Saturday, April 28, 2012

This Day in History April 28, 1789

You have probably heard about this ship, and it was on this date in 1789 that mutiny happened on the HMS Bounty.  The story goes that in 1787, the ship headed to Tahiti from England to collect fruit that would serve as food for slaves.  While in Tahiti, the crew became accustomed to an idyllic lifestyle.  On April 4, 1789, the ship departed Tahiti.  And less than a month later, First Mate Fletcher Christian and 25 petty officers seized the ship.  They set the captain and 18 of his loyal supporters on a boat in the middle of the Pacific (that miraculously made it to the East Indies.  The mutineers attempted to set up a colony on the island of Tubuai.  In 1808, an American whaling ship found what was left of this "colony," and it was discovered that lots of problems had ensued.  It was not the idyllic colony that had been envisioned.

I did not realize that this island they colonized, Pitcaim Island, is still in existence today, and it is part of the British Empire.  Some of the descendants of the island can trace their heritage back to the original mutineers.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mutiny-on-the-hms-bounty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty

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