The First Fleet: The Real Story

In 1787 a convoy of eleven ships, carrying about 1400 people, set out from England for Botany Bay. According to the conventional account, it was a shambolic affair: under-prepared, poorly equipped and ill-disciplined. Robert Hughes condemned the organisers' "muddle and lack of foresight", while Manning Clark described scenes of "indescribable misery and confusion".
In The First Fleet: The Real Story, Alan Frost draws on previously forgotten records to debunk these persistent myths. He shows that the voyage was in fact meticulously planned - reflecting its importance to the British government's secret ambitions for imperial expansion. He examines the ships and supplies, passengers and behind-the-scenes discussions. In the process, he reveals the hopes and schemes of those who planned the voyage, and the experiences of those who made it.

Product details

• Authors: Alan Frost
• Publisher: Black Inc
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2012
• EAN: 9781863955614
• ISBN: 978-1-86395-561-4
• No. of pages: 272
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 293 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Australasien