HMS Bounty Tall Ship Model Dimensions: 40"(long) x 32"(tall) x 12"(wide) (includes masts) Shipping & Insurance: $ 70 Included(Continental U.S. only) List Price:760.00 Your Price $549.00 (You Save: %) Usually ships in 2-3 business days

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Mutiny on the HMS Bounty

Ship History

In the year 1787, Lieutenant William Bligh, a young British Naval Officer having most recently served as sailing master to Captain James Cook on his voyages to the South Pacific, was commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks and the British Admiralty, to undertake a voyage in a small ship, HMS Bounty.

HMS Bounty, was a British naval cutter weighing 220-ton (200-metric-ton), and measuring 85-ft (26-m). Commanded by William Bligh, the HMS Bounty sailed from Spithead, England on December 23, 1787 with Captain William Bligh and a crew of 45 men bound for Tahiti. Their mission was to collect breadfruit plants to be transplanted in the West Indies as cheap food for the slaves.

The voyage was difficult, and ill-feelings were rampant, although probably no more than on other long sea voyages of the period. After a long stay in Tahiti to enable the gathering and stowing of the breadfruit plantings on board the ship, the Bounty began its voyage to the Caribbean and then back to England.

The Captain

William Bligh, the Captain of the expedition, was born September 9, 1754. He was somewhat heavily built and below average in height, with black hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion. He gained a reputation in the Royal Navy for having a volatile temper and he often used foul language when angered or provoked. Bligh went to sea at the age of sixteen as an able bodied seaman and not a midshipman. Seven months after he entered the service, he was given his warrant as a midshipman and then he made his way through the officer ranks. Bligh was an excellent mapmaker and navigator. His sea chart surveys and records were impeccable and some are still used today because of their accuracy.

The Master's Mate

Fletcher Christian was born in Cumberland on September 15, 1764 of a well to do family. He went to sea at the age of sixteen, and two years later he sailed aboard HMS Cambridge where he met William Bligh for the first time. Christian was about five feet nine inches tall with a dark complexion and well muscled. He was sometimes described as swashbuckling, a slack disciplinarian, a great favorite with the ladies, conceited but also mild, generous, open and humane.

The Mutiny

When HMS Bounty finally left Tahiti on April 6, 1789 there were 1015 breadfruit plants onboard, and a very unhappy crew, with many crewmembers leavingbehind strong attachments.

After about three weeks of sailing, Christian confided to Midshipman Edward Young his plan to desert the Bounty. Young, pointing out sharks nearby would make it certain death, probably suggested the mutiny. Christian put the idea to the seamen. Christian then broke into the arms chest and took the ship.

The Bounty was underway toward home, when, on the morning of April 28, 1789, Fletcher Christian and part of the crew mutinied and over took the ship. Bligh was awakened and brought out on deck in his night shirt, and with his hands tied, was held abaft the mizzenmast. When the crew was asked who wanted to leave with Bligh thirty men volunteered.

Captain Bligh Returns

Captain Bligh and 18 men were cast adrift in the South Pacific Ocean in a 23 foot boat. Bligh then proceeded to make one of the most heroic voyages in history. First they made to the nearby island of Tofoa. The natives were hostile and they were lucky to get away with only the loss of John Norton, who was a hero in allowing the boat to escape. Then there were eighteen men with enough food and water for five days. Bligh made the decision to sail to Kupang and to reapportion the food to serve for 50 days. They eventually made the heroic voyage in 48 days, landing in Timor on June 12, 1789. No one died on the voyage, however three men died in Batavia. Bligh’s Clerk, John Samuel, saved the Log and Bligh’s journals and Bligh was grateful to him for his loyal actions.

Arriving back in England on March 14, 1790, Bligh was court-martialed and acquitted. Shortly thereafter Bligh published his “Narrative of the Mutiny on Board His Majesty’s Ship ‘Bounty’.” It was followed 2 years later by a more complete version, describing the entire ‘Voyage.’ These books were among the first of over 250 books that have described some aspect of the adventure and its consequences.

The Mutineers

After the mutiny, the Bounty first returned to Tahiti. Christian was elected captain, and the ship set off to find a place to live. The mutineers started, then abandoned a settlement on the island of Tubuai, and the ship again returned to Tahiti. Nine of the Bounty mutineers with six Polynesian men, twelve women and one baby left Tahiti onboard Bounty. They searched for and found, Pitcairn Island, which had been incorrectly charted years before. They found the island on January 15, 1790. After they took everything of value off the ship, HMS Bounty was burned on January 23, 1790 and they established a settlement and colony on Pitcairn Island that still exists.

The little colony was not a happy one, and dissention, then murder were the result. On September 20, 1793 five of the whites, including Christian, and all of the Polynesian men were killedMost of the remaining mutineers died or were killed by the Tahitian women, especially after a method to make spirits was discovered. Only Adams and Ned Young remained. Ned Young died of asthma in 1800.

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HMS BOUNTY
mso_ts_hbList Price: $760.00Your Price $549.00