In 1789 and 1797 and again in 1808, William Bligh survived three mutinies. The first and most contentious was the mutiny on HMS Bounty. Whether perceived as villain or hero, Bligh was not a victim in the Bounty mutiny. On the contrary, by offering only token resistance to mutineers, he greatly profited from their crime. Of all the strange things about the mutiny, the oddest of all was that no blood was shed when there should have been. No resolute commander of the times, other than a consummate coward, would ever have abandoned his ship without a ferocious fight, unless he had a fallback plan. Bligh did have such a plan.
Venturing into territory never explored before, Conspiracy on the Bounty delivers a powerful rebuttal to all previous theories of what caused the mutiny on the Bounty. Fresh evidence now reveals what doubters had long suspected – there was a conspiracy and there was a cover-up of an abominable, unpunished, crime. Drawn from the remarkable experiences of his own life, the author re-enacts Bligh’s expeditions to Tahiti in HMS Bounty, and HMS Providence, then forces Bligh to give up an explosive secret – a secret that for over 200 years lay dormant in Bligh’s consignments of breadfruit plants. Every person who is fascinated by the sea will find this book a masterful addition, indeed a welcome conclusion, to Bountiana literature.
A hardcover, limited edition, is available for publicists and reviewers. Further hardcover & softcover copies will be available later 2024. The book includes 366 pages, 25 color and 24 black & white illustrations, supplementary notes, appendix, bibliography and index.