Blainey’s theory. He rejects the official reason since he believes that Australia was too far away for such a project and the costs would had been too high. Consequently, his opinion is that the major motives for the establishment of the settlement were timber and flax. Outline his theory in detail; argue with given examples from the final paragraphs of the document ‘Heads of a Plan’, as well as from Matra’s proposal and the instructions sent to Governor Phillip.
Abbott’s interpretation of the document. He supports the official reason. Describe his theory and compare his interpretation to other scholars, such as Martin and Frost. Here use in particular the material provided in Abbott’s and the primary source ‘Heads of a Plan’.
Abbott, Blainey and other scholars focused mainly on the final paragraphs of ‘Heads of a Plan’. Concentrate on the first twelve paragraphs, underlying the document’s emphasis on the alarming conditions in Britain’s prisons. Take into consideration what else is mentioned in the document, apart from timber and flax (e.g. Asiatic productions).
Critique on Blainey’s theory. Stress out the importance of focusing on the 'Heads of a Plan' document in its entirety. Argue that there certainly were potential added benefits, but based on the documents, Botany Bay was established as a penal colony to send convicts to.
- ANNOTATED SOURCES
- Primary sources
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Lord Sydney, 'Governor Phillip's Instructions' in Historical Records of Australia, Series I, Vol. 1, Sydney, 1914 in National Archives of Australia, , accessed 07 April 2011.
The Governor Phillip’s Instructions are a primary source from the year 1787. It lists instructions which should be followed by Governor Phillip when travelling to Australia and establishing a colony there. Remarkably, among other instructions, Governor Phillip was told to send home samples of the flax plant for further evaluation as it 'ultimately may become an article of export'. Moreover, the securing of Norfolk Island in order to prevent it from being occupied by any other European power is mentioned, what raises the question of the real purpose of the colony and demands investigation.
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Matra, James Maria, ‘Proposal for establishing a Settlement in New South Wales’, in Historical Records of New Zealand, ed. Robert McNab, Wellington, 1908, pp. 36-45 in New Zealand Electronic Text Centre , accessed 07 April 2011.
This primary source is a letter from James Maria Mantra to the British Government in the year 1783. James Mantra accompanied James Cook on his journey to the South Seas in 1770 and thus learned about the conditions in Australia. This proposal was the origin of the idea of a settlement in Australia, although originally no convicts were mentioned. In this document Matra discusses the potential commercial advantages to Britain of a settlement in New South Wales. He mentions the good soil, advantages of flax cultivation, trade with China and others, the availability of timber for ships masts and Sir Joseph Banks support. Moreover, he argues that the establishment of a colony at Botany Bay would have significant military potential concerning interfering with Spanish or Dutch shipping in time of war. Remarkably, the part, where the advantages of flax and timber are mentioned is very similar to the crucial document ‘Heads of a Plan’, therefore this article is of immense interest and usefulness.
- Secondary Sources
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Blainey, Geoffrey. ‘Exile’ in his The Tyranny of Distance: How Distance Shaped Australia’s History, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1966, Chapter 2.
This secondary source provides the theory that Botany Bay was established as a colony for the supply and cultivation of flax and naval timbers. It was highly speculative and provided the basis on which in the 1960s a lively debate concerning the motives of the establishment of the colony commenced amongst historians. Blainey’s position that Botany Bay was settled for reasons other than to dump convicts, stems from his opinion that Australia was too far away from Britain for the project to be viable; the cost and time involved being major deterrents. However, he mainly puts the focus on the last paragraphs of the ‘Heads of a Plan’, failing to analyse the document in its entirety.
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Abbott, Graham, ‘The Botany Bay decision: review of the British government's reason for establishing the penal colony at Botany Bay’, Journal of Australian Studies, 16, May 1985, pp. 21-41.
This secondary source provides a very interesting article which supports the traditional argument. Not only does G. J. Abbott favour the original idea of founding a convict colony solely in order to solve the problem of overcrowded prisons in Britain but also he offers a direct analysis of a number of articles written by scholars as Blainey, Martin or Frost, who all supported the theory of additional reasons for the establishment. Especially of my interest are his arguments against Blainey’s thesis and his conviction that ‘The documents on which the traditional explanation is based do not support the explanation of the Botany Bay decision that Blainey proffered in the Tyranny of Distance.’, as well as his claims of Blainey’s theory being ‘imaginative’.
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Gillen, Mollie, ‘The Botany Bay Decision 1786: Convicts not Empire’ in English Historical Review, Vol. 97, 1982, pp. 740-766.
This secondary source gives a detailed overview over the historical events and locations concerning the establishment of the convict colony as well as the different so called flax theories connected to it. Mollie Gillen notes that there were numerous rejections of the Botany Bay proposal, but on the other hand people involved were likewise aware of some of the benefits of the location. Interestingly, she summarizes that in the end there was no other option to deal with Britain’s convict crisis remained and she concludes that the mentioning of flax and timber supplies in the ‘Heads of a Plan’ rationalised the plan to colonize Botany Bay, as the promise of gold did for Das Voltas Bay, making the article of high interest for my purposes.
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Primary sources
- Anonymous, 'Heads of a Plan', enclosed in a letter from Lord Sydney to the Lords
Commissioner of the Treasury, Whitehall, 18 August 1786, in Historical Records of NSW, Sydney, vol. 1, part 2, 1893-1901, pp. 14-20.
Banks, Joseph Sir, ‘The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks, 25 August 1768 - 12 July
1771’, Papers of Sir Joseph Banks, Series 03 in State Library of New South Wales, 2010, , accessed 07 April 2011.
- Matra James Maria, ‘Proposal for establishing a Settlement in New South Wales’,
in Historical Records of New Zealand, ed. Robert McNab, Wellington, 1908, pp. 36-45 in New Zealand Electronic Text Centre , accessed 07 April 2011.
- Lord Sydney, 'Governor Phillip's Instructions' in Historical Records of Australia, Series I,
Vol. 1, Sydney, 1914 in National Archives of Australia, , accessed 07 April 2011.
- Secondary sources
- Abbott, Graham, ‘The Botany Bay decision: review of the British government's reason for
establishing the penal colony at Botany Bay’, Journal of Australian Studies, 16, May 1985, pp. 21-41.
-
Blainey, Geoffrey, ‘Exile’ in The Tyranny of Distance: How Distance Shaped Australia’s
History, Melbourne, Sun Books, 1966, Chapter 2.
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Frost, Alan, 'The decision to colonise New South Wales', in Australians to 1788, eds. D.J.
Mulvaney and J.P. White, Sydney, Fairfax, Syme and Weldon, 1987, pp. 394-397.
-
Gillen, Mollie, ‘The Botany Bay Decision 1786: Convicts not Empire’ in English
Historical Review, Vol 97, 1982, pp. 740-766.
- Mackay, David, ‘A Place of Exile: European Settlement of New South Wales’, Oxford
University Press, Melbourne, 1985.
Lord Sydney, 'Governor Phillip's Instructions' in Historical Records of Australia, Series I, Vol. 1, Sydney, 1914 in National Archives of Australia, , accessed 07 April 2011.
James Maria Matra, ‘Proposal for establishing a Settlement in New South Wales’, in Historical Records of New Zealand, ed. Robert McNab, Wellington, 1908, pp. 36-45 in New Zealand Electronic Text Centre , accessed 07 April 2011.
Anonymous, 'Heads of a Plan', enclosed in a letter from Lord Sydney to the Lords Commissioner of the Treasury, Whitehall, 18 August 1786, in Historical Records of NSW, Sydney, vol. 1, part 2, 1893-1901, pp. 18-20.
Geoffrey Blainey, ‘Exile’ in his The Tyranny of Distance: How Distance Shaped Australia’s History, Melbourne, 1966, p.18.
Graham Abbott, ‘The Botany Bay decision: review of the British government's reason for establishing the penal colony at Botany Bay’, Journal of Australian Studies, 16, May 1985, p. 23.
Gillen, Mollie, ‘The Botany Bay Decision 1786: Convicts not Empire’ in English Historical Review, Vol. 97, 1982, pp. 740-766.