The fatal shore
a history of the transportation of convicts to Australia 1787-1868
by Robert Hughes · first published 1986
8mentions
7recommended by
8HN commenters
2008–2022first – last mentioned
88% recommend13% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Vivid, well-researched history of British convict transportation to Australia from 1788. It is readable and useful for understanding British attitudes to criminality and the founding of Australia.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Incredibly rich and detailed account of the first white settlers that arrived in Australia, and what they found when they arrived. Riveting.
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…people who were transported for trifling offenses like theft. The real driver behind Australian settlement was overpopulation in Britain, not the need to get rid of some hardened criminal class. The Fatal Shore is a good, readable history of this social experiment. Note also that this "budding free society" was responsible for horrible atrocities against the native population until fairly recent times.
on “Gary Becker's biggest mistake” ↗…not in prison? Oh, man, we've got enough indefinite imprisonment without charges going on as it is. Please don't encourage it. Once upon a time, people's "data shadows" were very thin indeed. In The Fatal Shore, a truly awesome history book about Australia, they talked about policing in Georgian England. The identification of criminals relied primarily on verbal descriptions of their looks: Official crime records…
on “How to Create the Perfect Fake Identity (Bruce Schneier)” ↗I read the same story in The Fatal Shore [1] which to my knowledge is a very well researched/factual book on early convict history (though I don't recall the success rate being initially as low as 40%, it was low though). [1] http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Shore-Epic-Australias-Founding/d...
on “Cobra effect” ↗For Australian history from 1788 onwards, The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes is an excellent read. It also gives a good insight to British attitudes to criminality, of which traces can still be seen today in government policy, etc.
on “A Tale of Two Londons” ↗The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes. An absolutely brilliant account of the founding of Australia. A review: https://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Personal/Books/Hughes-Fatal-Shore/ Questions to think about as you read: Why weren't…
on “Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?” ↗You should read The Fatal Shore.
on “Homeless in Seattle: The roots of a crisis” ↗…years ago and have experience with several other languages as well. Python is perfect for someone like myself. To me it is a thing of beauty. I read a lot - history and biography mainly. Favorites: The Fatal Shore and Empire of the Autumn Moon. Travel 2-3 times a year. Been to Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America as well as all over North America. Favorite place? Singapore. Walk 2 miles+ a day. Am…
on “Ask HN: Am I the longest-serving programmer – 57 years and counting?” ↗I'm reading 'The Fatal Shore' by Robert Hughes at the moment, it's description of the customs of one primitive tribe might lead you to question how happy the women are in those Amazon tribes.
on “‘Uncontacted’ Amazon Tribe Members Are Reported Killed in Brazil” ↗