Mantua's H.M.S. Bounty is double planked; her inner shell is limewood, with an outer skin of walnut. Shiny brass cannon and falconets serve to set off the beauty of the dark, rich wood. Figurehead is bronzed cast metal. Other fittings of copper, bronze, brass, and hardwoods add authentic detail. Kit also includes rigging and cloth for a full complement of sail. Frames and keel are laser cut, and four sheets of plans with instructions help you finish a memorable model.

The Mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny aboard a British Royal Navy ship in 1789 that has been made famous by several books and films. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the captain, William Bligh. Bligh was then cast adrift in a small open boat with 18 loyal men.

Background

His Majesty's Armed Vessel (HMAV) Bounty began her career as the collier Bethia. She was purchased by the British Royal Navy on May 26, 1787, and renamed Bounty. She was a relatively small sailing ship at 215 tons, mounting only four four pounders (2 kg cannon) and ten swivel guns. By way of comparison, Cook's Endeavour displaced 368 tons, and Resolution 462 tons.

The only two men to ever command her as the Bounty were Lieutenant William Bligh, and Fletcher Christian, who illegally took command through mutiny. Bligh was appointed Commanding Lieutenant of Bounty on August 16, 1787 at the age of 33, after a career that included a tour as sailing master of James Cook's HMS Resolution during Cook's third voyage (1776-1779). Though commonly portrayed as the epitome of abusive sailing captains, this portrayal has recently come into disrepute, as it seems Bligh was relatively lenient compared to other British naval officers. Bligh received the appointment because he was considered an exceptionally capable naval officer, an evaluation that would prove to be correct. He enjoyed the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks, an influential figure in Britain at the time. That, and his experience sailing with Cook and familiarity with navigation in the area and local customs, were probably prime factors in his appointment.

Fletcher Christian

The ship had been purchased by the Royal Navy for a single mission in support of an experiment: they were to travel to Tahiti, pick up breadfruit plants, and transport them to the West Indies in hopes that they would grow well there and become a cheap source of food for slaves. The experiment was proposed by the wealthy botanist Joseph Banks, who recommended Lieutenant Bligh as the commander, and promoted through a prize offered by the Royal Society of Arts.

In June 1787, Bounty was refitted at Deptford. The great cabin was converted to house the potted breadfruit plants, and gratings fitted to the upper deck. Her complement was 46 officers and men. On December 23, 1787, Bounty sailed from Spithead for Tahiti. For a full month, she attempted to round Cape Horn, but adverse weather blocked her. Bligh ordered her turned about, and proceeded east, rounding the Cape of Good Hope and crossing the width of the Indian Ocean. During the outward voyage, Bligh demoted the ship's Sailing Master, John Fryer, replacing him with Fletcher Christian, whom he appointed acting Lieutenant. This act seriously damaged the relationship between Bligh and Fryer, and Fryer would later claim Bligh's act was entirely personal.

Bounty reached Tahiti on October 25, 1788, after ten months at sea.

Bligh and his crew spent five months in Tahiti, then called Otaheite, collecting and preparing a total of 1015 breadfruit plants. Bligh allowed the crew to live ashore and care for the potted breadfruit plants, and they became socialised to the customs and culture of the Tahitians. Many of the seamen and some of the "young gentlemen" had themselves tattooed in native fashion. Master's Mate and Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian married Maimiti, a Tahitian woman. Other warrant officers and seamen of the Bounty were also said to have formed "connexions" with native women.

The Mutiny

Bounty left Tahiti on April 4, 1789. On April 28, in the Friendly Islands, Fletcher Christian led the famous mutiny. From all accounts, Christian and several of his followers entered Bligh's cabin, which he always left unlocked, awakened him, and dragged him on deck wearing only his nightshirt, where he was guarded by Christian holding a bayonet. When Bligh entreated with Christian to be reasonable, Christian would only reply, "I am in hell, I am in hell!" Despite strong words and threats heard on both sides, the ship was taken bloodlessly and apparently without struggle by any of the loyalists except Bligh himself. Of the 42 men on board aside from Bligh and Christian, 18 joined Christian in mutiny, 2 were passive, and 22 remained loyal to Bligh. The mutineers ordered Bligh, the ship's master, two midshipmen, and the ship's clerk into Bounty's launch. Several more men voluntarily joined Bligh rather than remaining aboard, as they knew that those who remained on board would be considered de facto mutineers under the Articles of War.

In all, 18 of the loyal crew were in the launch with Bligh; the other 4 were forced to stay and man the ship with the mutineers. The mutiny took place about 30 nautical miles (56 km) from Tofua. In a remarkable feat of seamanship and navigation, Bligh navigated the overcrowded 23 foot (7 m) open launch on an epic 47-day voyage first to Tofua and then to Timor equipped only with a sextant and a pocket watch, with no charts or compass. He recorded the distance as 3,618 nautical miles (6710 km). He passed through the difficult Torres Strait along the way and landed on June 14.1 The only casualty of his voyage was a crewman, John Norton, who was stoned to death by the natives of Tofua, the first island they tried to land on. At Tofua (Bligh spelled it Tofoa), Bligh and eighteen loyalists had sought refuge in a cave (which they called "Murderers' Cove") in order to augment their meager provisions (see Tofua for debate on cave's location).

Meanwhile, the mutineers sailed for the island of Tubuai, where they tried to settle. After three months of terrorizing the natives, however, they returned to Tahiti to put 16 of the crew ashore. Christian, eight other crewmen, six Tahitian men, and 11 women, one with a baby, set sail in Bounty hoping to elude the Royal Navy. According to a journal kept by one of Christian's followers, the Tahitians were actually kidnapped when Christian set sail without warning them, the purpose of this being to acquire the women.

The mutineers passed through the Fiji and Cook Islands, but feared that they would be found there. Moving on, they rediscovered Pitcairn Island, which had been misplaced on the Royal Navy's charts. On January 23, 1790, they burned the ship in what is now Bounty Bay. Some of her remains, such as her anchors and guns, are still visible in its waters.

Aftermath of Tthe Mutiny - Return to England and Court-Martial

Lieutenant Bligh returned to England and reported the mutiny to the Admiralty on March 15, 1790. HMS Pandora, under the command of Captain Edward Edwards, was dispatched November 7, 1790 to search for Bounty and the mutineers. Pandora reached Tahiti on March 23, 1791. Four of the men from Bounty came on board Pandora soon after its arrival, and ten more were arrested in a few weeks. These fourteen, mutineers and loyal crew alike, were imprisoned in a makeshift cell on Pandora's deck, which they derisively called "Pandora's Box". On May 8, 1791, Pandora left Tahiti, and spent about three months visiting islands to the west of Tahiti in search of Bounty and the remaining mutineers, without finding anything except flotsam (some spars and a yard). Heading west through the Torres Strait, Pandora ran aground on a reef (part of the Great Barrier Reef) on August 29, 1791. The ship sank the next day, and 31 of the crew and four of the prisoners were lost. The remaining 89 of the ship's company and ten prisoners (released from their cage at the last moment) assembled in four small boats and sailed for Timor, arriving there on September 16, 1791.

After being repatriated to England, the ten prisoners were tried by a naval court. During the trial, great importance was attached to which men had been seen to be holding weapons during the critical moments of the mutiny, as under the Articles of War, failure to act when able to prevent a mutiny was considered no different from being an active mutineer. In the judgement delivered on September 18, 1792, four men whom Bligh had designated as innocent were acquitted. Two were found guilty, but pardoned; one of these was Peter Heywood, who later rose to rank of captain himself. Another was reprieved due to a legal technicality, and later also received a pardon. The other three men were convicted and hanged. In other trials, both Bligh and Edwards were court-martialled for the loss of their ships (an automatic proceeding under British naval law, and not indicative of any particular suspicion of guilt), and both were acquitted. Bligh resumed his naval career and went on to attain the rank of Vice Admiral. However, his career was marked by another challenge to his authority when he was a Governor of New South Wales; in 1808 the troops of New South Wales arrested Bligh in an incident known as the Rum Rebellion.

Even before Edwards had returned from his search for Bounty, HMS Providence and her tender Assistant began a second voyage to collect breadfruit trees on August 3, 1791. This mission was again championed by Joseph Banks and again commanded by Bligh, now promoted to Captain Bligh. The second voyage was a complete success, collecting 2126 breadfruit plants and hundreds of other botanical specimens and delivering them to the West Indies. Departing Tahiti on July 19, 1792, Bligh once again successfully navigated the Torres Strait.

Fate of the Mutineers

When the American sailing ship Topaz, commanded by Mayhew Folger, rediscovered Pitcairn Island in 1808, only John Adams, nine women and some children still lived. Five of the mutineers, including Fletcher Christian, had been murdered by Tahitians on Pitcairn Island; one died after a drunken fall; one was killed by the other two survivors after he attacked them; and one died of natural causes. All six of the Taihitian men were killed during the fighting. Of the nine Taihitian women, two were killed in falls while gathering eggs from a cliff.

Fletcher Christian was survived by Maimiti and their son Thursday October Christian, the first child born on the island. Rumors persist that Fletcher left the island and made it back to England. In 1825, John Adams was granted amnesty for his mutiny; Pitcairn's capital, Adamstown, is named for him. On November 30, 1838, the Pitcairn Islands (which include the uninhabited islands of Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno) were incorporated into the British Empire.

Motivations Behind the Mutiny

To this day, there is considerable debate on what caused the mutiny to occur. Some people blame Captain Bligh for causing the mutiny. They feel that Bligh was a villain and tyrant, who abused the crew to the point that Christian and the crew felt they had no choice but to mutiny. Others feel the blame rests entirely with Fletcher Christian and the crew. They feel that Bligh was not an unusually harsh captain, that he was for the most part a man of his times.

Bligh was reputed to have a harsh tongue, and he criticized substandard performance at length in front of other crewmembers. While he may have been comparatively lenient in actual discipline, some historians have speculated that his demanding character cost him the loyalty necessary to maintain good order among the crew, especially in light of six months of soft living in Tahiti. Most ships of the time carried more officers than the Bounty did, and there were no Marines on board. This too was a factor in the success of the mutiny and had been a subject of worry for Bligh, who had seen his idol, Captain Cook, slain for the lack of adequate Marine protection. On his second trip to Tahiti, he brought more officers and a complement of Marines.

Discovery of the Wreck of the Bounty

Luis Marden discovered the remains of the Bounty in January 1957. After spotting a rudder from this ship in a museum on Fiji, he persuaded his editors to let him dive off Pitcairn Island, where the rudder had been recovered. Despite the warnings of one islander -"Man, you gwen be dead as a hatchet!" Marden dove for several days in the dangerous swells near the island, and found the remains of the fabled ship. He subsequently met with Marlon Brando to counsel him on his role as Fletcher Christian in the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty. Later in life Marden wore cuff links made of nails from the Bounty.

Modern Reconstructions

When the 1935 film was made sailing vessels were still in wide use: existing vessels were adapted to play Bounty and Pandora.The Royal Navy's Bounty has been reconstructed twice. MGM commissioned a replica of Bounty for their 1962 film, named the Bounty II. This vessel was built to the original plans and in the traditional manner in a shipyard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. However, all the dimensions were increased by approximately one third to accommodate the large cameras in use at that time. MGM kept this vessel in service. When Ted Turner bought MGM he used this vessel for entertaining. Eventually MGM donated the vessel to a charity. Though expensive maintenance caused the vessel to lose her USCG license for a time, Tall Ship Bounty has been restored and is again available for charter, excursions, sail-training and movies (most recently in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and the 2005 adult parody of Pirates of the Caribbean entitled Pirates). Its winter home is in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The second reconstruction was built for the 1984 Dino de Laurentiis film The Bounty. That vessel was built of steel, clad in wood, and has modern conveniences. It is currently located in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia, where it serves the tourist excursion market.

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