What was Australia's function when first settled by Great Britain from 1788-1850?

Answer 1

Australia was founded by the British for several reasons, and served the following functions:

• As a penal colony - British prisons were overcrowded with people charged with minor offences, in an attempt to crack down on rampant crime as people sought to survive unemployment in the Industrial Revolution.
• Britain had originally been able to send convicts to America, but the American War of Independence stopped that. An alternative had to be found.
• To gain a strategic foothold in the Pacific: The British and the French had been engaged in a colonial empirical "competition" since the 1600s. Both countries sought to colonise as much new land as they could. Britain was concerned that Australia, which would essentially be their only claim in the western Pacific, could be taken up by the French. Hence, they aimed to quickly colonise the new, southern continent with convicts.
• There were resources in nearby territories (such as Norfolk Island) which were valuable to the British.