Australia and the United States share some similarities in their histories as well as currently. Both were claimed by the British through the actions of explorers. In Australia’s case, it was Captain James Cook who, in 1770, sailed northward along the eastern shore of the continent. He claimed for Great Britain what is now the Australian state of New South Wales. The settlement of Australia was unexpectedly influenced by 13 North American colonies gaining their independence from Britain as a result of winning the American revolution and signing a peace treaty with Britain in Paris in 1783.