资料题：The main ideas of the passage is（　）。

On May 13, 1787, a fleet of English ships set sail for Australia with about 750 people.These men and women were no ordinary passengers.They were convicts being sent to Australia as punishment for their crimes.Laws in England during this period of time :were very harsh, and people were punished severely for even the smallest crimes.A man could be sentenced to death for hunting an another man's property or he could be sent to death for chopping down someone else' s tree.For many other crimes, the punishment was"transportation".The guilty person was shipped to a distant land where he was forced to work without pay.Often women and children were shipped to otherlands, too.In 1770, Captain Cook had discovered the continent of Australia and claimed it England.At first, England found no use for this vast land on the other side of the world, but then the American Revolution took place.England could mo longer ship her convicts to the American colonies.So she turned to Australia as a good place for her prisoners.A former naval captain was picked to accompany the convicts to the new colony.His job was to help them build a settlement which he would govern.The captain was glad to go.He believed the convicts could learn t live in peace.He felt they would obey the laws in the new country.In January 1788, the English fleet and its strange cargo landed on Australia.After days of searching, the captain found a fine harbor.The land nearby had trees and streams.The convict colony made a new beginning here.Australia's history began.