Voyage of the Bounty

William Bligh was selected as the captain of HMS Bounty. The voyage of the Bounty had a mission to take breadfruits, which were considered to be inexpensive food for slaves. Bounty had no Marines to protect the vessel. The vessel was operated by 3 shifts ('watches'), and was controlled by Bligh and Fletcher Christian. 

On April 28, 1789, Christian forced Bligh and 18 crew mates off the Bounty, and they were set adrift in a boat without a roof or sides, with not enough water for a few days. They also had knives and some tools to sail, but they did not have marine charts or a compass.

Bligh strongly believed that their boat could reach safety because he had good navigation skills and sailing experience. Bligh wanted to go to Timor, which was more than 7,000 km away, to announce the mutiny to the United Kingdom. They stopped off at Tofua to collect food and water, but one crew member was killed by local people.

After the accident at Tofua, they continued sailing towards Timor, reaching it 47 days after they were set adrift. This voyage was successful due to Bligh’s excellent seamanship and his crew’s cooperation. Was the mutiny caused by Bligh's tyrannical captaincy? 

The Mutiny on the Bounty - Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. That is the British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. It consists of the four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno. They are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and the total land area is about 47 square kilometers (18 sq mi). Only Pitcairn, the second largest island is inhabited.

There are no inhabited islands 300km around. Why do people live in this solitary island far off in the ocean? The Bounty mutineers who are famous in the several movies serve as a trigger. The people in this island are the descendant of the sailors who took part in the mutiny of the Bounty.

Their religion is Christianity. All islanders are protestant of Seventh-day Adventist. Basically they don’t drink nor smoke. The alcohol and cigarette are sold in the government store which is only one convenience store and the Christian’s café which is only one café in the island but is thinly distributed.

There is a rule for the food, they don’t eat pork nor shrimp. This is because they are dedicated to their passion in the practicing Christianity. After the mutineer lived in the island, some of drunken islanders killed each other. The Adams who was the last person in the accident sought help from the Bible and the islanders have practiced hardly and don’t eat pork nor drink in the end.