Sailors manning a longboat
Arthur Phillip's Royal Navy background
On 24 June 1751 Arthur Phillip was enrolled on 'the establishment of poor boys' in the Greenwich School for the sons of sailors and began his apprenticeship of seven years in the mercantile service. This was completed in 1755 after which he transferred to the Royal Navy.
During the Seven Years' war with France he saw active service in the Royal Navy. On 7 July 1761 he was provisionally appointed lieutenant, the promotion being confirmed a year later following an engagement resulting in the capture of Havana in the West Indies.
With the declaration of peace with France on 25 April 1763, he was retired on half-pay and his active service for the next fifteen years was intermittent. Much of this time was taken up with his property known as Vernals Farm at Lyndhurst, Hampshire.
After the signing of the peace treaties ending the War of Independence that involved the British colonies in America, Phillip was employed between 1784-78 by the British Government to survey French defenses in Europe, particularly in southern France, a deliberate act of espionage - that is, Phillip was a spy for England.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-Portuguese war, Britain supported its ally, Portugal, in its conflict with Spain over colonial territory in South America. Under secondment, Phillip served with distinction in South American waters as a captain in the Portuguese fleet. Being fluent in five languages, and in spoken and written Portuguese, Phillip was able to spend time in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, strengthening his relationship with the Portuguese Viceroy of Brazil. Phillip created detailed charts of Rio harbour and coastline to the south, including one large chart that he carried with him when he returned with the First Fleet to resupply at Rio harbour more than 10 years later.
Phillip was a man of mature years whose attainments were solid - he had risen largely through his own merit, attracting favourable comment from those under whom he had served. The Portuguese authorities had described him as brave, honest, obedient and self-sacrificing. Experience had broadened without hardening or coarsening his somewhat sensitive nature and in a variety of ways. He was accustomed to command men and had, while in the Portuguese navy, transported convicts from Lisbon to Portuguese Brazil. Work on his Lyndhurst property had made him familiar with the rudiments of farming and added yet another dimension to his qualifications.
In 1786 Phillip was appointed as the commander of the First Fleet, a fleet of 11 ships whose crew were to establish a penal colony and a settlement at Botany Bay, New South Wales. Captain Arthur Phillip's naval training would prove invaluable on the trip to Botany Bay, settling the colony at Port Jackson, north of Botany Bay, and standing him in good stead when exploring the hinterland looking for arable land.
Main image: From the internet
During the Seven Years' war with France he saw active service in the Royal Navy. On 7 July 1761 he was provisionally appointed lieutenant, the promotion being confirmed a year later following an engagement resulting in the capture of Havana in the West Indies.
With the declaration of peace with France on 25 April 1763, he was retired on half-pay and his active service for the next fifteen years was intermittent. Much of this time was taken up with his property known as Vernals Farm at Lyndhurst, Hampshire.
After the signing of the peace treaties ending the War of Independence that involved the British colonies in America, Phillip was employed between 1784-78 by the British Government to survey French defenses in Europe, particularly in southern France, a deliberate act of espionage - that is, Phillip was a spy for England.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-Portuguese war, Britain supported its ally, Portugal, in its conflict with Spain over colonial territory in South America. Under secondment, Phillip served with distinction in South American waters as a captain in the Portuguese fleet. Being fluent in five languages, and in spoken and written Portuguese, Phillip was able to spend time in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, strengthening his relationship with the Portuguese Viceroy of Brazil. Phillip created detailed charts of Rio harbour and coastline to the south, including one large chart that he carried with him when he returned with the First Fleet to resupply at Rio harbour more than 10 years later.
Phillip was a man of mature years whose attainments were solid - he had risen largely through his own merit, attracting favourable comment from those under whom he had served. The Portuguese authorities had described him as brave, honest, obedient and self-sacrificing. Experience had broadened without hardening or coarsening his somewhat sensitive nature and in a variety of ways. He was accustomed to command men and had, while in the Portuguese navy, transported convicts from Lisbon to Portuguese Brazil. Work on his Lyndhurst property had made him familiar with the rudiments of farming and added yet another dimension to his qualifications.
In 1786 Phillip was appointed as the commander of the First Fleet, a fleet of 11 ships whose crew were to establish a penal colony and a settlement at Botany Bay, New South Wales. Captain Arthur Phillip's naval training would prove invaluable on the trip to Botany Bay, settling the colony at Port Jackson, north of Botany Bay, and standing him in good stead when exploring the hinterland looking for arable land.
Main image: From the internet
