He then became an apprentice on the whaling ship Fortune. Phillip was promoted to lieutenant on 7 June , before being put on half-pay at the end of hostilities on 25 April Seconded to the Portuguese Navy in , he served in the war against Spain. Returning to Royal Navy service in , in Phillip, in command of HMS Europa , was to capture Spanish colonies in South America, but an armistice was concluded before he reached his destination.
In , Phillip was appointed by Lord Sydney as the commander of the First Fleet , a fleet of 11 ships whose crew were to establish a penal colony and a settlement at Botany Bay , New South Wales. On arriving at Botany Bay, Phillip found the site unsuitable and searched for a more habitable site for a settlement, which he found in Port Jackson — the site of Sydney , Australia, today.
Phillip was a far-sighted governor who soon realised that New South Wales would need a civil administration and a system for emancipating convicts. However, his plan to bring skilled tradesmen on the First Fleet's voyage had been rejected.
Consequently, he faced immense problems with labour, discipline, and supply. Phillip wanted harmonious relations with the local indigenous peoples, in the belief that everyone in the colony was a British citizen and was protected by the law as such, therefore the indigenous peoples had the same rights as everyone under Phillip's command. Eventually, cultural differences between the two groups of people led to conflict. The arrival of more convicts with the Second and Third Fleets placed new pressures on scarce local resources.
By the time Phillip sailed home in December , the colony was taking shape, with official land grants, systematic farming, and a water supply in place. On 11 December , Phillip left the colony to return to Britain to receive medical treatment for kidney stones. He had planned to return to Australia, but medical advisors recommended he resign from the governorship.
