Mutiny of the 'Bounty', 1790

This is the file of despatches to the Admiralty that relate to the voyage of HMS Bounty, from Lieutenant William Bligh. It includes a full description of the famous mutiny.

On the morning of 28 April 1789, twelve crew members, led by Master's Mate Fletcher Christian, staged a mutiny. They captured the ship and set Lieutenant Bligh and his supporters adrift in the ship's launch.

Bligh and his men endured a 3,600 mile journey in this open boat to Timor. Some of the mutineers were later captured in Tahiti and brought back round the world to stand trial. Other crew members, including John Adams, decided not to return to their homeland and instead founded a British colony on Pitcairn Island.

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