Royal Marines resisted participation in local administration so strongly that they obstructed civil government. Their separation also limited the chance that officers would turn courts, convicts, and commerce into private sources of influence. The New South Wales Corps moved in the opposite direction, entered colonial politics and trade, and eventually overthrew William Bligh. Britain answered by sending new civil administrators, warships, and Marines. The ships and their guns gave the replacement administration a credible response if the Corps challenged civil authority again.
Notable Point · 3:30:16-3:32:41
Marines, the New South Wales Corps, and imperial control
The contrast between detached Marines and an invested army corps explains both colonial instability and Britain's restoration of civil control.