Convict Colony: The Remarkable Story of the Fledgling Settlement that Survived Against the Odds by David Hill

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Pages are sunned.

The British plan to settle in Australia was a high-risk venture. We now take it for granted that the first colony was the basis of one of the most successful nations in the world today. But in truth, the New World of the 18th century was dotted with failed colonies, and New South Wales nearly joined them.

The motley crew of unruly marines and bedraggled convicts who arrived at Botany Bay in 1788 in leaky boats nearly starved to death. They could easily have been murdered by hostile locals, overwhelmed by an attack from French or Spanish expeditions, or undone by the Castle Hill uprising of 1804.

Yet Sydney survived and thrived through fortunate decisions, a few remarkably good leaders, and good luck.

Bestselling historian David Hill tells the story of the first three decades of Britain's earliest colony in Australia freshly and compellingly. (back cover)