Bligh Overthrown on the HMS Bounty

On April 28, 1789 Fletcher Christian led a mutiny on the HMS Bounty against its captain William Bligh in the South Pacific. With only a sextant and no charts, Bligh led his crew nearly 4,000 to safety. An amazing display of seamanship to say the least. A short excerpt from the article:

"Mutiny

Though unable to take action against Christian, Bligh's relationship with him continued to deteriorate and he began to relentlessly ride his acting lieutenant. On April 4, 1789, Bounty departed Tahiti, much to the displeasure of many of the crew. On the night of April 28, Christian and 18 of the crew surprised and bound Bligh in his cabin. Dragging him on deck, Christian bloodlessly took control of the ship despite the fact that the most of the crew (22) sided with the captain. Bligh and 18 loyalists were forced over the side into Bounty's cutter and given a sextant, four cutlasses, and several days food and water.

Bligh's Voyage

As Bounty turned to return to Tahiti, Bligh set course for the nearest European outpost at Timor. Though dangerously overloaded and lacking charts, Bligh succeeded in sailing the cutter first to Tofua for supplies, then on to Timor. After sailing 3,618 miles, Bligh arrived at Timor after a 47-day voyage. Only one man was lost during the ordeal when he was killed by Native people on Tofua. Moving on to Batavia, Bligh was able to secure transport back to England. In October 1790, Bligh was honorably acquitted for the loss of Bounty and records show him to have been a compassionate commander who frequently spared the lash."