<P> The people of the fleet included seamen, marines and their families, government officials, and a large number of convicts, including women and children . The majority were British, but there were also African, American and French convicts on board . The convicts had committed a variety of crimes, including theft, perjury, fraud, assault and robbery, for which they had been sentenced to penal transportation for 7 years, 14 years or the term of their natural life . </P> <P> The six convict transports each had a detachment of marines on board . Most of the families of the marines travelled aboard the Prince of Wales . A number of people on the First Fleet kept diaries and journals of their experiences, including the surgeons . There are twelve known journals in existence as well as some letters . </P> <P> The exact number of people directly associated with the First Fleet will likely never be established, as all accounts of the event vary slightly . A total of 1,420 people have been identified as embarking on the First Fleet in 1787, and 1,373 are believed to have landed at Sydney Cove in January 1788 . In her biographical dictionary of the First Fleet, Mollie Gillen gives the following statistics: </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Th> Embarked at Portsmouth </Th> <Th> Landed at Sydney Cove </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Officials and passengers </Td> <Td> 15 </Td> <Td> 14 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Ships' crews </Td> <Td> 323 </Td> <Td> 269 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Marines </Td> <Td> 247 </Td> <Td> 245 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Marines' wives and children </Td> <Td> 46 </Td> <Td> 45 + 9 born </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Convicts (men) </Td> <Td> 582 </Td> <Td> 543 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Convicts (women) </Td> <Td> 193 </Td> <Td> 189 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Convicts' children </Td> <Td> 14 </Td> <Td> 11 + 11 born </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Total </Td> <Td> 1,420 </Td> <Td> 1,336 </Td> </Tr> </Table>

When did the first fleet land in sydney cove