Botany Bay

In 1787, the prisoners’ death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment in New South Wales. They are boarded onto the ship Charlotte and joined by a smaller group of female prisoners. Captain Gilbert offers Sally, a pretty prisoner, freedom to roam the ship under certain conditions, which she cautiously rebuffs as the voyage begins.

Tallant admits guilt but believes a pardon will arrive within hours. The captain refuses to wait, and Tallant leaps into the sea in a bid for escape. He is caught, and the escape leads to a punishment of 50 lashes with a cat-o’-nine-tails.

Recovering below deck after the lashings, Tallant offers £1000 to anyone who helps him. His medical training earns him a position as the ship’s surgeon, granting him greater access to the ship and freedom of movement. This new role ties him closer to the crew while keeping him under watch.

A young boy in a small cell dies of hypothermia when the cell floods with cold water, and he is buried at sea. His mother, enraged by the death, tries to stab Captain Gilbert, who fatally shoots her. The incident underscores the brutality aboard the ship.

Tallant and first mate Spencer escape in a row boat but are discovered and sentenced to keel hauling. Both prisoners survive the first haul, but the violence and danger continue aboard the ship. The harsh discipline underscores the captain’s brutality and the peril of their predicament.

A second keel haul follows, and this time Spencer dies while Tallant again survives. The stark difference in outcomes heightens the sense of desperation aboard and reshapes Tallant’s resolve. The episode foreshadows the fragile grip the prisoners have on mercy and fate.

The ship’s chaplain, Rev. Thynne, threatens to inform Governor Philip about the cruelty happening aboard. His warning sets up the potential for an external check on the Charlotte’s crew when they reach Botany Bay. The threat foreshadows the political stakes of their voyage.

The Charlotte sails via Rio de Janeiro and along the coast of Africa, enduring a grueling and protracted journey. The crew faces hardship as supplies and tempers run thin during the months at sea. The route foreshadows the trials of the voyage to New South Wales.

After 237 days at sea, the Charlotte reaches New South Wales. Governor Philip awaits the new arrivals and weighs the fate of the prisoners and crew. The long voyage culminates in the next stage of grim decisions.

Governor Phillip refuses to hang Tallant and instead sentences him to hard labour in the penal colony at Botany Bay. Gilbert presses for mutiny charges, though the Mutiny Act 1703 does not clearly apply to Tallant, and Phillip raises no objection to the charge. The legal ambiguity adds tension to the trial-by-ordeal that follows.

Tallant escapes with a small group and tracks Gilbert to Stillwater Cove, demanding the Charlotte’s surrender. British troops from the Charlotte surround them and recapture the fugitives. The pursuit underscores the colony’s fragile power balance and Tallant’s stubborn determination.

The pursuing party is momentarily encircled by Aborigines, during which Gilbert is killed by a spear. Tallant takes command as muskets shift the balance in favor of the prisoners and the British. The chaos reframes the uprising within a broader colonial context.

Tallant, recognizing the danger of an outbreak, warns Governor Philip about the approaching Charlotte and the disease aboard. His timely warning allows the colony to prepare treatment, and he is pardoned. He is reunited with Sally, bringing a fragile resolution to the voyage.