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The agrarian revolution in Britain, and the population explosion in the cities, resulted in an increase in crime. The American Revolution, which took place between 1765 and 1783, meant that the British could no longer send their convicts to America. The British thus decided to solve the problem of overcrowding jails by establishing a penal colony in the land discovered by Captain James Cook. Between 1788 and 1850 the English sent over 162,000 convicts to Australia in 806 ships. The first eleven of these ships are today known as the First Fleet and contained the convicts, marines and government officials that are acknowledged as the founders of contemporary Australia. |