The legend of Terra Australis Icnognita- the unknown land of the south (meaning southern hemisphere) – existed since the Roman times but wasn’t actually discovered until the 16th century. Its existence was the reason for the second of the three years-long expeditions by British explorer James Cook, during which he found the Antarctic. Cook’s claim of Australia for the the British empire gave them a perfect replacement for America as a destination for prisoners.

On this day, January 26, in 1788, officers from the British First Fleet rowed ashore and officially claimed the new continent in the name of King George III. The rest of the 200-odd officers assigned to guard the 700 prisoners on board the ships made landfall later that day.

The date of January 26, marking the first colonization of the continent, is now celebrated as Australia Day. But the colonists were not the first people there: a large population of Australian Aborigines (a term invented by the British to call the indigenous population) lived there for 30,000 – 40,000 years before the British arrived. Their numbers were decimated soon after the colonists arrived, possibly due to the smallpox virus the Europeans brought with them.