EDEXCEL A LEVEL HISTORY- THE BRITISH EMPIRE- AUSTRALIA PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

EDEXCEL A LEVEL HISTORY - THE BRITISH EMPIRE - AUSTRALIA PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS When did the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay? ✅18th January 1788 Who was in command of the First Fleet? ✅Arthur Phillip Who was aboard the fleet? ✅Convicts who had been transported rather than receiving the death penalty Why was a prison colony in New South Wales necessary? ✅Petty crime was spiralling out of control in Britain and prisons were becoming overcrowded What was seen to cause the increase in crimes and why? ✅Industrial revolution - many people struggled to survive and resulted to petty crime Who was Australia already home to for 40,000 years? ✅Aborigines However, what was the Latin term that meant it was 'nobody's land'? ✅Terra Nullis How successful was the journey of the First Fleet? ✅Very - there were only 69 deaths, desertions or discharges and no ships were lost Who was the botanist that claimed Botany Bay had fertile soil? ✅Joseph Banks However, what did Botany Bay actually lack? ✅Fertile soil and water On the 26th of January, where did Phillip go from Botany Bay? ✅Sydney Cove Why did Cook claim New South Wales to be empty and available for the convicts when he returned from his expedition? ✅Since the aborigines didn't farm the land, they couldn't claim it was theirs Why couldn't convicts be sent to the American colonies anymore? ✅America had declared independence from the British in the War of Independence What would Britain be preventing by establishing a settlement in New South Wales? ✅Any French territorial claim of the territory Why was weight given to Norfolk Island? ✅It had pine trees and flax which was crucial to shipbuilding What crime had 2/3 of the convicts committed? ✅Theft What task did Phillip give the seamen? ✅Overseers or even a police force However, what sort of environment did Sydney prove itself to be? ✅Challenging Why? ✅- Within 6 months, the livestock had been eaten or disappeared - Farming was poor - the convicts had no farming skills, the soil was thin, and no animal suitable enough to pull a plough - Building was delayed by the process of making bricks and the lack of mortar - They needed a second fleet Why was Phillip's task difficult? ✅He had to control the convicts, build adequate shelter, command the marines, manage smooth relations with aborigines, encourage civil behaviour to reform the convicts, and develop a township and an economic life, all without advice from London What did Phillip begin to resort to to control the convicts? ✅Harsh punishments like flogging and hanging Once the convicts had served their sentence, what were they granted? ✅Plots of land in which they could live Why did this not ease demands for government supplies? ✅Former convicts had no farming skills and there was no real internal market due to the reliance on government supplies How did Phillip allocate work among the convicts? ✅On the basis of their skills By 1792, how many acres of land were under public and private cultivation? ✅1,000 under public cultivation and 516 under private cultivation What were the 4 reasons the British could survive the first 2 years after the departure? ✅- Phillip's good preparation for the journey - The second colony at Norfolk Island - Phillip's control of food stores - Relocation to better farmland Phillip's preparation for the journey: ✅Phillip's preparation ensured that the death rate on board the first fleet was low (3%). The colony also managed to survive until 1790