[Our man in washington]

If Nordhoff and Hall's research is to be believed, Pitcairn Island didn't start off as a puritanical colony. The colony included some Tahitians who came along. The Tahitian men and English had a fight over land rights on the island, which resulted in the death of all the Tahitian men and five of the original nine Englishmen. Nearly all the Tahitian women survived.

The remaining Englishmen soon all got addicted to alcohol, thanks to one of their party who could brew grog from roots. Eventually, three of the four Englishmen died, and the surviving Englishman (John Adams) established the puritanical rules. At the point, everyone else was either a Tahitian women or a child with an English father and Tahitian mother.

John Adams had seen how alcohol had nearly destroyed the colony. Now, I have nothing against raising a glass myself, but after reading Nordhoff and Hall's book, I could see why Adams would have laid down such rules.

[PJ-Comix]

Eventually, three of the four Englishmen died, and the surviving Englishman (John Adams) established the puritanical rules.

What a dope! He's stuck on an island full of booze and hot Tahitian women and suddenly he comes up with those puritanical rules? Talk about BAD TIMING!!!

[CatoRenasci]

I loved the books of the Bounty trilogy when I was in high school: Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea and Pitcairn's Island. Powerful stuff.