Early Canada Historical Narratives -- MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

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MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

History is written as a possession for all time.

A PIN POINT IN THE PACIFIC

History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time.

From the deck of the cruise ship Discovery our first thrilling sight of this tiny island made famous by mutineers from HMS Bounty was but a black rock protruding from the silvery surface of the vast Pacific Ocean. Formed in the millenia from the magma of an erupting volcano, its ragged, rugged, lava shoreline was savaged by surf that broke upon it in long, white waves. As we drew nearer we could see green fields and stands of trees that softened the barren, hilly, isolated isle on which Fletcher Christian and a few other malcontented members of the crew believed they had found safety from any avenging vessels of the British navy

PITCAIRN ISLAND (Photo by G. Wilson)

Pitcairn Island, which is situated approximately halfway between the Panama Canal and New Zealand, is the last remaining British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. The picturesque place with its plunging cliffs and sharp crags offers little in the way of anchorage locations. Its harsh, jagged shore has only two, Bounty Bay and Tedside, that are reasonably safe sites at which small boats can land. Even these are considered too risky for most visitors as a result of which we never did go ashore.

DISCOVERY (Photo by G. Wilson)

As we scanned its coastline, a longboat filled to capacity with people suddenly appeared on the white-capped surface slicing through the choppy sea towards our ship. We subsequently learned that it contained almost all of the fifty or so residents of Pitcairn Island, descendants of the "infamous mutineers." In addition to the packed Pitcairners, the vessel contained trade goods to be sold on our ship, one of the eight or so cruising vessels that visit the island annually. Money earned by islanders from this trade represents a significant portion of their annual income.

ALL ABOARD PITCAIRN ISLANDERS (Photo by G. Wilson)

The Bounty, a coastal trader previously named Bethia, had been re-fitted and re- christened. Its first commission under the command of 33-year-old William Bligh who had been the sailing master oh HMS Resolution of Captain Cook's last voyage of discovery. He was to sail to Tahiti, take on a load of bread fruit seedlings and deliver what was termed 'a bounteous cargo' to the West Indies for cultivation as a cheap, nutritious food for slaves.

After finally arriving in Spithead on November 4th, 1787, the Bounty was delayed three more weeks in port. An angry Captain Bligh attributed this delay to the Admiralty. "If there is any punishment that ought to be inflicted on a set of men for neglect, I'm sure it ought to be on the Admiralty for my three weeks' detention at this place during a fine, fair wind which carried all outward bound ships clear of the Channel but me. Finally after receiving permission to depart, "Bounty left Spithead at Portsmouth, England on the 23rd of December 1787 but Bligh was delayed for a further period when strong winds and severe weather prevented the Bounty from getting down the English Channel.

These delays were to make Bligh's task a very arduous one indeed for they arrived at the Cape during the winter storm season. For 30 days he attempted without success to make it westward around Cape Horn as ordered. Finally, however, with most of the crew exhausted and becoming increasingly disgruntled, Bligh reluctantly turned around and made way for the Cape of Good Hope and across the whole width of the Indian Ocean, then turned northeast into the Pacific where he arrived in Tahiti after a l0-month voyage on 26th of October, 1788.

Ten more months and some 27,000 miles later, HMAV Bounty at last arrived in Tahiti's Matavai Bay on October 26, 1788. Bligh's ecstacy turned to anger when he learned that the breadfruit were not yet able to make the journey. The Bounty's late arrival brought them to Tahiti at a time when the breadfruits were in a 'dormant period' during which they would not survive transplantation. This resulted in a delay of another six months before Bounty could continue its mission to the West Indies, six months for his crew to enjoy the multiple pleasures of paradise.

Bligh and the crew set about preparing more than 1000 breadfruit plants for shipment to the Caribbean. During this period Bligh allowed a number of the crew to live ashore to care for the potted breadfruit plants. Without the discipline and the rigid schedule of the sea, the men went native and revelled in the life and the loves on the idyllic island. Three crewmen hoping to spend their days in this tropical paradise deserted, but they were recaptured by Bligh and flogged.

Illustration of H.M.S., Bounty

Idyllic Pitcairn Island (Picture from The Guide to Pitcairn Island)

Idyllic Pitcairn Island (2) (Picture from The Guide to Pitcairn Island)

Once you have seen paradise, how do you return to a life of servitude? What better way to describe paradise than Tahiti. Some of the crew thought so too and began to wonder why they should leave this peaceful, picturesque place to face a dangerous voyage and a bleak and barren existence if they made it back to London. Three weeks out of Tahiti on April 28, 1789, Fletcher Christian, Master’s Mate, Fletcher Christian, angered and humiliated by the constant abuse of Captain Bligh, decided to act. Armed with cutlasses, bayonets and a single musket, he and three crewman shook the sleeping captain roughly awake. A startled and very stunned Bligh opened his eyes to find a weapon in his face and his vessel, H.M.S. Bounty, in the hands of a mutinous crew.

Bligh later recalled the events of early morning on April 28, 1789. "I am now unhappily to relate one of the most atrocious acts of piracy ever committed. Just before sun-rising Mr. Christian with the master at arms, the gunner's mate and Thomas Burket, seaman, came into my cabin while I was asleep and seizing me, tied my hands with a cord behind my back and threatened me with instant death if I spoke or made the least sound. I called so loud as to alarm everyone, but they had already secured the officers who were not of their party. I was hauled out of bed and forced on deck in my shirt." And so began the most famous mutiny of all time.

Despite Bligh's rage, fierce threats and frantic appeals to his captors, he and three crewman were lowered into the 23-feet-long launch. Much to Christian’s surprise fifteen crewmen opted to join their captain. When four more men who wanted to join Bligh but were prevented from doing so, the captain shouted to them, "Never fear, my lads, I’ll do you justice if I ever reach England." With a little food, water and wine the crowded launch was left to make its way in the boundless Pacific.

William Bligh

Of the 42 men on board Bounty, 18 joined Christian, 2 were passive and 22 remained loyal to Bligh. Later at the Admiralty in London naval officials wondered why out of 42 men, 18 had suffered themselves to be pinioned and placed aboard the launch without offering the least resistance even though all knew they were doubtless doomed to face certain death.

The mutineers sailed Bounty to Tahiti where most of the them decided to remain. A few, however, decided to seek a more remote location to ensure they were never captured for their crime. Led by Fletcher Christian, eight of the mutineers along with six Polynesian men, twelve Polynesian women and one child set off in September to find it. Four months later on January 15, 1790 they happened upon a site that exceeded their highest hopes: a remote, warm, fertile, almost inaccessible island.

On reaching this well-hidden haven they anchored the Bounty in what now is known as Bounty Bay and off-loaded supplies they had brought from Tahiti. Fearing it would be sighted by passing British naval vessels, Bounty was sailed close to ashore where on January 23, 1790 the ship was set afire and sank.

Meanwhile Bligh, an exceptional seaman, without charts and using only a sextant and a pocket watch had managed to navigate the 7-metre long launch on its epic 41-day voyage, landing first at Tofua and then at Timor. He recorded the distance as 6710 kilometres. At Tofua they were met by sullen, very silent natives whose weird welcome was the clacking of one stone against another. Bligh, who had sailed with Captain Cook, knew this was not a welcome but a warning of an impending attack and he ordered his men to return to the boat and shove off as quickly as possible. As they frantically attempted to flee, one crewman was caught and beaten to death. The others by paddling furiously sought to out-row the enraged natives which they barely managed to accomplish by casting their clothing into the sea which distracted their pursuers.

When they arrived at Timor they found safety and a ship on which all eventually made it back to England. On Monday, March 15, 1790 Bligh was at the Admiralty door. It was 10 and a half months, 321 days since the mutiny. His "wonderful escape at sea" made him the toast of London. His short narrative describing the mutiny and their subsequent experiences at sea sold thousands of copies. Bligh was presented to King George before whom he "laid his journal of the voyage to the South Seas." Among those who returned with Bligh was the Bounty's sailmaker, a Nova Scotian named Lawrence Lebogue.

The court martial inquiring into the loss of the Bounty was convened on HMS Royal William on Friday October 22, 1790 at Spithead in Portsmouth to try "the said Lieutenant Bligh and such of the officers and Ship’s Company as are returned to England for their conduct on that occasion." The first question posed to Bligh was a traditional one. Prior to the mutiny did he have any "objection or complaint against any officer?" Bligh replied that one individual was confined to the brig for failing to carry out his duties satisfactorily. Bligh described Christian as "5 ft. 9 in. High. Dark Swarthy Complexion. Hair--Blackish or very dark brown. Make--Strong. A Star tatowed [sic] on his left Breast, and tatowed on the backside. His knees stand a little out and he may be called a little Bowlegged. He is subject to Violent perspiration, particularly in his hand, so tht [sic] he Soils anything he handles."

One crewman testified that during the confrontation, Fletcher Christian, who "had fury in his looks", had sobbed, "I am in hell, I am in hell. Flesh and blood cannot bear this treatment." It was the only occasion on which he had ever been known to cry. The Court curtly dismissed this testimony stating it was not interested in Christian’s torment since every mutiny presupposed some mutineer had found his breaking point.

Lieutenant Bligh and those who accompanied him were honourably acquitted. Because of his miraculous seamanship, Bligh was awarded "a rapid and rather unorthodox" promotion to the prized position of post captain. Now officially a captain, Bligh was given command of a new ship and a new commission: a second breadfruit expedition to Tahiti on the Providence, a three-decker frigate which was to be accompanied by the Assistant, a 63-foot brig to serve as tender.

On November 7, 1790 a naval party set out in HMS Pandora to search for and bring back to England the Bounty and its mutineers. Shortly after Pandora arrived at Tahiti, four of the mutineers turned themselves in. A few weeks later ten more of the mutinous men were arrested. Despite the fact that the Pandora sank on Australia's Great Barrier Reef taking with it one of the mutineers and all of its crew. The survivors escaped in lifeboats and made it back to England.

Nearly two years later at 8 a.m. on Wednesday September 18th, 1792, H.M.S. Duke hoisted the signal for the commencement of the court-martial. A single gun was fired for it to assemble. The presiding judge was Moses Greetham who had acted at the court-martial of Bligh and was knowledgeable about the case.

Twelve judges, all captains dressed in blue coats with gold lace and buttons, were sworn in. The court deliberations took several hours and at 1:30 p.m. an officer on Duke hauled down the court-martial signal. The four men who were forced to remain on the Bounty whom Bligh had promised to remember were acquitted. Two more were recommended for His Majesty’s Royal Mercy which they received. Three of the mutineers were convicted and sentenced to be hanged aboard HMS Brunswick. The twelve captains had drawn lots to determine the vessel on which the executions were to take place.

On Monday October 29th, 1792 a cannon was fired and a yellow flag raised as the signal to assemble for the executions. In full view of throngs of spectators gathered on the Portsmouth shore and floating nearby on small craft and with sailors and officers watching from the deck of the Brunswick the three men were hanged. Bags were placed over the heads of the condemned men and nooses fixed about their necks. At 11:26 a.m. a gun was fired and the crew assigned to each man’s rope pulled hard away. After two hours their bodies were cut down. While all this was taking place, Captain Bligh, the principal witness, was successfully delivering a load of Tahitian breadfruit plants to the West Indies.

Despite the seriousness of the crime committed by the mutinous men, there was widespread public support and sympathy for Christian and his compatriots. By delivering cheap food for the slaves in the West Indies, many felt Bligh was simply perpetuating the horrid system of slavery and he was widely criticised by abolitionists. This infamous action only confirmed in the eyes of many Bligh's reputation as an oppressive tyrant whose incessant abuse had driven Christian to the madness of mutiny. It was also Captain Bligh's ill luck to have his own great adventure coincide exactly with the dawn of a new era which saw devotion to a code of duty and established authority as less honourable than the celebration of the passions of individuals for liberty.

Influential poets weighed in with their opinions. Samuel Taylor Coleridge championed Christian over Bligh. In his poem, Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge had Christian in mind when he wrote:

Doomed to wander the ocean
Doomed to wander the ocean for having committed a single crime,
Alone, alone all all alone
Alone on the wide sea
And Christ would take no pity on
My soul in agony.

William Wordsworth in his poem, The Borderer, written in 1795 sympathized with Bligh and described how a crew conspired to leave their despised captain without food or water on a remote island.

A man cast off
Left without burial, nay not dead nor dying
But standing, walking stretching forth his arms
In all things like ourselves but in the agony
With which he called for mercy; and - even so -
He was forsaken.

Lord Byron also upheld Bligh but bemoaned the lot of the mutineers.

Awake, bold Bligh! The foe is at the gate!
Awake! Awake! – alas it is too late!
Fiercely beside thy cot the mutineer
Stands and proclaims the reign of rage and fear.

As for the mutineers -

Young hearts which languish’d for some sunny isle
Where summer years and summer women smile;
Men without a country, who, too long estranged,
Had found no native home or found it changed,
And, half uncivilized, preferr’d the cave
Of some soft savage to the uncertain wave

Some say that much of the whitewashing of Christian's and the blackening of Bligh's reputation resulted from the efforts of Edward Christian, a celebrated barrister and brother of Fletcher. He wrote an impassioned statement defending his brother and had it appended to the court-martial proceedings of the 10 prisoners from the Bounty that had been captured in Tahiti and brought to London for trial. Although Bligh wrote a defense of his character supported by statements from crewmen on the Bounty and other vessels, Bligh lost the public opinion war. Thus was created the popular myth of the noble Christian and the villainous Bligh who was in fact one of the greatest seamen who ever lived. Little but the Bounty's ballast bars, copper sheathing and nails remain, all of which lies three metres below the surface of the bay. The ship's anchor, raised from Bounty Bay in 1957, is displayed in the Square of Adamstown, Pitcairn's capital. A cannon from the Bounty was raised in 1999.

Bounty's Anchor (Picture from The Guide to Pitcairn Island)

Bounty's Cannon (Picture from The Guide to Pitcairn Island)

Over the years the Bounty's remnants have largely been taken by visiting divers. One enterprising tourist turned his trip to Pitcairn Island into a money-making venture. In 1988 he organized a diving team that recovered much of the Bounty's ballast. He then had plaques designed bearing a descriptive metal plate and to each of these an authentic piece of the HMS. Bounty was attached and sold for $500.

Pitcairn's first inhabitants were not the mutineers but Polynesians whose roughly hewn stone gods, cave carvings, earth ovens and human skeltons attest to their presence on the island for a lengthy period. When and why they left and where they went remains unknown. Europeans discovered "the great rock rising from the sea" in 1767. Because the surf "broke upon it with great violence," they were prevented from going ashore and because they did not have a chronometer, they miscalculated its position and marked it some miles west of its actual location. It was named Pitcairn after the man who was first to see it.

When Bounty's mutineers staggered ashore at Pitcairn, they sought shelter under large leaves but these were soon replaced with more durable wooden structures. They survived on breadfruit supplanted with sweet potatoes and yams which they cultivated from seeds they had brought ashore along with livestock.

It was not long before conflicts arose between the Europeans and the Polynesian men. The mutineers divided the land among themselves and gave none to the Polynesians. To add insult to injury they began to treat the Polynesians as slaves. Because there were three more men than women, the Polynesian men were forced to share wives. When during the first year two of the female partners of the mutineers died, they immediately appropriated the partners of the Polynesian men. Hostility grew into hatred which exploded into violence between the two groups. It resulted in four of the mutineers including Fletcher Christian being fatally shot on the same day. Fletcher was killed while tilling his garden.

Bitter confrontations continued which led to the deaths of all the Polynesian men. Peace prevailed for a period among the four Europeans and the ten women and their children. Unfortunately for the few who remained, a potent brew was fermented which led to drunkenness, disagreements and fighting. One inebriated individual committed suicide. A fight resulted in one man being killed by two others who claimed they acted in self-defence. When another man died of natural causes John Adams became the sole surviving male of the original settlers. Adam's days were filled with drinking the potent spirit distilled from the ti plant until one night he experienced a dramatic hallucination. As a result he underwent a miraculous transformation and became fervently religious. This changed his life and he became the community's leader. He began holding Sunday services and saw to it that all shared in the work of making the little settlement a safe and prosperous place in which to live.

In February 1808 Captain Mayhew Folger of the American sealer Topaz sighted an island where none was indicated on the charts. As his ship drew closer to the island, Folger was surprised to see a boat approaching from which he was shocked to be hailed in English. When told the ship was from England, one young lad in the boat shouted, "Don't you know my father? He is an Englishman." The captain responded that he did not and the lad continued, "Did you ever know Captain Bligh? My father sailed with him." It suddenly dawned on Folger that he had solved the mystery of what had become of Fletcher Christian and the Bounty. The boy was Fletcher Christian's older son, Thursday October Christian (born 1790), the ancestor of almost everyone surnamed Christian on Pitcairn Island. Besides Thursday October, Fletcher Christian also had a younger son named Charles Christian (born 1792) and a daughter Mary Ann Christian (born 1793).

Friday October Christian (from an engraving by H. Adlard),

Two British war ships HMS Briton and HMS Tagus visited the island in 1814. The captains were stirred by the islanders and their simplicity and very favourably impressed by John Adams and the fine examples he set for the community as its reverred religious leader. Esteemed by all on the island as 'Father,' Adams, a devout Christian, was hailed as a hero by all who knew him.

The English captains decided it would be "an act of cruelty and inhumanity" to arrest him. As a result of their visit to Pitcairn the isolation of the island ended. News of the island community created wide attention around the world. Visiting ships made generous gifts and missionary societies ensured its residents were well provided with religious materials and practical necessities.

'Father' John Adams (from an engraving by H. Adlard)

Upon arriving at the cruise ship, the people from Pitcairn set up a display of their wares which included beautiful wood and bone carvings, woven baskets, caps, t-shirts, postcards, stamps and magazines about the island.

Pitcairn Trade Goods (Photo by G. Wilson)

Pitcairn Trade Goods (Photo by G.Wilson)

Pitcairn Trade Goods (Photo by G. Wilson)

Among the Pitcairn visitors to the ship was Tom Christian, the great, great-grandson of Fletcher Christian who received an M.B.E. from the British government. Tom, who travels widely around the world speaking about the mutiny, his famous ancestor and life on Pitcairn today, said no matter where he goes he always pines for the place of his birth.

Tom Christian, M.B.E.(Photo by G. Wilson)

When the trading was completed the Islanders assembled on deck where the Pitcairn's mayor extended thanks to all and bade us adieu before leading the group farewell songs ending with

"In the sweet bye and bye,
We shall meet on the beautiful shores"

Farewell Songs (Photo by G. Wilson)

Group Photo of Pitcairn Islanders.(Photo by G. Wilson)

Group Photo of Pitcairn Islanders (Photo by G. Wilson)

Life on Pitcairn Today (Picture from Guide to Pitcairn)

Government on the island is two-tiered. The British High Commissioner of New Zealand functions as Governor of Pitcairn and is responsible for its relationship with the British government and any external affairs. He also appoints the Island Magistrate. Local affairs are the responsibility of the elected Mayor and four Councillors which together comprise the Island Council. Public revenues come almost exclusively from the sale of postage stamps, commemorative coins, licence fees and land taxes. All local expenditures are controlled by the Island Council.
Elementary education is provided by teachers from New Zealand who work on two-year terms. Secondary education is by correspondence or those who wish may attend school in New Zealand where they may also received college and university education. Basic supplies other than those grown on the island arrive regularly by ship from New Zealand.
The standard of health on Pitcairn is high although islanders are always susceptible to colds and flu which may be carried on visiting ships. Once an island resident is infected, the sickness often quickly spreads to the rest of the community and they are quick to blame any new arrival for a cold or 'feewa'. Every attempt it made to ensure a nurse is resident on the island and this on occasion has been the wife of the resident pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Both serve for two-year terms. The services of any medical doctor or dentist working on passing cruise ships is sometimes sought and if required, medical evacuations to New Zealand are arranged at government expense.
Bounty Day on 23rd of January celebrates the burning of the Bounty. It is an important holiday during which a re-enactment takes place of the burning of a replica of the Bounty. The relaxing day is spent swimming, weaving baskets, carving, chatting and eating pineapple and watermelon. Islanders love to fish and late in the afternoon adults volunteer to clean the catch of the day which is then fried and with other food previously prepared is placed upon a large table and feasted upon by all.

Bounty Day Feast

As darkness descends the ship constructed of cardboard sails and empty drums is launched and towed to the site of that fateful fire so long ago. All watch and reflect on the flames of the original Bounty as its bogus burns to the waterline bringing to a close another Bounty Day.

The Bounty in Flames (picture from The Guide to Pitcairn)

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