful co-existence was initially successful, it eventually broke down due to misunderstandings and mistrust on both sides.

The Indigenous Australians were concerned about losing their land and culture, while the British were concerned about the safety of their colony.

This led to conflict and, eventually, the displacement and destruction of many Indigenous Australian tribes.

The British also introduced a number of new animals to Australia, including sheep, cattle, and rabbits.

These animals quickly spread across the country, leading to widespread environmental damage.

The most significant impact was on the Indigenous people, who lost access to many of their traditional hunting grounds.

Despite these negative impacts, Arthur Phillip is still remembered as an important figure in Australia's history.

He was responsible for the establishment of the British colony in Sydney and laid the foundations for the city that exists today.