Bligh’s Convenient Mutiny

Bligh’s (made-to-order) Convenient Mutiny

Question — “If you could have asked Fletcher Christian one question, what would that question be”? *

Answer — “Considering that William Bligh made fame and fortune through adversity, and observing that his passive response to his arrest and the mutiny, was most uncharacteristic of Lieutenant Bligh, how much Mr Christian were you acting as Bligh’s agent provocateur? After all, the mutiny was capably conducted and Bligh could have reacted much more decisively, yet he chose not to do so. The irony of your mutiny Mr Christian is that no blood was shed when there very well should have been; passive resistance meant no resistance at all — is that not so Mr Christian — what say thee?” **

[* An all-fools-day fun question put to group members of “Friends of Pitcairn” was in essence a sensible question.]

[** Putting Hollywood stereotypes aside, when three men deserted the Bounty at Tahiti, Bligh displayed commendable leadership by tracking them right to their lair, and in the tense moment of arresting them he placed himself in physical danger. However when it came to the mutiny, it is highly suspicious that his command was so uncharacteristically weak. It was weak because he calculated he could achieve his goals without putting himself at risk; he was too clever to put on an unnecessary show of bravery. The mystery of his timidity has not gone unnoticed and any claims that Bligh had no opportunity to engage his captors, simply does not stand up to scrutiny.]

[Illustration: Fletcher Christian age 23 — crop of one of John Hagan’s collection of Bounty Paintings. (Courtesy of John Hagan) COTB, f33]