The Reason Why the British Established a Settlement in New South Wales in 1788

The British established a settlement in New South Wales in 1788 because they needed to send some of the prisoners out of the country because of the overcrowded prisons in Britain, which led to more crime and therefore convicts, for a growth of empire, security and trade and they needed a climate suitable for growing crops such as flax and trees for their wood due to their supply being under threat from war.

Such a colony would solve the problem of Britain's overcrowded prisons (a problem caused by the Industrial Revolution) The prisons became overcrowded and eventually there were no more places left. An alternative punishment was to hang any criminal that appeared in court. A solution to these problems was to send convicts to s new colony in the British Empire. Establishing a new colony in a land showed promise for eventually becoming self-supporting. Britain had been sending their excess prisoners to North America, but the American War of Independence put a stop to the practice. After Captain James Cook's successful voyage which involved charting the eastern coast of Australia, New South Wales was seen as a perfect proposition for a convict colony. Upon arriving at Botany Bay, there was little fresh water or fertile soil, so captain Phillip set sail for a better location. They found clear waters in a protected harbor that Phillip named Sydney.

Colonising the east coast would expand the British Empire, the reason for this was to establish a trade route with the Spice Islands for trade of expensive and exotic spices, tea from China and India and tobacco and sugar from America. It was also believed that Australia could provide commercial and political gains to Britain. Britain also wanted to stop the growth of the French Empire, because they didn't want to be taken over by the French and to prevent France from being the largest empire in the world. Britain also wanted to expand its naval power. Britain had the strongest navy in the world at the time. They saw Australia as a perfect proposition to add naval bases since ships couldn't sit out at sea all the time, even being fully stocked with food and water, needed to come in for repairs frequently. With a strong navy, the whole world becomes open to expansion.

Due to the war of independence, Britain needed to find an alternative supply of Flax and timber. The supply in Britain was under threat, so they needed to establish a new supply that wouldn't be threatened. It was believed that nearby Norfolk Island would provide this. The flax plant was used to create superior ropes and canvas, and if the supply ran out, they couldn't make ropes and sails for their ships. And as for the timber, they wouldn't be able to build successful ships and homes and eventually the empire would fall behind.
England chose New South Wales to establish a settlement because of overcrowded prisons in Britain and no place left in the world to send convicts, expanding the empire, security, trade and naval power and it was suitable for growing crops such as flax and timber as the Baltic supply in England was under threat.