The outrageous act of insubordination on open sea, known as “The Mutiny
of the _Bounty_,” has proved, from the lasting interest it has excited,
and from its extraordinary results, one of the most wonderful events in
the annals of our navy. The memory of the foul crime has flourished, not
only in tales, dramas, and poetry, but in the very good that Providence
worked out of it. Pitcairn’s Island, where the mutineers and their
descendants settled, and Norfolk Island, whither the latter have
removed, are models of civilisation to the whole Polynesian world. In
poetry, the Mutiny has been done the highest, and, indeed, the unfairest
honour. Lord Byron’s magnificent production, “The Island; or, Christian
and his Comrades,” has converted the guilty mutineers into a band of
heroes; and his lordship, with a morbid taste for criminals of the
corsair stamp, has thrown a glow of chivalry over deeds which deserved
only the whipping post and the gallows. He, too, passes over, in a very
few impressive lines, the great and real heroism of the whole affair—a
heroism that deserved an Odyssey for its record. I allude to the conduct
of Captain, afterwards Admiral, William Bligh, a seaman, illustrious in
consequence, who, when his mutinous crew cast him and nineteen others
adrift in an open boat, guided and cheered his associates with undaunted
energy and perseverance, through a sail of more than 3,500 miles, until
they arrived safe at the Dutch settlement, in the island of Timor,
without losing more than one man. Lord Byron wrongfully compares with
the Spartans of Thermopylæ, Christian and his comrades, who, with one or
two exceptions, as they afterwards turned out, were murderous vagabonds
merely. A far juster comparison would have been that of William Bligh
and his companions in the open boat, with the unconquered spirits that
defended the pass of Thermopylæ. The British navy ought well to be proud
of the memory of Captain Bligh. Before proceeding to a summary of the
mutiny, a word or two may be said biographically of the principal actors
in the terrible transaction.
To begin with Bligh, a giant spirit in difficulty. He was a scion of the
family to which belong the Earls of Darnley, and he was the grandson of
Richard Bligh, Esq., of Tinten, near Bodmin, in Cornwall, and the son of
William Bligh, Esq., by Jane, his wife. He was born at Bodmin in 1753,
and received a home education. He went very early in life into the royal
navy, and was soon remarked for his aptness and his steady and sensible
performance of his duty. After passing his examination as lieutenant,
he, on the understanding that his promotion should go on, went as
sailing master, under Captain Cook, and was for four years with that
great navigator, in the _Resolution_. In Cook’s history of his
researches in the Southern Pacific, Bligh’s name frequently occurs.
Bligh was a lieutenant when he was appointed to command the _Bounty_. He
was a strict disciplinarian, but by no means a harsh or unamiable man.
He would have his orders obeyed, but he, at the same time, was always
studious of the comfort and happiness of the men under him. By his own
family and by all his associates in his profession he was thoroughly
beloved and respected.
Fletcher Christian, master’s mate on board the _Bounty_, and the chief
and worst mutineer, was a man of good family and education, and had
actually owed his advancement in the service to Captain Bligh. He was
the brother of Professor Christian, Chief Justice of Ely, the well-known
editor of “Blackstone’s Commentaries.”
Peter Heywood, a midshipman on board the _Bounty_, who joined the
mutiny, and who, after being convicted and pardoned for it, redeemed his
character and became a captain in the royal navy, was of a very
respectable family, and was grandson of Mr. Heywood, Chief Justice of
the Isle of Man. Peter Heywood was, no doubt, the Torquil of Lord
Byron’s poem.
Edward Young, a midshipman, and another mutineer, was nephew of Admiral
Sir George Young, Bart.
Alexander Smith, _alias_ John Adams, the most remarkable of the
mutineers, and afterwards the famous patriarch of Pitcairn’s Island, was
a sailor of the ordinary class.
David Nelson, the botanist, a credit to his great name, who sailed with
and shared the perils of Bligh, was a man of much scientific knowledge.
He had been in Captain Cook’s last voyage, and was appointed to the
_Bounty_ on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks.