Mutiny on the Bounty! (a case study)

The Breadfruit Revolt case study. The Law of the Sea.

The Mutiny on the Bounty occurred in the Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of HMS Bounty from the captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set him and eighteen loyalists adrift in the ship’s open launch. The reasons behind the mutiny are still debated.

Bligh and his adrift crew stopped for supplies on Tofua, where a crew member was killed. Bligh navigated more than 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) in the launch to reach safety. He then began the process of bringing the mutineers to justice. The mutineers variously settled on Tahiti or on Pitcairn Island.

Bounty had left England in 1787 on a mission to collect and transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies. A five-month layover in Tahiti, during which many of the men lived ashore and formed relationships with native Polynesians, led those men to be less amenable to naval discipline. Relations between Bligh and his crew deteriorated after he reportedly began handing out increasingly harsh punishments, criticism, and abuse, with Christian being a particular target. After three weeks back at sea, Christian and others forced Bligh from the ship. Twenty-five men remained on board afterwards, including loyalists held against their will, and others for whom there was no room in the launch.

William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the mutiny on HMS Bounty, which occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command. The reasons behind the mutiny continue to be debated. After being set adrift in Bounty's launch by the mutineers, Bligh and those loyal to him stopped for supplies on Tofua, losing one man to native attacks. Bligh and his men reached Timor alive, after a journey of 3,618 nautical miles (6,700 km; 4,160 mi).

Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was an English sailor who led the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789, during which he seized command of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty from Lieutenant William Bligh.

In 1787, Christian was appointed master’s mate on Bounty, tasked with transporting breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies. Bligh subsequently named him acting lieutenant during the voyage. After a five-month layover in Tahiti, relations between Bligh and his crew deteriorated and, in April 1789, Christian led a mutiny and forced Bligh from the ship.

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