Parliament debated whether a lasting colony could be formed with male convicts alone, and the decision to include women and children made them essential to the settlement. Of the 1,420 people who embarked at Portsmouth, 1,373 arrived at Sydney Cove. The totals distinguish officials, crews, Marines and their families, male and female convicts, and children, including births as well as deaths during the roughly 250-day passage. The figures measure the fleet's logistical achievement and confirm that Britain intended to transplant a population.
Notable Point · 45:44-49:04
Population planning and survival at Sydney Cove
The decision to include women and families made the expedition a settlement project, while embarkation, death, and birth totals show how much of that planned population survived the voyage.