A Commonwealth of ThievesIn this spirited history of the remarkable first four years of the convict settlement of Australia, Thomas Keneally offers us a human view of a fascinating piece of history. Combining the authority of a renowned historian with a brilliant narrative flair, Keneally gives us an inside view of this unprecedented experiment from the perspective of the new colony’s governor, Arthur Phillips. Using personal journals and documents, Keneally re-creates the hellish overseas voyage and the challenges Phillips faced upon arrival: unruly convicts, disgruntled officers, bewildered and hostile natives, food shortages, and disease. He also offers captivating portrayals of Aborigines and of convict settlers who were determined to begin their lives anew. A Commonwealth of Thieves immerses us in the fledgling penal colony and conjures up the thrills and hardships of those first four improbable years. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 69
Page 6
... British government because , unlike the prison system , it cost them little . Merchants would transport them cheaply , sometimes for nothing , in re- turn for what could be earned through selling the convicts ' labour . In fact ...
... British government because , unlike the prison system , it cost them little . Merchants would transport them cheaply , sometimes for nothing , in re- turn for what could be earned through selling the convicts ' labour . In fact ...
Page 7
... British prison populations . A new Transportation Act in 1780 had sought to make transportation more obligatory than it had been up to that point . The offences for which a prisoner could be transported under the ac- cumulated ...
... British prison populations . A new Transportation Act in 1780 had sought to make transportation more obligatory than it had been up to that point . The offences for which a prisoner could be transported under the ac- cumulated ...
Page 8
... British police force meant that legislators needed to impress the people with the terror of the law . In theory , frequent public executions should have cut down on crowd- ing in gaols . But even the lawmakers , members of the Commons ...
... British police force meant that legislators needed to impress the people with the terror of the law . In theory , frequent public executions should have cut down on crowd- ing in gaols . But even the lawmakers , members of the Commons ...
Page 12
... British cred- itors in America , when Americans refused to pay British merchants ' bills , meant that Campbell had a dizzying fortune of over £ 38,000 owing to him from gentlemen in Virginia and Maryland . But in modest ways the war in ...
... British cred- itors in America , when Americans refused to pay British merchants ' bills , meant that Campbell had a dizzying fortune of over £ 38,000 owing to him from gentlemen in Virginia and Maryland . But in modest ways the war in ...
Page 13
... British thought of the hulks as a temporary expedient , but they would not be able to get rid of their floating prisons in the Thames and elsewhere un- til 1853 - indeed , the hulks would make an appearance in Dickens's Great ...
... British thought of the hulks as a temporary expedient , but they would not be able to get rid of their floating prisons in the Thames and elsewhere un- til 1853 - indeed , the hulks would make an appearance in Dickens's Great ...
Contents
Section 16 | 218 |
Section 17 | 230 |
Section 18 | 245 |
Section 19 | 257 |
Section 20 | 270 |
Section 21 | 279 |
Section 22 | 289 |
Section 23 | 295 |
Section 9 | 135 |
Section 10 | 161 |
Section 11 | 171 |
Section 12 | 186 |
Section 13 | 190 |
Section 14 | 197 |
Section 15 | 204 |
Section 24 | 305 |
Section 25 | 320 |
Section 26 | 339 |
Section 27 | 363 |
Section 28 | 369 |
Other editions - View all
A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia Thomas Keneally No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
aboard Aboriginal alphabetical listing amongst Arabanoo arrived Arthur Phillip ashore Australia Barangaroo Bateson Bennelong boat Botany Bay Bowes Smyth British brought Bryant Cape Town Captain clothing coast Colby colony convict women Cook crew David Collins death England Eora European Evan Nepean fish Flynn Gorgon Government House governor harbour head honour hulks Irish John Johnson journey Kable King Lady Juliana Lady Penrhyn land Lieutenant London Lord Sydney Macarthur Major Ross male convicts marines Mary McEntire Nagle named natives Nepean Neptune Newgate Nicol Norfolk Island officers Parramatta Parramatta River party Pemulwuy penal Pérouse Philip Gidley King Phillip in Hunter Port Jackson Portsmouth pounds prison deck punishment Ralph Clark rations River sail sailors Second Fleet sent sentenced settlement ships Sirius soldiers South Wales Corps spear Supply Surgeon White Sydney Cove told transportation victs voyage Watkin Tench Wentworth wife woman wound wrote young