PODCAST · arts

Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty by Sir John Barrow

by Loyal Books

On December 31 1787, the HMS Bounty, a small sailing vessel embarked from Spithead Harbor, England bound for Tahiti. Her mission was sponsored by the Royal Society in London and aimed at picking up breadfruit plants and fruit from Tahiti and conveying them to the West Indies, where it was hoped they would take root and become a commercial crop. The Bounty was an old ship with a young captain and 46 young officers. The captain's cabin was converted into a potting shed for the expected breadfruit cargo. He was quartered in a cramped cabin next to the men. In Tahiti, the crew suddenly found themselves transported into an exotic land, rich with strange and delicious fruits and food, country made liquor and beautiful women. The easy and relaxed lifestyle enticed the Englishmen. As the date of departure neared in 1789, the crew seemed reluctant to leave. Tensions increased as the relationship between the captain and crew began to break down. What followed became one of the most sensational