"The 1789 mutiny on the is an infamous tale of sailors being lured by the easy charms of the South Seas into casting adrift their commander and living out their days as fugitives from the Royal Navy. 'Captain' Bligh, victim of the mutiny led by master's mate Fletcher Christian, is traditionally cast as a harsh disciplinarian who only got what was coming to him."
"As so often with tales which have captured the imagination through countless books and films, the true events are rather more complex. The only clear facts are that Bligh was exonerated for the mutiny, some of the mutineers were caught and hanged, while Christian led another group to live out their days on remote Pitcairn Island. Woven in amongst these more certain points are tantalising threads of speculation and fiction."
Lieutenant William Bligh commanded the small cutter Bounty in 1787 on a botanical mission to collect breadfruit plants in Tahiti for transport to the West Indies to feed plantation slaves. The voyage also aimed to chart the straits between New Holland and New Guinea. Bligh, aged 33 and experienced from service under Captain Cook, faced a mutiny in 1789 led by master's mate Fletcher Christian. Bligh was later exonerated; some mutineers were captured and hanged, while Christian led others to remote Pitcairn Island. The episode involved floggings, murder, and two remarkable escapes, and popular portrayals simplify a complex reality.
Read at World History Encyclopedia
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