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

EXCELLENT!!!

I anticipated this work would be radical debunking of the legend that sprang up from history's most famous sea mutiny. You know, the legend that was immortalized in at least two Hollywood productions, based on the Nordhoff-Hall book, with handsome good-guy Clark Gable and handsome anti-hero Marlon Brando both portraying Fletcher Christian. The legend says that master's mate Christian justifiably wrested control of the Bounty from a captain who was tyrannical at best, and mentally unstable at worst. The name "Bligh" has become synonymous with sadism, though history, like the oceans, is deep and mysterious and continually changing. So it's no surprise that a significant, contemporary work would reassess our fixed notions of guilt, innocence, and complicity surrounding the events before, during, and after the early morning of April 28, 1789.However, unlike so many popular historians who "take sides," Caroline Alexander doesn't exactly condemn Christian in her carefully constructed defense of Bligh, nor does she presume to totally abscond Bligh. Other than Sir Joseph Banks, who sponsored the Bounty expedition, William Bligh had very few friends, even among those loyalists who opposed the mutiny. Her Bligh comes across as domineering and tempestuous, but she also makes clear that he was not unlike the majority of ships' commanders of his time. She emphasizes that Bligh's leadership qualities were heavily influenced by James Cook, for whom Bligh sailed under on Cook's last, fateful voyage; that, like Lord Nelson, the concept of "duty" was foremost in Bligh's mind; and that he was acutely aware of his social inferiority to both Christian and Peter Heywood, the 16-year-old mutineer whose background, rank, and motives most closely mirror the enigmatic Christian's. In fact, much of her book centers on the Heywood family's attempts to extricate young Peter from near-certain execution. Their behind-closed-door efforts, along with Edward Christian's orchestrated smear campaign against Bligh on behalf of his brother, did much to ensure Bligh's ignominy for the last two centuries, despite the awe that his 3,000-mile open-boat journey continues to inspire. It was a PR job not too unlike Libbie Custer's, during the 50 years she survived her husband's self-induced massacre at Little Big Horn.My only criticism of this book is that Alexander spends way too much time and detail on the circumstances surrounding Heywood and the other mutineers' trial. She goes into much unnecessary biographical detail of the judges who presided, and the circumstances that occurred both before and immediately after the trial. Several times I wanted to jump ahead to the much more riveting account of Christian's activities following the mutiny, which include his bizarre odyssey in the South Pacific and eventual colonization of Pitcairn Island, as well as the fascinating accounts of subsequent, accidental visitations to Pitcairn by American sealers and English merchant ships (where they discovered but one English survivor of Christian's group).In the end, it is Fletcher Christian, like George Armstrong Custer, who fascinates the most. What could have motivated him to commit half a ship's company to almost-certain death in a longboat, and to commit himself to the wrath of the exalted Royal English Navy, as well as permanent ostracism from his homeland? Was it pride, lust, impetuousness? Rather than inhabiting a Garden of Eden in Tahiti, the few short years left to him were studded with controversy and turmoil. There are still lots of questions that remain unanswered about the young, handsome sailor. Which in its own way is a backhanded endorsement of this book, because although there is such a limited amount of material on Christian, Alexander does an effective job of fleshing out those who came in closest contact to him, such as his family, his fellow mutineers... and most importantly the man who was both nemesis and alter ego, William Bligh.

As I will be travelling from Sydney, across the South Pacific, to Tahiti in 2023, I decided to purchase a number of books that would provide me with ‘context’ for some of the places I would be visiting. One of those books was The Bounty. I really enjoyed the book, based upon the well known ‘story’. There are many, many characters in the story, so it was to the authors credit that she provided a list of the Bounty crew and their labels: i.e. Mutineer, Loyalist, rank etc. I came to the conclusion that Bligh needed ‘a bigger boat’, ten+ marines and timely permission to sail from England so that he could ‘round Cape Horn’ before the bad weather set in. Unfortunately he received none of the above and therefore history does not provide him with the status given to other Captain Cook protégés such as Flinders or Vancouver. Sad really as he was arguably the greatest navigator of them all.

This is a super book.A methodical analysis of the facts told in a very readable style.It evokes life at sea in the British Navy in the late 1700's with admirable clarity.The hardships, the living conditions, the spirit of adventure and the sheer effort required to navigate and chart, remote lands in search of new discoveries and peoples.It evokes the artistry and skills required both to build and maintain such a ship as 'the Bounty', the routines of daily life aboard, surviving the vagaries of the weather, keeping the ship clean and disease free, but primarily it tells the iconic tale of 'The Mutiny on the Bounty' featuring the infamous Captain Bligh and First Mate Fletcher Christian occurring as it did at around the time of the rise of the Abolishionist Movement and the French Revolution.A very atmospheric tale, a deeply interesting tale.Caroline Alexander suggests, quoting a whole host of documentary evidence, that history has been somewhat unkind to Captain Bligh, something of a traditionalist in what were changing timesSet at a time when typically a large section of crews were still pressed men (ie. kidnapped and pressed into service) and children could be transported to the penal Colony in Australia for stealing a loaf of bread.Fletcher Christian apparently attended school with William Wordsworth and Captain (actually First Lieutenant) Bligh had sailed previously with Captain Cook and modelled himself on the famous Captain.Bligh was on a mission to secure 'Bread Fruit plants' to be used to feed the slaves in the West Indies when the mutiny happened, and he was sponsored by Sir Joseph Banks the founder of Kew Gardens, and a lifelong friend and supporter.The book paints a tantalising picture of Tahiti and the surrounding islands in the early days following it's discovery by Captain Cook when opposition to the white outsiders was stirring and landing at an island could find friendly natives or hostile natives and when friendly natives could turn very quickly into hostile natives.A meeting of very different cultures in an idyllic setting of white sands and palm trees where the women were very free, and friendly with their favours.The eventful actions that began on the morning of 28th April 1789 are surely etched in the memories of legions of English schoolboys, but what was the real story ?Was it the one we all have come to know of the cruel Captain Bligh and the rather heroic Mr Christian who rose up with fellow crew members to seize the Bounty, free the crew and set Captain Bligh adrift in an open boat ?Or was it somewhat different ?Read the book and find out you will not regret it.

Several years ago, I came across Captain Bligh's own account of the mutiny on the Bounty. Besides being awed by the skill of his seamanship, I was struck by his careful, affectionate descriptions of the people of Tahiti. How bad, I wondered, could this man be? Then I wondered, how good could somebody the self-important Marlon Brando chose to champion be?Now Caroline Alexander has presented her meticulously researched record of the mutiny. I, for one, am happy to see somebody stand up for William Bligh. She explores facets of the journey, mutiny, and aftermath I had never considered, and pops quite a few myths along the way (Bligh's second breadfruit voyage did not end in mutiny).The author supposes the reader to be familiar with the story. The students I teach English as a second language, knowing nothing of British maritime history, would have difficulty figuring out the course of events from this book.Which brings up a rather serious complaint. If language is to have any meaning at all, we have to agree to the established meaning of words and structures, rather than set them adrift in a stormy sea of arbitrary usage (sorry, couldn't resist the metaphor). Naturally language changes, as a glance at the speech of eighteenth century sailors quickly shows. But there is rhyme and reason to the evolution of language, which we abuse at the risk of destroying our means of communication. For an author, Alexander has an appalling disdain for the meanings of some words, the blocks on which her work is built. Any educated person should know what fulsome means, and that it does not mean full. On page 271 (hardbound), I was confused to read that ¡§the mutineers prevaricated over whether to retain Purcell or McIntosh for his valuable carpentry skill.¡¨ After puzzling over this several times, I decided she must have meant 'vacillate.' What were the editors doing?But I do not wish to end my review on such a negative note. I encourage readers to buy the hardbound version. I have noticed a trend. In bookstores here in Taiwan, sometimes you can buy the American edition, the English edition, and the Chinese translation of the same book. Local publishers pay great attention to not only the visual, but also the tactile appeal of books, so in such a case, the Chinese translation is often the one you want to pick up. The English edition is usually simply an effort to plunk the words on the page, good enough, never mind any sensory appeal (I am reminded of the differences between Chinese and English cuisine). The American edition usually lies somewhere in between. With The Bounty, the editors who were not checking the words were probably busy designing the book, and they have done a good job. The hardbound version is a pleasure to hold, a pleasure to read, and a pleasure to own.