With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War against France, Phillip enlisted in the Royal Navy as captain's servant to Michael Everitt aboard HMS Buckingham.

Returning to Royal Navy service in 1778, in 1782 Phillip, in command of HMS Europa, was to capture Spanish colonies in South America, but an armistice was concluded before he reached his destination.

By the time Phillip sailed home in December 1792, the colony was taking shape, with official land grants, systematic farming, and a water supply in place.

His mother, Elizabeth Breach, was the widow of a common seaman by the name of John Herbert, who had died of disease in Jamaica aboard HMS Tartar on 13 August 1732.

Phillip left the Greenwich Hospital School on 1 December, and spent the next few months aboard the Fortune, awaiting the start of the 1754 whaling season.

Phillip remained aboard as Fortune undertook an outward trading voyage to Barcelona and Livorno carrying salt and raisins, returning via Rotterdam with a cargo of grains and citrus.

[1] As a member of Buckingham's crew, Phillip served in home waters until April 1756 and then joined Admiral John Byng's Mediterranean fleet.

[citation needed] The following year, he was posted as second lieutenant aboard HMS Egmont, a newly built 74-gun ship of the line.

[15] In 1778, with Britain again at war, Phillip was recalled to Royal Navy service and on 9 October was appointed first lieutenant of the 74-gun HMS Alexander as part of the Channel fleet.

[1] With Spain's entry into the conflict, Phillip had a series of private meetings with the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Sandwich, sharing his charts and knowledge about the South American coastlines.

Phillip wrote to Townshend from Rio de Janeiro on 25 April 1783, expressing his disappointment that the ending of the American War had robbed him of the opportunity for naval glory in South America.

[25] After his return to England in April 1784, Phillip remained in close contact with Townshend, now Lord Sydney, and Home Office Under Secretary Evan Nepean.

From October 1784 to September 1786, Nepean, who was in charge of the Secret Service relating to the Bourbon Powers, France, and Spain, employed him to spy on the French naval arsenals at Toulon and other ports.

[27][28] Lord Sandwich, together with the president of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks, the scientist who had accompanied Lieutenant James Cook on his 1770 voyage, was advocating the establishment of a British colony in Botany Bay, New South Wales.

[31] Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, as Secretary of State for the Home Office and minister in charge, decided to establish the proposed colony in Australia.

[32][33] This decision was taken for two reasons: the ending of the option to transport criminals to North America following the American Revolution, and the need for a base in the Pacific to counter French expansion.

[40] The fleet of 11 ships and about 1,500 people, under Phillip's command, sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787; HMS Hyaena provided an escort out of British waters.

[44] On 10 June they set sail to cross the Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro, taking advantage of favourable trade winds and ocean currents.

[41][44] Phillip soon decided that the site, chosen on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied James Cook in 1770, was not suitable, since it had poor soil, no secure anchorage, and no reliable water source.

Cook was an explorer and Banks had a scientific interest, whereas Phillip's differing assessment of the site came from his perspective as, quoted by Tyrrell, "custodian of over a thousand convicts" for whom he was responsible.

[51][52] The next day, sailors from Sirius, a party of marines, and a number of male convicts were disembarked to fell timber and clear the ground for the erection of tents.

[56] When Phillip was appointed as governor-designate of the colony and began to plan the expedition, he requested that the convicts that were being sent be trained; only twelve carpenters and a few men who knew anything about agriculture were sent.

[62] In June 1790, more convicts arrived with the Second Fleet, but HMS Guardian, carrying more supplies, was disabled en route after hitting an iceberg, leaving the colony low on provisions again.

[37] Phillip was unable to follow his original intention of returning to Port Jackson once his health was restored, as medical advice compelled him to resign formally on 23 July 1793.

[37][68] The main challenge for order and harmony in the settlement came not from the convicts secured there on terms of good behaviour, but from the attitude of officers from the New South Wales Marine Corps.

Major Robert Ross and his officers (with the exception of a few such as David Collins, Watkin Tench, and William Dawes) refused to do anything other than guard duty, claiming that they were neither gaolers, supervisors, nor policemen.

[37] Phillip's official orders with regard to Aboriginal people were to "conciliate their affections", to "live in amity and kindness with them", and to punish anyone who should "wantonly destroy them, or give them any unnecessary interruption in the exercise of their several occupations".

[79] Phillip despatched orders, as quoted by Tench, "to put to death ten ... [and] cut off the heads of the slain ... to infuse a universal terror, which might operate to prevent further mischief".

[1] During 1798–99, Phillip commanded the Hampshire Sea Fencibles, then appointed inspector of the Impress Service, in which capacity he and a secretary toured the outposts of Britain to report on the strengths of the various posts.

[88] Forgotten for many years, the grave was discovered in November 1897 by a young woman cleaning the church, who found the name after lifting matting from the floor; the historian James Bonwick had been searching Bath records for its location.