The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty

It was not William Bligh's first voyage, but certainly the first of its kind. Despite Capt. Cook's death, investors like Joseph Banks, were determined to establish trade relations with Tahiti. Filled to the brim with gifts and an entire plant nursery, The Bounty set sail in 1787, and on the way Capt. Bligh boasted a healthy 46 member crew. However, slights and grievances started to build and in 1789, a small group led by Christian Fletcher mutinied. Bligh was placed in a launch with those who chose to remain loyal and set adrift. While the Bounty was never recovered, the mutineers were, much to their surprise! Those set adrift had not only lived, but they made it back to England!

I really looked forward to this one and was not show more disappointed! I have to applaud Alexander for making a "flashback" timeline work! It opens with the tumultuous recovery of the mutineers, then goes back in time to introduce you to the main cast, then the mutiny and trials. Alexander references Cook only as needed and doesn't dwell on the survivors' days at sea. It keeps the story moving so the book certainly doesn't feel like 350+ pages.

Alexander clears up the misconceptions and gives fair treatment to both sides as well. Fletcher was actually hard-working, well-liked, and experienced, and Bligh spoke highly of him. Veteran Bligh had a temper, but otherwise an ordinary, even lenient disciplinarian. He kept his men clean, fed, and did his best to emulate Capt Cook. The real culprit was the Royal Navy. They didn't invest in a larger crew, give Bligh his due or provide standard marine or officer reinforcement. Not only that, but they delayed the Bounty's launch so that Bligh couldn't return on schedule! And when you're an underpaid, exhausted, seaman halfway across the world, the possibility of staying in Tahiti - even if it means mutiny - is awfully tempting! show less

I had heard of "Mutiny on the Bounty" but had no idea what it was about. I guess that shows how infamous this rebellious act was and I was engaged from the first page to learn about it.

This is a dense book; it took me a long time to read and every page is a wall of text. It reads like a really interesting textbook rather than a novel and it's so meticulously researched by the author that I legitimately wonder if there's any point to seeking out other sources on this matter. The fact that I learned about every single member of the crew their bio, what happened during and after the mutiny is incredible considering this happened more than 200 years ago. Sometimes with history books or interesting cases, there isn't closure - the murderer show more gets away with it, or the group in question is never to be found. My favorite part of the book is when, years later, American and British ships find the descendants and some still-alive mutineers on the Pitcairn Islands.

It's so much he-said, he-said that it turns into an incredible mystery during the court-martial. Who said what, how did he say it, how did he seem. I guess over time the narrative has changed a bit, but I can't ever imagine myself being on anything but Team Bligh. Fletcher Christian seemed like a knob with no plan and just wanted to have sex with hot island girls. What a wimp!

Seeing how Peter Heywood's family connections got him out of being executed was also thrilling to read. I guess some things never change!

Excited to watch a mini series or the 1984 movie soon. What a story! show less

In December of 1787, the HMS Bounty, under the leadership of commanding lieutenant William Bligh, set out for the island of Tahiti to obtain breadfruit plants to grow in the West Indies. It was a routine trade mission. But Bligh’s return trip to England was far from routine. On the morning of April 28, 1789, ship’s mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against Bligh and took the ship. Bligh and 14 crewmen were placed on a small 23-foot launch and sent to go back home while the mutineers steered towards Tahiti. Without charts or a chronometer, Bligh still made it over 4,000 miles to Australian shores and eventually got home. The story of the infamous mutiny and aftermath are the subject for Caroline Alexander’s The Bounty, a complex show more and nuanced tale of leadership, loyalty, and love.

While the details about the mutiny are still unclear, the core issue was that many among the crew wanted to stay on Tahiti with those whom they were enamored, and Commander Bligh ordered them back to the ship. The mission was a moderate success—over 1,000 plants had been secured for transport—and the crew had spent a wonderful five months on the island. It was quite possibly the easiest mission there could be. But, several men of the Bounty, including the master’s mate grew attached to local women and didn’t want to leave. Bligh, being a man of dogmatic intensity and fierce devotion to his job, ordered them back or face severe consequences.

Alexander’s history tries to give a less heavy-handed version of the events than previous writers. Bligh is traditionally seen as a taskmaster with no real heart or humanity. Fletcher is the idealized image of every person finding happiness in a far-off land. But, the historical documents at hand tell a slightly different tale. True, there was a mutiny and, true, the men did disobey orders. Bligh was the only real officer on board and had to be the sole administrator of discipline and justice, but the extent to which his orders become tyrannical is up for debate. The author does an interesting job of countermanding previous assumptions and laying out a more balanced view of the story. A lively and entertaining book. show less

I've had this book in my library for years and finally picked it up a month or two ago. I had no idea that I'd be swept into one of the most interesting narrative histories I've ever read.

Alexander has done her research thoroughly and what I find most astounding is just how much source material she had to work with. I'm new to British Naval history and I was amazed that they'd managed to preserve the logs and letters.

What was even more astonishing was that the evidence she compiles for this book paints Bligh in such a contrasting light than the rest of the world knows him. We can all spout what we've 'heard' about the reputation of Captain Bligh, but when the facts are laid bare, the story changes dramatically.

I now find myself show more defending Captain Bligh at every turn and encouraging people to read this fantastic book. Alexander's writing is clear and supremely interesting. She takes the time to explain the naval lingo and the ramifications of log entries and the actions of the Admiralty.

I ended up feeling sympathy for Bligh and just a bit of rage at how he was mistreated. You may not be swept along as thoroughly as I was, but I doubt you'll be able to look at this epic true story in the same way again. show less

59. The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander

I do believe the basic story of "The Mutiny on the Bounty" is widely known: A British ship named Bounty, commanded by Lt. William Bligh, was seized by mutineers led by Fletcher Christian. Bligh and a group of loyalists journeyed thousands of miles in an overloaded open boat and eventually returned to England. Several of the mutineers were captured on Tahiti, returned to England, and tried, with all being convicted. Three were pardoned by King George III, three others were hanged. Years later, one surviving mutineer was discovered living on Pitcairn Island with a few Tahitian natives and some children fathered by mutineers. But by that time, relatively few show more cared. The End.

Thanks to high-level family connections, shrewd counsel, bogus investigations, and trash journalism, the tale, even before it had played out, was manipulated and twisted. In the popular mind, Bligh was a despicable villain with Christian becoming a folk hero. Novels and films have been spawned by the tale, and most of them have simply entrenched that idea: Bligh was a villain, Christian a misunderstood, introverted loner-hero.

Caroline Alexander may not be the first historian to research the records for the truth, but her book is the only one on the topic that I've read. She's done a thorough and commendable job. I think she does a good job of marshaling and dispensing the facts to maintain the mystery and our interest. What dialogue there is is taken from letters, trial testimony, written reports, and the like; no fictionalizing. I wouldn't call it a page-turner, and some readers will judge it plodding. I think it's interesting, methodical, thorough. Alexander presents facts, then asks questions and roots for more information and answers.

Having reached the end, I am satisfied. The feats of navigation and seafaring are simply incredible, the mutiny itself not really surprising, the intrigue and shenanigans before, during, and after the court-martial worthy of Trollope or Dickens show less

Popular histories sometimes (not always, but often enough to notice) suffer from one of two things: a deliberate paring away of detail--be it description or incident--to make for easier reading or a slimmer volume, or a concerted refusal to acknowledge or explore information that does not gird the author's thesis. Caroline Alexander's The Bounty has neither condition: it is as exhaustive an examination of a single moment of history as anything I've ever read.

Which is not to say that the reading is not compelling. Alexander goes to some pains to strip away the romantic veneer covering over the facts of the mutiny and those culpable in its execution. Nor does she provide complete exoneration to Captain Bligh, who is revealed as an able, show more conscientious and decent man, whose few failings were amplified by a flawed crew and lack of support (mainly in the absence of marines on board The Bounty) from the Admiralty. Oddly, but appropriately for such a scholarly work, Alexander pieces together much of what is known about lead mutineer Fletcher Christian from the extant evidence, which in most cases is second hand.

The exhaustive nature of the book does tend to drag in places. The build up to court martial introduces the tiresome (no more here though than she was doubtlessly so in life) Fanny Hayward, along with detailed explanation of the members of the court martial. Interesting and ultimately useful in sorting out the fractured loyalties that defined these men and their subsequent actions, it does get to be slow reading.

But more than a story of one mutiny in the Pacific, it is a tale of a changing world, where the virgin paradise of Tahiti is imbued with the failings of the British Empire, where Nelson's final words, "thank God I have done my duty," are not the anthem of a subsequent age but an epitaph for a waning one. An epic worth reading. show less

I expected this book to be excellent simply by virtue of having been written by Caroline Alexander, whose previous work, The Endurance, was outstanding. If you haven't read that one and you are interested in Shackleton, I strongly suggest you find a copy and read it.

The Bounty is another one of those marvelous histories, which although documented (sources for each chapter are given at the end & thus there are no footnote encumbrances), reads likes a novel. I literally could not put this book down.

Synopsis:

Sunrise, April 28, 1789. William Bligh, who was actually a lieutenant captaining the ship Bounty, sent from England to the South Pacific to gather of all things breadfruit (you have to read the book to understand this)was rudely show more awakened at swordpoint from his bunk to be informed that he would be leaving the ship. In charge of this operation was Mr. Fletcher Christian, (and God help me, I can't help but think of Mel Gibson every time his name was brought up), who explained that he was in Hell and could no longer abide the captain's behavior. Wearing only a nightshirt, Bligh was bound and lowered into a launch. Others soon followed suit...the ship was then in the hands of Fletcher Christian and a few others of it seems, like minds. So...the question is what brought on the mutiny? Was Captain Bligh really as nefarious and evil as history has painted him? What conditions led to Fletcher Christian's decision? And then, in probably what is the true meat of this story, how were the majority of the mutineers rounded up & brought to justice? We all know that Fletcher Christian and a few of his associates landed on & settled Pitcairn Island, which lay largely undiscovered...so what was the real story here? So many questions, so many answers, from various viewpoints, keep this account lively & leave the reader wanting to read more.

The book opens with the collection & transport of the mutineers who had escaped to Tahiti; some of them voluntarily going to the ship & thus their certain fates and others who had to be rounded up. The story then moves to part two, in which we are introduced to each of the crew members including Captain Bligh & Fletcher Christian. The voyage of the Bounty commences, and this part of the book ends with the mutiny. Part three recalls Captain Bligh's feat of navigation and getting himself & the others consigned to go with him back to civilization, and investigating his court-martial for losing the Bounty. Part four...the political wheelings & dealings involved with the trial of the captured prisoners...and then finally, how the name of Captain Bligh came to be permanently associated with martinet-like behavior & came to be a dirty word. Here too you will find differing views on what happened once the main body of mutineers reached Pitcairn island.

One fun piece of information is worth noting. The night before the mutiny, Captain Bligh got into it with his officers about some missing coconuts. He called upon all of them to account for how many they'd eaten. Not that this is earthshaking in itself, but those of you who have read The Caine Mutiny (one of my favorite books of all time) will remember the dastardly Captain Queeg and the strawberry incident. I couldn't help but laugh and draw parallels & even wonder if Herman Wouk had incorporated this part of the Bounty mutiny into his own work.

I would very very highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this type of thing. Read it and savor it. Take it slow. Because Alexander (like any historian worth her salt) relies heavily on primary documents, the wording is often a bit difficult to read, but it is well worth the time you will take on it. show less