BLIGH, WILLIAM

born Sept. 9, 1754, County of Cornwall, Eng. died Dec. 7, 1817, London Bligh, pencil drawing by George Dance, 1794; in the National Portrait Gallery, London English admiral who commanded HMS Bounty at the time of the celebrated mutiny on that ship. Bligh first went to sea as a cabin boy at the age of seven and joined the Royal Navy in 1770. He was sailing master of the Resolution on Captain James Cook's third and final voyage in 177680. He was appointed to the command of the 215-ton Bounty in 1787, when the vessel was being used in a scheme for taking breadfruit trees from Tahiti for replanting in the West Indies. The ship duly sailed to Tahiti, picked up breadfruit trees, and had sailed as far as the Friendly Islands (Tonga) on the voyage to Jamaica when it was suddenly seized by Fletcher Christian, the master's mate, on April 28, 1789. Bligh and 18 members of the crew who were loyal to him were turned adrift in the Bounty's longboat. The causes of the mutiny have been much discussed. Bligh's opponents charged him with tyranny, and it is true that Bligh had insulted many of his officers. Bligh himself imputed the mutiny to purely opportunistic motives, claiming that the crew had assured themselves of a more happy life among the Otaheitans than they could possibly have in England, which, joined to some female connections, has most likely been the leading cause of the whole business. In a remarkable feat of seamanship, Bligh eventually reached Timor in the East Indies on June 14, 1789, after a voyage of about 3,600 miles (5,800 km) in the open longboat. Christian and eight others took the Bounty to Pitcairn Island, where the small colony that they founded was undiscovered until 1808 and where their descendants still reside. Of the mutineers who later went to Tahiti, three were taken to England and hanged. The mutiny made little difference to Bligh's career. He visited Tahiti again and successfully transported more breadfruit trees to the West Indies (1792). As captain of the Director, he was put ashore when his crew joined the mutiny of The Nore (1797). He commanded this ship with distinction at the Battle of Camperdown that year, however, as he did the Glatton at Copenhagen (1801). He was sent to New South Wales as governor in 1805. Again, complaints of his oppressive behaviour led in 1808 to a mutiny, this time under the acting head of the New South Wales Corps in Sydney, Major George Johnston, who put Bligh under arrest. The mutineers were subsequently found guilty of conspiracy. Bligh was later promoted to rear admiral (1811) and vice admiral (1814). Bligh's character has been variously interpreted. He does not seem to have been unduly tyrannical, but his abusive tongue and his overbearing manner made him unpopular as a commander. He possessed undoubted courage in battle and great skill as a navigator.