Posted on 12/07/2017 8:29:38 AM PST by Borges
William Bligh, commanding lieutenant of HMS Bounty and victim of the notorious mutiny, died 200 years ago today on December 7, 1817.
1. William Bligh was born in 1754 and served as cabin boy and captain’s servant on HMS Monmouth from 1761, when he was still only six.
2. His father worked as a customs officer.
3. In 1776, he was chosen by James Cook to be sailing master on the Resolution on Cook’s third and final voyage to the Pacific.
4. At the time of the mutiny in 1789, HMS Bounty was on a mission to find breadfruit plants in Tahiti and transport them to the West Indies.
5. Bligh was cast adrift with 18 loyal crewmen with enough food and water for about a week.
6. They were also given four cutlasses, a compass, and a quadrant, but no maps.
7. Bligh made it to Timor, which was more than 4,000 miles away. The journey took 47 days.
8. From 1790 to 1805, Bligh resumed his naval career and was appointed Commander or Captain of a dozen further ships.
9. He served as Governor of New South Wales from 1806-1808.
10. The ackee fruit of Jamaica was named Blighia sapida after he introduced it to the Royal Society.
It happened again after Bligh was appointed Govenor of New South Wales. Within a few months after taking command, his military subordanant placed him under arrest as part of the Rum Revolt. Clearly, there was something lacking in Bligh’s command skills.
what happened on Pitcain Island once Fletcher and his crew got there was horrific too. I think most of the men became addicted to homemade alcohol and killed each other off eventually. There was drunkness, murder and jealousy.
Trevor Howard was a great actor. You want sadistic Captains read The Sea Wolf(Jack London). Edward G. Robinson. Nuff said.
What wasn’t mentioned is that Bligh had a second mutiny when he was the Governor of New South Wales. One mutiny could be explained away, but with two to his name, I think there was something wrong with Bligh.
My own take is that the problem with Bligh wasn't that he was too cruel, but that he was too lax compared to other captains when it came to discipline and punishment. He couldn't maintain order among a crew of conscripts, most of whom didn't want to be there and many of whom came from criminal backgrounds. Poor leadership and interpersonal skills were to blame rather than inordinate cruelty (contra the Hollywood version of things).
..in sharp contrast to how the allegedly villainous Bligh maintained order and kept his men alive for weeks on a lifeboat. Christian was a selfish narcissist and most of the mutineers were thugs. You wouldn't expect such a colony to last very long - although there are people on Pitcairn to this day who are descendants of the mutineers.
One of the greatest feats of seamanship in history.
So, he was only 35 at the time of the mutiny.
Hollywood has him as a middle aged man or older................
Sodomy, Rum and the Lash!....................
Oh, boy! Another list! Woo hoo!
Exactly.
Hollywood has crafted a “historical” narrative that’s been hard to dispel.
Didn’t that come from the book?
the Bounty Trilogy contains all three books, Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea and Pitcairn’s Island. It can be downloaded for free from Internet Archive, as can the 3 seperate books.
the Bounty Trilogy contains all three books, Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea and Pitcairn’s Island. It can be downloaded for free from Internet Archive, as can the 3 seperate books.
The fact that the mutiny occurred at all was a big black mark for Bligh regardless of the cause. But he was by no means the worst Captain around by a long shot. Many Captains were sadistic bullies. Why do you think so many Brit sailors jumped ship and signed on to the US Navy?
Captain Pigot of HMS HERMIONE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hermione_(1782)
Crew mutinied against his brutality - he was hacked up and thrown overboard
Bligh Island and Reef in Alaska are named after William Bligh.
The reef was the location of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Wow. The story of Pivot and the HMS Hermione is riveting. Tough times!
How come for every historical person of even minor note, there’s someone making the case that they were gay?
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