For the book about the mutiny by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall see Mutiny on the Bounty (novel).
thumb
The mutiny on the
Bounty
occurred aboard a British Royal Navy ship on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the commanding officer, William Bligh.
|
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY TICKETS
|
The Bounty
His Majesty's Armed Vessel
(HMS)
Bounty
began her career as the
collier Bethia
, a relatively small sailing ship built in 1784 at the
Blaydes shipyard in
Hull. Later she was purchased by the
Royal Navy for £2,600 on May 26, 1787 (JJ Colledge/D Lyon say 23 May), refit, and renamed
Bounty
.
[1]
The only two men ever to command her as the
Bounty
were
Lieutenant William Bligh and
Fletcher Christian, the latter of whom illegally took command through mutiny. Bligh was appointed Commanding Lieutenant of
Bounty
on 16 August 1787, at the age of 33, after a career that included a tour as
sailing master of
James Cook's HMS Resolution
during Cook's third and final voyage (1776-1779). Though Bligh is commonly portrayed as the epitome of abusive sailing captains, this portrayal has recently come into dispute. In her book,
The Bounty
, Caroline Alexander claims that Bligh was relatively lenient compared with other British naval officers.
[2] Bligh received the appointment because he was considered an exceptionally capable naval officer - an evaluation that would prove to be correct - and because of his experience and familiarity with navigation in the area and local customs.
The 1787 breadfruit expedition
The ship had been purchased by the
Royal Navy for a single mission in support of an experiment: she was to travel to
Tahiti, pick up
breadfruit plants, and transport them to the
West Indies in hopes that they would grow well there and become a cheap source of food for
slaves. The experiment was proposed by Sir
Joseph Banks, who recommended Bligh as commander, and was promoted through a prize offered by the
Royal Society of Arts. Sir Joseph Banks was at that time the unofficial director of
Kew Gardens.
In June 1787,
Bounty
was refitted at
Deptford. The
great cabin was converted to house the potted breadfruit plants, and gratings fitted to the upper deck. Her complement was 46 officers and men.
On 23 December 1787,
Bounty
sailed from
Spithead for
Tahiti. For a full month, she attempted to round
Cape Horn, but adverse weather blocked her. Bligh ordered her turned about, and proceeded east, rounding the
Cape of Good Hope and crossing the width of the
Indian Ocean. During the outward voyage, Bligh demoted the ship's
Sailing Master,
John Fryer, replacing him with Fletcher Christian, whom he appointed acting
Lieutenant. This act seriously damaged the relationship between Bligh and Fryer, and Fryer would later claim Bligh's act was entirely personal.
Bounty
reached Tahiti on 26 October 1788, after ten months at sea.
Bligh and his crew spent five months in Tahiti, then called "Otaheite," collecting and preparing a total of 1,015 breadfruit plants. Bligh allowed the crew to live ashore and care for the potted breadfruit plants, and they became socialized to the customs and culture of the Tahitians. Many of the seamen and some of the "young gentlemen" had themselves tattooed in native fashion. Master's Mate and Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian married Maimiti, a Tahitian woman. Other warrant officers and seamen of the
Bounty
were also said to have formed "connections" with native women.
Bligh was not surprised by his crew's reaction to the Tahitians. He recorded his analysis (spelling and capitalisation is retained as in the original):
The Women are handsome ... and have sufficient delicacy to make them admired and beloved - The chiefs have taken such a liking to our People that they have rather encouraged their stay among them than otherwise, and even made promises of large possessions. Under these and many other attendant circumstances equally desirable it is therefore now not to be Wondered at ... that a Set of Sailors led by Officers and void of connections ... should be governed by such powerful inducement ... to fix themselves in the midst of plenty in the finest Island in the World where they need not labour, and where the alurements of disipation are more than equal to anything that can be conceived.
— A Narrative of the Mutiny, etc.
, by Lieut. W. Bligh, 1790, p. 9.
Three crewmen deserted and were recaptured (Millward, Muspratt, and Churchill). Instead of
hanging them, as the crime of desertion was usually punished, Bligh ordered them
flogged. All three would be among the mutineers.
The mutiny
On 4 April 1789, after five months in Tahiti, the
Bounty
set sail with its breadfruit cargo. On 28 April 1789, some 1,300 miles west of Tahiti, near Tonga, mutiny broke out. From all accounts, Fletcher Christian and several of his followers entered Bligh's cabin, which he always left unlocked, awakened him, and pushed him on deck wearing only his nightshirt, where he was guarded by Christian holding a bayonet. When Bligh entreated with Christian to be reasonable, Christian would only reply, "I am in hell, I am in hell!" Despite strong words and threats heard on both sides, the ship was taken bloodlessly and apparently without struggle by any of the loyalists except Bligh himself. Of the 42 men on board aside from Bligh and Christian, 18 joined Christian in mutiny, two were passive, and 22 remained loyal to Bligh. The mutineers ordered Bligh, the ship's master, two midshipmen, the surgeon's mate (Ledward), and the ship's clerk into
Bounty's
launch. Several more men voluntarily joined Bligh rather than remaining aboard, as they knew that those who remained on board would be considered
de facto
mutineers under the
Articles of War
.
Aftermath of the mutiny
Bligh's epic voyage
In all, 18 of the loyal crew were in the launch with Bligh; the other four were forced to stay and man the ship with the mutineers.
The mutiny took place about 30 nautical miles (56 km) from
Tofua (Bligh spelled it
Tofoa
). Bligh and his loyalists attempted to land here (in a cove that they subsequently called "Murderers' Cove") in order to augment their meager provisions.
[3]
The only casualty during this voyage was a crewman, John Norton, who was stoned to death by some natives of Tofua.
Bligh navigated the 23 foot (7 m) open launch on a 47-day voyage first to Tofua and then to
Timor in the
Dutch East Indies, equipped with a
sextant and a
pocket watch, and with no charts or compass. He recorded the distance as 3,618 nautical miles (6710 km). He was chased by cannibals in what is now known as
Bligh Water,
Fiji, and passed through
Torres Strait along the way, and landed in
Kupang, Timor on June 14.
[4]
Shortly after the launch reached Timor, the cook and botanist died. Three other crewmen died in the coming months.
Lieutenant Bligh returned to Britain and reported the mutiny to the
Admiralty on 15 March 1790.
Mutineers in Tahiti
Meanwhile, the mutineers sailed for the island of
Tubuai, where they tried to settle. After three months of being attacked by the island's natives, however, they returned to Tahiti. Twelve of the mutineers and the four loyalists who had been unable to accompany Bligh remained there, taking their chances that the Royal Navy would find them and bring them to justice.
Two of the mutineers died in Tahiti between 1789 and 1790. Matthew Thompson shot Charles Churchill and was subsequently stoned to death by Churchill's Tahitian family in an act of
vendetta.
Last voyage of the Pandora
HMS Pandora
, under the command of Captain
Edward Edwards, was dispatched on 7 November 1790 to search for
Bounty
and the mutineers.
Pandora
carried twice the normal complement of crewmen, as it was expected that the extras would man the
Bounty
when it was recovered from the mutineers.
Pandora
reached Tahiti on 23 March 1791. Four of the men from the
Bounty
came on board
Pandora
soon after its arrival, and ten more were arrested in a few weeks. These fourteen, mutineers and loyal crew alike, were imprisoned in a makeshift cell on
Pandora
's deck, which they derisively called "
Pandora's Box."
On 8 May 1791,
Pandora
left Tahiti, spending about three months visiting islands to the west of Tahiti in search of
Bounty
and the remaining mutineers, without finding anything except
flotsam (including some
spars and a yard on
Palmerston Island). Heading west through the
Torres Strait,
Pandora
ran aground on a reef (part of the
Great Barrier Reef) on 29 August 1791. The ship sank the next day, and 31 of the crew and four of the prisoners (Skinner, Sumner, Stewart and Hillbrandt) were lost. The remaining 89 of the ship's company and ten prisoners (released from their cage at the last moment) assembled in four small launches and sailed for Timor, in a voyage ironically similar to that of Bligh. They arrived at Timor on 16 September 1791.
Courts-martial
After being repatriated to Britain, the ten surviving prisoners were tried by a naval court. During the trial, great importance was attached to which men had been seen to be holding weapons during the critical moments of the mutiny, as under the Articles of War, failure to act when able to prevent a mutiny was considered no different from being an active mutineer. In the judgment delivered on 18 September 1792, four men whom Bligh had designated as innocent were acquitted. Two were found guilty, but pardoned; one of these was
Peter Heywood, who later rose to the rank of captain himself; the second was
James Morrison who also continued his naval career and died at sea. Another was reprieved due to a legal technicality, and later also received a pardon. The other three men were convicted, and hanged aboard
HMS Brunswick
on 29 October 1792. In other trials, both Bligh and Edwards were court-martialled for the loss of their ships (an automatic proceeding under British naval law, and not indicative of any particular suspicion of guilt). Both were acquitted.
Bligh resumed his naval career and went on to attain the rank of Vice Admiral. However, his career was marked by another challenge to his authority as
Governor of
New South Wales. In 1808, the troops of New South Wales arrested Bligh in an incident known as the
Rum Rebellion.
Second breadfruit expedition
Even before Edwards had returned from his search for
Bounty
, 1791}} and her tender
Assistant
began a second voyage to collect breadfruit trees on 3 August 1791. This mission was again championed by Joseph Banks and again commanded by Bligh, now promoted from Lieutenant to Captain. On this second voyage they successfully collected 2,126 breadfruit plants and hundreds of other botanical specimens and delivered them to the
West Indies. The slaves on Jamaica, however, refused to eat the breadfruit plant, so the main purpose of the expedition was ultimately a failure. Departing Tahiti on 19 July 1792, Bligh once again successfully navigated the
Torres Strait.
Mutineers on Pitcairn Island
Immediately after setting sixteen men ashore in Tahiti in September 1789, Fletcher Christian, eight other crewmen, six Tahitian men, and 11 women, one with a baby, set sail in
Bounty
hoping to elude the Royal Navy. According to a journal kept by one of Christian's followers, the Tahitians were actually kidnapped when Christian set sail without warning them, the purpose of this being to kidnap the Tahitian women.
The mutineers passed through the
Fiji and
Cook Islands, but feared that they would be found there. Continuing their quest for a safe haven, on 15 January 1790 they rediscovered
Pitcairn Island, which had been misplaced on the Royal Navy's charts. After the decision was made to settle on Pitcairn, livestock and other provisions were removed from the
Bounty
. To prevent the ship's detection, and anyone's possible escape, the ship was burned on 23 January 1790 in what is now called
Bounty Bay. Some of her remains, such as her ballast stones, are still partially visible in its waters. Her rudder is displayed in the Fiji Museum in Suva. An anchor of the
Bounty
was recovered by
Luis Marden in Bounty Bay.
The Pitcairn island community began life with bright prospects. There was ample food, water and land for everyone, and the climate was mild. Although many of the Polynesians were homesick, and the Britons knew they were marooned on Pitcairn forever, they settled into life on Pitcairn fairly quickly. A number of children were born. Fletcher Christian became the established leader of the community, and followed a policy of fairness and moderation toward all. He wanted the Polynesians to have an equal say in community affairs, and was supported in this by several of the Britons and likely all of the Polynesians. Other mutineers, however, treated the Polynesians as servants, even those of high rank, and attempted to deprive them of land. The natives resented this unfair treatment, which caused relationships between the Britons and the Polynesians to deteriorate. The hostility increased when Jack Williams' wife died, and one of the Polynesians' consorts was "given" to Williams as a "replacement." Despite Fletcher Christian's efforts to maintain peace, the Polynesian men revolted against their British oppressors.
In 1793, a conflict broke out on Pitcairn Island between the mutineers and the Tahitian men who sailed with them. Four of the mutineers (John Williams, Isaac Martin, John Mills and William Brown) and
Fletcher Christian were killed by the Tahitians. All six of the Tahitian men were killed during the on and off fighting, some by the widows of the murdered mutineers and others by each other.
Fletcher Christian was survived by Maimiti and their son
Thursday October Christian (sometimes called "Friday October Christian").
Concerning the original Tahitian women: Early on, one died in a fall while gathering eggs from a cliff and another from a respiratory illness (thus precipitating the taking of the Tahitian men's consorts).
Rumours persisted that Fletcher left the island and made it back to England. There are other reports that Christian actually committed suicide.
Christian's death caused a leadership vacuum on the island. Two of the four surviving mutineers, Ned Young and John Adams (also known as Alexander Smith), assumed the leadership role, and some peace followed until William McCoy created a still and began brewing an alcoholic beverage from a native plant. The mutineers began drinking excessively and making life miserable for the Pitcairn women.
The women revolted a number of times — with the men continually "granting pardons" (each time threatening to execute the next revolt heads) — and some of the women attempted to leave the island on a make shift raft; it swamped in the "bay." Life in Pitcairn continued thus until the deaths of McCoy and Quintal, and the destruction of the still.
William McCoy died after a drunken fall.
Matthew Quintal was subsequently killed by John Adams and
Ned Young after threatening to kill the whole community.
Eventually John Adams and Ned Young were reconciled with the women, and the community began to flourish.
Ned Young succumbed in 1800 to asthma, the first man to die of natural causes.
After Young's death in 1800, Adams assumed the role as leader of the community, and took responsibility for educating its members. Smith started holding regular Sunday services and teaching the Christian religion to the settlement. His gentleness and tolerance enabled the small community to thrive, and peace was restored to Pitcairn Island at last ... one man, nine Tahitian women and dozens of children.
The islanders reported that it was not until 27 December 1795 that first ship after the Bounty was seen from the island, but as she did not approach the land, they could not make out to what nation she belonged. A second appeared some time in 1801, but did not attempt to communicate with them. A third came sufficiently near to see their habitations, but did not venture to send a boat on shore. The
American trading ship
Topaz
under the command of
Mayhew Folger was the first to visit the island and communicate with them when they spent 10 hours at Pitcairn in February 1808. A report of Folger's find was forwarded to
The Admiralty—which mentioned the discovery and the position of the island at latitude 25° 2' south and 130° longitude,
[5] however this rediscovery was not known to Sir
Thomas Staines who commanded a Royal Navy flotilla of two ships (
HMS Briton
and
HMS Tagus
) which found the island at 25°. 4' S. (by meridian observation) on 17 September 1814. Staines sent a party ashore and wrote a detailed report for the Admiralty.
[6] [7] [8]
In 1808 when the
Topaz
reached Pitcairn Island, only
John Adams, nine women, and some children still lived. In 1825, John Adams was granted
amnesty for his mutiny; Pitcairn's capital,
Adamstown, is named for him. On 30 November 1838, the Pitcairn Islands (which include the uninhabited islands of Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno) were incorporated into the
British Empire. In 1856 the British government granted
Norfolk Island to the Pitcairners for settlement since population growth was rendering their original refuge uninhabitable.
As of 2007,
Pitcairn Islands is a
British Overseas Territory with a small population of about 50 inhabitants.
Bounty Day is celebrated on 23 January by Pitcairn Islanders in commemoration of the 1790 burning of the
Bounty
, and on 8 June as the national holiday on Norfolk Island to commemorate the 1856 arrival of settlers from Pitcairn Island.
Crew details
In the 18th century Royal Navy, rank and position onboard ship was defined by a mix of two hierarchies, an official hierarchy of ranks (commissioned officers, warrant officers, petty officers, and seamen) and a conventionally-recognized social divide between gentlemen and non-gentlemen.
At the top of the official rank hierarchy were the
commissioned officers — on a larger warship, the commissioned officers included the captain, several lieutenants to command watches, and the officers commanding the
Royal Marines on board the ship. The
Bounty
, however, carried no marines, and no commissioned officers other than Lieutenant Bligh himself, who served as master and commander of the ship. As he was effectively the captain he occupied a private cabin.
Next below the commissioned officers came the
warrant officers, such as the sailing master, surgeon, boatswain, purser, and gunner, who were as likely to be considered skilled tradesmen as gentlemen. As the senior warrant officer, the sailing master and his mates were entitled to berth with the lieutenants in the
wardroom (though in this case there were no lieutenants there); other warrant officers berthed in the
gunroom. Like commissioned officers, warrant officers had the right of access to the
quarterdeck and were immune from punishment by
flogging. They held their warrants directly from the navy, and the captain could not alter their rank. Roman Catholics were allowed to serve as warrant officers, but not as commissioned officers.
Below the warrant officers came the petty officers, who were technically ratings like the seamen. The petty officers included two separate groups: young gentlemen training to be future commissioned officers, often serving as
midshipmen or
master's mates, and tradesmen working as skilled assistants to the warrant officers. Although the young gentlemen technically were ratings, holding a rank below warrant officers at the mercy of the captain, as aspiring future commissioned officers they were considered socially superior and were often given a watch (with authority over some warrant officers) or a minor command.
Finally, at the bottom of the hierarchical tree, were the
seamen, divided into
Able Seamen and
Ordinary Seamen. Aboard some vessels, an even lower grade existed called Landsman, who were seamen-in-training with very little or no naval skill. Note, however, that the young gentlemen might also be rated as seamen rather than midshipmen on the ship's books, though they were still considered the social superiors of the seamen, petty officers (excluding other young gentlemen), and most warrant officers, and could be given authority over them.
In the immediate wake of the mutiny, all but four of the loyal crew joined Captain Bligh in the long boat for the voyage to Timor, and eventually made it safely back to England unless otherwise noted in the table below. Four were detained against their will on the
Bounty
for their needed skills and for lack of space on the long boat. The mutineers first returned to Tahiti, where most of the survivors were later captured by the
Pandora
and taken to England for trial. Nine mutineers continued their flight from the law and eventually settled Pitcairn Island, where all but one died before their fate became known to the outside world.
:
| Category
| Name
| Position
| Mutiny Status
| Notes
|
Commissioned Officers
| Lieutenant William Bligh
| Master and Commander.
|
| Acting Purser [9]
|
| Wardroom Officers
| John Fryer
| Sailing Master
| loyal
|
|
| Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian
| Master's Mate
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; killed 20 Sep. 1793
|
| William Elphinstone
| Master's Mate
| loyal
| died in Batavia Oct. 1789
|
| Thomas Huggan
| Surgeon
|
| died in Tahiti 9 Dec. 1788 before mutiny
|
| Cockpit Officers
| John Hallett
| Midshipman
| loyal
| Died 1794 of illness
|
| Thomas Hayward
| Midshipman
| loyal
| Died 1798 in shipwreck
|
| Thomas Ledward
| Surgeon's Mate
| loyal
| promoted to Surgeon after death of Thomas Huggan; presumed lost at sea in sinking of Welfare
1789 but reported to have been ship surgeon on HMS Discovery in 1791 and died several years later
|
| John Samuel
| Clerk
| loyal
|
| Warrant Officers
| William Cole
| Boatswain
| loyal
|
|
| Charles Churchill
| Master-at-Arms (Ship's Corporal)
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; murdered in Tahiti Apr. 1790 prior to trial
|
| William Peckover
| Gunner
| loyal
|
|
| Joseph Coleman
| Armourer
| loyal
| detained on Bounty
against his will; to Tahiti; tried and acquitted
|
| Peter Linkletter
| Quartermaster
| loyal
| died in Batavia Oct. 1789
|
| John Norton
| Quartermaster
| loyal
| killed by natives in Tofua 2 May 1789
|
| Lawrence LeBogue
| Sailmaker
| loyal
|
|
| Henry Hillbrandt
| Cooper
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; drowned in irons during wreck of Pandora
29 Aug. 1791
|
| William Purcell
| Carpenter
| loyal
|
|
| David Nelson
| Botanist (civilian)
| loyal
| died 20 July 1789 at Coupang
|
Midshipmen mustered as Able Seamen
| Peter Heywood
| Acting Midshipman
| loyal
| detained against will on Bounty
; to Tahiti; sentenced to death, but pardoned; aka Roger Byam in novels by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
|
| George Stewart
| Acting Midshipman
| loyal
| detained against will on Bounty
; to Tahiti; hit by gangway wreck of Pandora
29 Aug. 1791
|
| Robert Tinkler
| Midshipman
| loyal
|
|
| Ned Young
| Midshipman
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; died 25 Dec. 1800
|
Petty Officers
| James Morrison
| Boatswain's Mate
| loyal
| stayed on Bounty
; to Tahiti; sentenced to death, but pardoned
|
| George Simpson
| Quartermaster's Mate
| loyal
|
|
| John Williams
| Armourer's Mate
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; killed 20 Sep. 1793
|
| Thomas McIntosh
| Carpenter's Mate
| loyal
| detained against will on Bounty
; to Tahiti; tried and acquitted
|
| Charles Norman
| Carpenter's Mate
| loyal
| detained against will on Bounty
; to Tahiti; tried and acquitted
|
| John Mills
| Gunner's Mate
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; killed 20 Sep. 1793
|
| William Muspratt
| Tailor
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; sentenced to death, but released on appeal and pardoned
|
| John Smith
| Steward
| loyal
|
|
| Thomas Hall
| Cook
| loyal
|
|
| Richard Skinner
| Barber
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; drowned in irons during wreck of Pandora
29 Aug. 1791
|
| William Brown
| Botanist's Assistant
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; killed 20 Sep. 1793
|
| Robert Lamb
| Butcher
| loyal
| died at sea 11 Oct. 1789 en route Batavia to Cape Town
|
Able Seamen
| John Adams
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; pardoned 1825, died 1829; aka Alexander Smith
|
| Thomas Burkitt
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; condemned and hanged 29 Oct. 1792 at Spithead
|
| Michael Byrne
| Able Seaman
| loyal
| detained against will on Bounty
; to Tahiti; tried and acquitted
|
| Thomas Ellison
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; condemned and hanged 29 Oct. 1792 at Spithead
|
| Isaac Martin
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; killed 20 Sep. 1793
|
| William McCoy
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; committed suicide 1797/98
|
| John Millward
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| condemned and hanged 29 Oct. 1792 at Spithead
|
| Matthew Quintal
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Pitcairn; "executed" 1799 by Adams and Young
|
| John Sumner
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; drowned in irons during wreck of Pandora
29 Aug. 1791
|
| Matthew Thompson
| Able Seaman
| mutinied
| to Tahiti; murdered Apr. 1790 prior to trial
|
| James Valentine
| Able Seaman
|
| died of scurvy at sea 9 Oct. 1788 prior to mutiny
|
Crew members' biographical information may be found on the page at the (PISC).
Discovery of the wreck
Luis Marden discovered the remains of the
Bounty
in January 1957. After spotting a rudder from this ship in a
museum on Fiji, he persuaded his editors and writers to let him dive off Pitcairn Island, where the rudder had been found. Despite the warnings of one islander -"Man, you gwen be dead as a hatchet!"
[10] — Marden dived for several days in the dangerous swells near the island, and found the remains of the fabled ship. He subsequently met with
Marlon Brando to counsel him on his role as
Fletcher Christian in the 1962 film
Mutiny on the Bounty
. Later in life, Marden wore
cuff links made of nails from the
Bounty
.
The mutiny in literature and cinema
- Although William Bligh has frequently been portrayed as a middle-aged man in stage and screen productions about the Bounty
, he was thirty-four years old at the time of the mutiny, having been born in 1754.
- Mary Russell Mitford wrote her poem 'Christina, the Maid of the south Seas' in 1811, following the 1810 publication of Captain Mayhew Folger's rediscovery of Pitcairn.
- "Pitcairn's Island", A new Melo Dramatic Ballet of Action
, opened in Drury Lane in April 1816 following publication in the Naval Chronicle
of an account of the 1814 visit to Pitcairn of Captain Sir Thomas Staines, of the Briton
, and Captain Philip Pipon, of the Tagus
.
- Lord Byron published his poem The Island
in 1823.
- Sir John Barrow's 1831 book "The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: Its Cause and Consequences" ensured the enduring fame of the Bounty and her people.
- Les révoltés de la Bounty
by Jules Verne in 1879, based on a work by Gabriel Marcel.
- A trilogy of novels (Mutiny on the "Bounty"
(1932), Men Against the Sea
, and Pitcairn's Island
) by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall (also published in one volume as The Bounty Trilogy
), as well as the movies and television shows based on them, relate fictionalized versions of the mutiny.
- A first movie was made in Australia in 1916.
- The second movie version was the Australian film In the Wake of the Bounty
(1933), starring Errol Flynn as Fletcher Christian.
- The next movie was Mutiny on the Bounty
(1935), which won the Oscar for Best Picture that year. It starred Charles Laughton as Bligh and Clark Gable as Christian.
- Another Mutiny on the Bounty
was released in 1962, starring Trevor Howard as Bligh and Marlon Brando as Christian. The 1962 movie is generally considered the least accurate with such historical errors as Christian and Bligh meeting (and subsequently hating) each other at the first sailing of the Bounty, the mutiny occurring in the middle of the day sparked by Bligh's order to let a sailor die of ingested saltwater poisoning rather than be given water set aside for the breadfruits, and Fletcher Christian dying from injuries sustained in the fire aboard Bounty
while trying to save the ship.
- Bengt Danielsson, a Kon-Tiki crew member, wrote What Happened on the Bounty
in 1962.
- A fifth film, The Bounty
(1984), starred Anthony Hopkins as William Bligh and Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian. This film is generally considered the most historically accurate with some of the scenes reenacted directly from William Bligh's own log.
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- featured a Klingon vessel stolen by Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew that they renamed the Bounty
after they commandeered the ship.
- The Simpsons
portrayed the "Mutiny on the Bounty" story in the episode "The Wettest Stories Ever Told".
- Val McDermid explores the fate of Fletcher Christian in her novel The Grave Tattoo
.
- Rasputina wrote the double album Oh Perilous World as faux 1930s musical theater about Pitcairnian mutineer life with thinly veiled, anti-neoconservative allegory.
- R. M. Ballantyne wrote a novel about the mutineers on the Bounty called ''The Lonely Island".
- John Boyne wrote a novel called "Mutiny on the Bounty", published in 2008, about the voyage of the Bounty and the mutiny from the perspective of Captain's Bligh's personal young valet.
The Bounty on Postage Stamps
- Pitcairn Island's first postage stamps were issued on 15 October 1940 [11] with a portrait of the ship entitled "H.M. Armed Vessel Bounty" on the 6d stamp.
- The third definitive issue of 1964 depicted "H.M. Armed Vessel Bounty" on the 1d denomination, changed to 1 cent in 1967.
- In 1976 Bounty was shown as "H.M.S. Bounty" on the 10c stamp.
- Bicentenary Sheetlets and first day covers were issued in 1990 depicting Bounty as "HMAV Bounty".
- In 2004 a set of stamps and first day covers were issued to celebrate "HMAV Bounty" the 1979 replica then based in Sydney.
- In 2007 a set of stamps and first day covers were issued to celebrate "HMS Bounty" the 1962 USA based replica.
See also
- Ship replica (including a list of replicas)
- HMS Hermione
Scene of a far more bloody mutiny in 1797
- Descendants of the Bounty Mutineers
References
- Blaydes – Summary
- The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Caroline Alexander. ISBN 0006532462
- Bligh Encyclopedia
- Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare: From the Bounty to safety--4,162 Miles Across the Pacific in a Rowing Boat
- ''The European Magazine, and London Review'', Philological Society of London, 1816, Volume 69 (Jan. - June 1816) "Mutineers of the Bounty". p. 134
-
Staff. ''The Annual Biography and Obituary for the Year ...'', Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1831, Volume 15 "Chapter X Sir Thomas Staines" pp. 366-367
-
History of Pitcairn IslandHistory of Pitcairn Island, Pitcairn Study Center. Retrieved 15 September 2008
-
Pitcairn descendants of the ''Bounty'' Mutineers, Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- Bounty's Crew Encyclopedia
- National Geographic Icon Luis Marden Dies
- Title Unavailable