By BC Cook
IT is the most famous mutiny in history. “I am in hell!” shouted Fletcher Christian, second in command of the Bounty, as he justified his act of piracy, took control of the ship, seized his captain, William Bligh, and cast him adrift in a tiny lifeboat. How did it come to this? The mutiny on the Bounty captures our imaginations with romance, intrigue, betrayal, exotic locations, strong-willed characters, high stakes, and long odds. The real-life drama is more gripping than anything in movies or television. It is hard to believe this incredible chapter in history revolved around breadfruit.
The British Admiralty in 1789 entrusted Bligh to sail around the world to deliver breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the islands of the Caribbean. They hoped that breadfruit would provide a stable, nutritious source of food for the slaves working the plantations there. Bligh led his crew to the beautiful island in the southern Pacific, populated with stunning women eager to seduce the sailors. Since the plants were not ready for transport, Bligh made the biggest mistake of his illustrious career. He chose to stay at Tahiti for six months and allowed his crew to live among the inhabitants, unburdened by a taxing work schedule. At the time it seemed the humane thing to do but the sailors formed relationships with the islanders.
When the time came to set sail, many of Bligh’s crew did not want to leave. Some deserted but were found and disciplined. Several days out from Tahiti, Christian and about half of the crew took control of the ship, setting Bligh and those loyal to him adrift in the ship’s small boat. Christian and the other mutineers returned to Tahiti, gathered their wives and a few others and eventually settled on isolated Pitcairn Island. Over the next few years, the mutineers turned on each other in a revenge-fueled murder spree.
Abraham Lincoln said that rebellion is never a legal right, but is a moral right if used toward a moral purpose. Were Fletcher Christian’s motives moral? Hardly. As a sailor in the British navy, he swore to protect the interests of his country and do his duty as given by his orders and his captain. He turned his back on both. He abandoned his oath in order to extend his stay in what was understandably a gorgeous place, with someone he loved. It may have been romantic, but it was neither legal nor heroic.
And what of William Bligh? Did his actions justify mutiny? The ships’ records and the testimony of the crew agree that Bligh was humane to a fault. He resorted to physical punishment much less frequently than other captains on voyages of similar duration. In court testimony the sailors most frequently complained that Bligh forced them to dance. Dance! Hardly the brute of Hollywood films, Bligh learned from Captain James Cook that a crew performed best when it was happy, not when it lived in constant fear.
So why does popular culture remember the mutiny on the Bounty very differently? In books and movies Christian is a romantic hero, brutalized by his tyrannical master, and therefore justified in his betrayal. Bligh is portrayed sadistic, demonic, obsessive, and irrational. Why the gulf between fact and fantasy? Well, who would spend twenty dollars to watch a movie about a group of sailors who commit an unjustified crime of mutiny against a competent captain, and being punished for it?
Dr. BC Cook taught history for 30 years and is a director and Pacific historian at Sealark Exploration (sealarkexploration.org). He currently lives in Hawaii.
