Narrative Of The Mutiny Onboard HMS Bounty

by William Bligh

In the long history of the Royal Navy the mutiny on board HMS Bounty has long had a strange fascination. Life on board was harsh as it was across all ships. Here the Captain who was deposed from his ship gives us his account.

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1790

About the author

Vice Admiral of the Blue William Bligh, FRS, RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A historic mutiny occurred during his command of HMS Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, 3,618 nautical miles (6,701 km; 4,164 mi), after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers. Fifteen years after the Bounty mutiny, he was appointed Governor of New South Wales in Australia, with orders to clean up the corrupt rum trade of the New South Wales Corps, resulting in the so-called Rum Rebellion.

Reviews

[Maia Coghlan]

I love the way Bligh wrote his diary. It genuinely seems like he cared a lot about his men, and he was clearly a very intelligent man. When reading this, remember it is a diary, written by him as the events unfolded. It's not a novel and it wasn't written by a writer. It includes many references to longitude and latitude and wind direction that I skipped, but the miles per day were interesting. Also, while slightly monotonous to hear what they ate every single day, it really helped to drive home to me just how miserable their experience must have been, living off so little for so long in such extreme circumstances. Loved it.

[Liz ݁ ˖ִ ࣪✩₊ ⊹˚ - INACTIVE]

Very interesting to hear about the seafaring life from people's diaries that actually experienced it