Page 82 - All About History - Issue 34-16

BOUNTY’S
FATEFUL JOURNEY

What really happened during
the two years that the crew of
Bounty were at sea?

Departure
from England
23 December 1787 Timor
After bad weather 14 June 1789
delays sailing by more
After nearly two months
than a month, Bounty and more than 3,500 miles
leaves Spithead with a
at sea, Bligh navigates
crew of 46.
the boat into the safety of
Coupang harbour.

10 March 1788
Matthew Quintal
receives 24 lashes
for insolence and
contemptuous
behaviour.
Tasmania
The Cape of Good Hope 21 August 1788 – 4 September 1788
24 May 1788 – 1 July 1788 During a stopover in Adventure Bay,
To the relief of all on board, the ship Bligh clashes with carpenter William
reaches the Cape and calmer waters. Purcell; Bligh threatens to cut his
Morale and provisions are restored. rations and Purcell backs down.
Cape Horn
24 March 1788 – 22 April 1788
A month on the storm-lashed ocean sees
Bounty’s eforts to round Cape Horn end Bounty’s course from Bligh’s course in small open Bounty’s course under Christian’s
in failure and a change of course. England to Tahiti boat after mutiny command after mutiny

the alarm. As commotion broke out on board, the the odds, Bligh’s navigational experience proved eventually settled on Pitcairn, burning Bounty
mutineers and loyalists eventually divided into itself, and on 14 June 1798, the men sailed into to ash. As the years passed, the resentment that
two camps, and although it was clear that the the sanctuary of Coupang harbour at Timor. Bligh had festered between the misled Polynesians
mutineers were not necessarily the larger group, reported the loss of Bounty and sent letters home and the mutineers exploded into violence.
they were certainly the better armed. telling the story of the mutiny. Among the casualties was Christian, and the true
With Christian now in command of Bounty, What, then, had become of Christian and his circumstances of his death remain a mystery.
Bligh and his 18 followers were crowded onto fellow mutineers? With Tahiti the first place the This is a far cry from the 1935 depiction of
a boat that had room for just ten. Loaded with authorities would look for them should Bligh Pitcairn as a place of freedom and democracy, or
meagre rations and basic navigational tools, the survive, Christian initially attempted to land on that of 1962, where the guilt-ridden Christian dies
small boat was set adrift. Bligh, ever the captain, Tubuai, where his efforts were repelled by natives. a martyr in the burning Bounty as he attempts to
instructed his crew to make for the temporary Forced back to Tahiti, he falsely told the chieftains return to England and testify against Bligh. Once
safety of a nearby island. However, their respite was that Bligh and Captain Cook, who was long since again, 1984’s The Bounty fares better, with the crew
brief, with hostile natives killing a member of the dead, were founding a new settlement and needed facing an uncertain future on the secluded island,
landing party and chasing them back out to sea. provisions. With the vessel generously laden and Christian neither martyr nor hero, but a young man
Plagued by stormy weather and assailed by more than two dozen Tahitians joining the voyage, with more passion than sense, swept along by his
enormous waves, Bligh navigated his vessel Bounty returned to Tubuai and further violent own arrogance and ambition.
through the treacherous waters, stopping only clashes followed, all of which chipped away at Bligh, meanwhile, was hailed a hero when he
occasionally to gather scant provisions to stave Christian’s already perilous authority. returned to England, feted for his mastery of the
off starvation. Hungry, disheartened and certain When a vote was held that established that ocean and remarkable leadership of the men in the
that they were doomed, morale on the tiny vessel the majority of the mutineers wanted to return open boat. Initially court-martialled for losing his
plummeted as the men began to fear that Bligh to Tahiti, Christian had no choice but to comply. ship, he was cleared of blame and continued his
was steering them to their deaths. Of these men, some were later brought back to career, eventually gaining the rank of vice admiral
On they sailed with Bligh at the helm, starving, England to face trial, while others died on the of the Blue.
exhausted and hopeless, battered by a merciless island. The remainder of the mutineers and the That might sound like enough drama for any
sea and burned by an unforgiving sun. Yet, against Polynesians they had conned into joining them film, but for Hollywood, the reality just didn’t
82