Captain William Bligh

William Bligh was a West Country man born on the 9th September 1754. He is thought to have been born in Plymouth where his father was a custom's officer, however the origins of the family lie further west in the county of Cornwall at Tinten Manor in St Tudy.

Bligh, I think, was never meant to pass into the annals of history unnoticed, his story, in one way or another, was meant to be told. It's a shame however that his reputation is based on the portrayal of the brutish Charles Laughton or the hard faced Trevor Howard in the 1935 and 1961 films Mutiny on the Bounty - because of this William Bligh is forever a villain.

Bligh's career at sea covered the years between 1761 and 1814, he steadily climbed through the ranks from ships boy to Vice Admiral. It is due to Bligh that we know of Captain Cook's final voyage and his fate at the hands of a Hawaiian chief. However, it is the events of April 1789 that many of us associate with William Bligh.

In 1787, Bligh was given the position of lieutenant on the Bounty, a small three masted cutter built three years earlier in the port of Hull.

Under Bligh was a small crew with one Fletcher Christian as Master's Mate. The Bounty sailed for Tahiti in the winter of 1787 and left in the spring of 1789, it was on this return journey that the infamous mutiny took place.

After the non compliance of an order by Christian and following an accusation of theft Bligh's troubles began, this eventually lead to Bligh and eighteen crew members being cast adrift. By the 14th June the small boat reached the island of Timor after travelling nearly 4,000 miles. Captain Bligh eventually returned to England arriving on the 14th of March the following year only to find that the country was already talking of the mutiny. He was at first proclaimed a hero, but later court martialed for the loss of his ship, his court case resulted in his acquittal.

Bligh went on to captain at least eight more vessels, he was appointed Governor of New South Wales for a short time and ended his career as a Vice Admiral.

The crew of Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, had mutinied just off the Friendly Islands in Polynesia, and following setting their captain adrift, they headed for the Pitcairn Islands.

So who was the goody and baddie in this sad tale? Was it Bligh, the supposed cruel and brutal captain? Was Fletcher Christian a hero for not being afraid to standing up to a bully or was Bligh doing what he was supposed to do, that is captain his ship and keep control his men, or was Christian a rebel who mutinied when he was denied what he wanted.

These are questions not easily answered I think.