Life and Times of Captain Bligh
Eighteen men, five days of rations, and the equivalent of an Atlantic crossing.
People used to be made of tougher stuff. There aren’t many people in our lifetime who would willingly leave their families, knowing the potential of death, and also knowing our modern comforts and giving them up entirely. Society has, in a lot of ways, changed for the better, but not necessarily in all aspects. Many people would grimace at the idea of camping, let alone a lifetime of camping with rations, cold miserable weather, strict regulations, and little to no pay. As much as the British Empire has made some very questionable choices in history, we cannot deny the fact they created some truly remarkable sailors and loyalty-inspiring leaders.
In the mid-1800s the royal navy acquired The HMS Bounty, a converted merchant collier they planned to use to transport breadfruit from French Polynesia to the West Indies. The Bounty’s planned route sailed from Tahiti to the West Indies. Now the British and the French did not get along in the seventeen hundreds, and I don’t particularly think that has changed even now. Tahiti was chosen as a place to British dominance, in a sort of territorial standoff with the French. Shipping out the breadfruit from French Polynesia was a tactical political and militaristic display. In August of 1787, the British Royal Navy appointed William Bligh, of Plymouth, England as commanding Lieutenant aboard the Bounty.
Show Notes:
[02:35] Who is Captain William Bligh?
Born in seventeen fifty-four, William Bligh joined the navy at the ripe old age of seven! At sixteen, he joined HMS Hunter as an able seaman and one year later was promoted to midshipman, a junior trainee officer. An ambitious lad, Bligh gained experience as a Marine Surveyor and accomplished the very useful skill of drawing up charts. In seventeen seventy-six, the year of American Independence, Bligh was appointed as sailing master on HMS Resolution - sailing alongside world-renown Captain Cook on his third voyage to the Pacific. History tells of what happened on that ill-fated voyage, and we can only assume it must have left a mark on twenty-two-year-old Bligh. Because not only did Bligh produce many of the cartographic charts of the voyage, an accomplishment, and invaluable experience, but he also witnessed the death of Captain Cook on Hawaii. The young Bligh, who remained on board the ship while Cook and a small team went ashore, peered through a telescope glass as the natives dragged his commander off the beach and tore Cook into pieces. After that fateful trip, Bligh returned to England, married a woman by the name of Elizabeth Betham, and continued to increase his rank in the navy. Bligh worked diligently, climbing up the military ladder. Going from master on HMS Belle Poule & then to lieutenant following his heroic actions at the Battle of Dogger Bank. There was a brief period of peace between Britain and France in the years seventeen eight three through seventeen eighty-seven. During this time Bligh was unable to gain command onboard a naval ship, so he continued his life at sea onboard merchant ships. He spent this time honing his sailing techniques and his skills at commanding a crew.
[04:12] William Bligh was given command of the HMS Bounty
After his nearly four-year hiatus from the British Royal Navy, I’m sure he was keen as mustard to get back in command of a ship. His second in command was a man named Fletcher Christian. Historians of the past note he was “a weak and unstable young man who could not stand being shouted at.” Christian sailed with Bligh twice before, and he even left a potential career as an attorney to join the royal navy. Christian was well educated, and Bligh clearly thought him the man for the job.
[04:55] HMS Bounty set sail from Spithead, England
HMS Bounty set sail from Spithead, England on the twenty-third of December in seventeen eight seven. This departure followed a delay of three weeks. They sailed West, toward the southern tip of South America. This delay though caused less than favorable weather conditions. The plan to sail around Cape Horn didn’t go according to plan. After battling storms, seas, and utterly failing at their attempt to round the cape, Bligh decided to turn and do a complete 180. He turned his ship around and set course for the Southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope in an effort to reach Tahiti. The wind now working with them, this route proved much more successful.
[05:34] HMS Bounty finally reached Tahiti
Finally, after ten, long, arduous, and dramatic months at sea, HMS Bounty finally reached Tahiti on the twenty-sixth of October. Grateful to finally reach their destination, the crew hastily moved ashore. They began collecting the breadfruit plants and fraternizing with the local Tahitians. Many members of the crew formed relationships with the local Tahitian women. The acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian even went so far as to marry a local girl named Maimiti. The men enjoyed their time in Tahiti - some probably a little too much. They quickly became accustomed to the island way of life. Sunshine, warm water, and women aplenty, the reality of returning to a life at sea on a British Naval Vessel came as what we can only assume a very harsh “wake up call.”
[06:18] They departed Tahiti for the West Indies & Tensions Grew Between Captain and Crew
They departed Tahiti for the West Indies on April 4th. The order and discipline the crew followed on their journey to Tahiti, wasn’t quite up to par as before. Bligh, rather vainly, tried to reassert naval discipline on board. Unfortunately, the crew was small and because of this, he had no Royal Marines on board to back up his authority and support him. Because of the lack of Royal Marines, the task fell to the mate, Fletcher Christian, to back Bligh up.
Christian’s duty was to support Bligh and be the liaison between captain and crew. Now, to be frank, Bligh was known for his short fuse and being a hard task-master. I don’t think you can join the navy at the age of seven and NOT be a complete hard-ass. After months of leisure on one of the most beautiful islands on the planet, a place the people at home couldn’t even dream of, the naval attitude of Bligh was less than welcome from his crew. Tensions grew, and the relationship between captain and crew deteriorated at an accelerated pace. Bligh began handing out increasingly harsh punishments, in a vain attempt to get his crew back in line. During this return voyage, HMS Bounty and her crew stopped at the island of Nomuka to get fresh water and supplies.
[08:03] Fletcher’s Mutiny
After 1300 miles of this sort of behavior from his commander, Fletcher Christian snapped. On the twenty-eighth of April, not even a month after their departure from Tahiti, Christian staged a mutiny on which nearly half of the 42 crew aboard joined in. Now I think it’s interesting to note here that nearly all of the mutineers on board were of the “able seaman” or petty officers rank. Meaning they were the lowest ranking members of the ship.
[08:58] Bligh Taken Prisoner and Sent off in the Ship’s Boat
In the wee hours of the morning, Christian distributed weapons amongst his followers and took Bligh, prisoner. Fletcher cast out Bligh and his loyal midshipmen, forcing them into the ship’s boat. About half of the crew aboard willingly joined Bligh, in the ships’ boat rather than remain on the Bounty with the mutineers. In total they marooned18 men. Fletcher and the mutineers had been kind enough to supply the deployed boat with five days worth of food and water. They also generously allowed Bligh’s men a sextant and a pocket watch for navigational purposes.
Once leaving the country behind, Bligh initially sailed their new ship to the nearby island Tofua, about 50 miles from where the mutineers left them. Here, however, the local islanders chased them off, and unfortunately, Quartermaster John Norton got caught up in the hostilities and died there on Tofua. After consulting with his crew, Bligh and the men decided to make their way towards the Dutch settlement of Kupang. They decided this knowing it would be a journey of almost thirty-five hundred miles with only five days worth of food.
[10:46] HMS Bounty Returns to Tahiti and then Headed to Pitcairn Island
Meanwhile, back on the Bounty, the remaining crew of mutineers and those detained for their usefulness decided to return to Tahiti. Rather unluckily for them though, their reception was not as welcome as before. The islanders were wary and untrusting of the crew who returned to them so soon. After a few skirmishes and high tensions, Fletcher Christian thought it wise to leave Tahiti.
The majority packed up the Bounty with their hostages and headed for the uninhabited Pitcairn Island. For a while on this island only fighting, murder and debauchery ensued.
Pitcairn Island was a far cry from the original paradise they had experienced in Tahiti
Fletcher Christian was shot and butchered with an ax. “Oh dear,” were supposedly his final words uttered.
[11:45] HMS Bounty Crew Carry-On and Bligh’s Crew Arrives
While all of this mayhem transpired, the marooned crew carried on, rationed daily to only an ounce of bread and a quarter a pint of water. They successfully managed to make landfall at the tip of Australia where they gathered more rations and supplies before continuing on. The sailors sang shanties, told stories, and prayed to keep themselves occupied from the cold and wet winter weather.
After surviving 7 long weeks at sea, Captain Bligh and his men reached their destination. On the 14th of June they sailed into the dutch settlement of Kupang, and being the proud Brits they were, they flew a makeshift union jack off their stern. They arrived with no loss of life, save for Quartermaster Norton on Tofua. Bligh and his crew managed to sail 3500 nautical miles with little to no supplies, instruments, or direction. They spent seven weeks in the open ocean, without losing a single person to the elements and they did it on merit, skill, and grit. They didn’t prevail because of a miracle or luck, it was balls of steel and perseverance. This accomplishment of Bligh and his men is to this day still considered one of the most remarkable feats of leadership and navigation in the history of seafaring.
[13:04] Mutineers Sent to Trail and Bligh Welcomed as Hero
British forces eventually found the remaining mutineers and took them back to England to hold trial. Several were hanged. Others received a pardon for their alleged crimes. To this day, there are still descendants of the mutineers on the island of Pitcairn.
Bligh returned to England finally in the March of nineteen seventy. News of the mutiny and his journey had already spread, and he was welcomed as a hero. He was promoted to post-captain and the following year he returned to Tahiti for a second attempt to transport breadfruit to the West Indies. While this sailing mission within itself succeeded, the cargo was not.
[13:47] Bligh’s Career Continues
Bligh nonetheless went on to progress in his naval career, even fighting alongside Lord Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Bligh’s reputation as a strong disciplinarian eventually won him the appointment of the Governor of New South Whales in 1805. However, his attitude as a strong disciplinarian also made him unpopular with the colonists. This led to a military coup, later known as the Rum Rebellion. The rebels arrested Bligh and shipped him off as a prisoner to Tasmania. The Rum Rebellion eventually quelled, but Bligh was done with Australia. He returned to England where he was finally promoted to Vice Admiral in eighteen fourteen. Admiral Bligh died in eighteen seventeen at the age of sixty-three. He had served in the British Navy for fifty-six years.
[14:37] Wreckage and Recreation of the HMS Bounty
In 1957, photographer Luis Marden discovered the wreckage of Bounty. She was still visible in the shallow waters off the shores of Pitcairn, more or less undisturbed for nearly a century and a half. Some artifacts from the wreck were removed, but there are still remains that can be seen by divers today who are willing to risk the dangerous swells of the bay. The legacy of the HMS Bounty doesn’t end there though.
In 1960 a recreation of the HMS Bounty was built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
She was crafted for a film set, one of the first ships of her kind to be built from scratch using historical records. To assist in carrying film crew and staff, her dimensions all around were increased, resulting in a vessel nearly twice the tonnage of the original.
While primarily built for the film, the replica Bounty was built as a fully functioning sailing vessel. The ship eventually became accustomed to the New England summer and Florida Winter yachting route, doing excursions, deck tours, film sets, and the like.
In October of 2012, The Bounty left New England to head towards Florida, trying to outrun Hurricane Sandy. This voyage was unsuccessful. The boat sank, during the storm in what the coast guard has since called a reckless decision and poor management. 14 of the crew were rescued, while the captain and one crew were washed overboard.
