H.M.S. Bounty: A True Account of the Notorious Mutiny

by Alexander McKee

A blow-by-blow account of the most infamous mutiny of the eighteenth century.

Perfect for readers of Sam Willis, Brian Lavery and Ian W. Toll, and fans of true-life drama on the high seas.

On 28 April 1789, a group of sailors aboard HMS Bounty seized command of the ship and set her captain and eighteen members of the crew adrift in an open boat, 3,600 miles from the nearest civilised port. It was to become one of the epic scandals in naval history.

Was the mutiny a well-planned coup, an inevitable result of Captain William Bligh’s cruelty? Or was it a haphazard revolt, the rash act of an immature officer?

Drawing on contemporary reports, published accounts and private journals, Alexander McKee provides a detailed analysis of Captain Bligh and his relationship with his crew, showing how it was that he promoted his favourite, Fletcher Christian, over the heads of more experienced sailors and then drove him to open defiance. He gives us a vivid account of the mutiny itself, and he brilliantly reconstructs the subsequent court martial with its controversial testimony.

Offering an original and convincing conception of the character of Bligh and the truth behind the revolt, HMS Bounty answers many questions unsolved since 1789.

‘The psychological circumstances surrounding the celebrated mutiny and its aftermath are recapitulated here with all the intensity of a first-class thriller’ Kirkus Reviews

Genres: History, Ebooks

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Alexander McKee was no "yes-man", he dared to criticise many military, political, economic, media and academic icons and he always kept an open mind. He was fanatical about making his works as accurate as he possibly could. He was ever alert to plain-wrong, biased, distorted or sloppy reports and hidden agendas; wickedly delighting (the more so as a self-educated man) in criticising and exposing assertions that did not fit the evidence. Among his targets were those who tended to emphasise media-image-managment, the accumulation of personal wealth and career progression over both personal integrity and respect for other people's contributions. He gleefully highlighted all the many lapses of integrity that he found. Equally, many established experts, often highly educated people and indeed experts regarding the theoretical aspects of their disciplines, but whom he considered scandalously remiss when they complacently failed to complement such theoretical understanding with practical knowledge as a way to test their theories empirically. Consequently, some of them came in for some harsh criticism on occasion. One gets the impression from his work that some of them appeared reluctant to venture outside the academy at all; out into the "real world": let alone to mix with ordinary people. Implicitly, he urged them to converse with the fishermen, the builders, the soldiers, the doctors, the nurses, the shipwrights and the firemen to glean practical understanding from these practical people, who had to be willing and able to carry out the ultimate tests on their theories to provide demonstably working solutions in order to fulfill their typical working roles. Then he urges such experts in the theory to re-test their theories against the empirically derived knowledge gleaned from their excursions among the working classes, and to do so conjunction with their own senses, out in the "real world": rather than limiting themselves and risking their reputations on the results of thought experiments alone. He dug deep into eye-witness testimonies and spent countless hours searching libraries and museums for the documentary evidence surrounding each his-story. One may find this slightly comical that viewed against the background of established caricaturisations, when the elevated "pillars of wisdom", went "building castles in the air" around about the "ivory towers" and he found strong contradictory "real world" evidence he often lambasted them mercilessly, although it does sometimes seem to be overdone. In contrast, he made the point that some of the sloppy documentary historical works such as that of Sir Robert Davis, that temporarily led his own research astray (and much to his annoyance caused him to repeat untruths in public lectures) while causing the propagation of serious errors until he uncovered them, were nevertheless probably a consequence of the pressures of work, owing to the high quality of the rest of the publication.

Reviews

[Chaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a different story than what I expected from this author. I loved it! It was an interesting dive into the relationship of a captain has with his crew. And in this one, well it wasnt good. The way it all unfolded and came about had me on the edge of my seat. It didnt feel like I was reading a non fiction history book. It felt like a naval adventure book! It was amazing

[Robert McSpadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The BEST book I've read IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

Riveting from start to finish!! I felt the deepest sadness for all the mutineers. I learned to exquisitely HATE a man I never knew, Lieutenant William Bligh. I had seen the old Hollywood depictions of the mutiny, but none of that can aptly describe the whole realistic turn-of-events
of Mutiny on the Bounty. I'll never forget any of it!

[Agatha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. I think it's an accurate account of the mutiny on H.M.S. Bounty. It refers to several points of view including Captain Bligh, Morrison, Christian, and several others on the Bounty. McKee does a wonderful job placing different points of view, so as to let the reader decide for himself/herself whether the mutiny was called for or not. It also has a chapter on Pitcairn's Islands, which other Bounty books does not include. I would highly recommend reading about the H.M.S. Bounty and picking up any non-fiction version of the story. It's an interesting part of history and reads like an adventure/thriller.