Commentary
The sheet begins: 'Copy of a very interesting Letter which was received in Glasgow on Wednesday last from Andrew White, at Botany Bay, who was engaged in the Battle of Bonnymuir, giving a particular account of the situation of himself and his companions; and many other particulars respecting that now respectable Colony.' The sheet was published in May 1822 by John Muir of Glasgow. Andrew White was implicated for his part in the Battle of Bonnymuir in April 1820. He was found guilty of High Treason and transported to Australia. Two of his fellow Radicals, John Baird and Andrew Hardie were hung, then beheaded, but White eventually returned to Scotland after the Radicals were pardoned in 1835. In this letter home he describes life in the 'now respectable Colony' of Botany Bay. This sheet would have appealed to those interested in the Rising and those with friends or relatives in the colonies, and it probably sold very well.
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