After the mutiny

Having deposed Captain Bligh, the mutineers' catch cry was "Huzzah for Tahiti". On Fletcher Christian's orders, the Bounty's cargo of breadfruit plants-the reason the ship was in the South Pacific in the first place-was thrown overboard. The mutineer crew set sail for Tahiti, no doubt eager to be reunited with the women they had befriended or cohabited with during six months of breadfruit farming (See Why the mutiny?).

However, not all the men who stayed onboard supported the mutineers' cause. Some had wanted to go with Bligh, but had been prevented because there was not enough room in the launch. They were waiting for an opportunity to retake the ship or to escape.

James Morrison:

"… I had reason to believe from the countenance of affairs that the Ship might yet be recovered if a party could be formed and as I knew that several onboard were not at all pleased with their situation …"

From the outset then, relationships were tense between the committed mutineers and some men who had apparently stayed onboard against their will. However, both groups banded together initially in spite of their differences. Settling with their Tahitian consorts and friends on Tubuai, one of the Austral Islands, they built a fort to protect themselves against a hostile local population with whom they later had several bloody battles.

Eventually, Fletcher Christian's best efforts to keep the Bountys together came to nothing. After three months of bloodshed fighting the Tubuaians, and discord amongst themselves, the men had had enough. A decision was made to abandon Fort St George on Tubuai.

James Morrison:

"… on a call for a show of hands, sixteen appeared for Taheite; when it was agreed that those who went on shore should have Arms and ammunition and part of everything on the ship."

On 22 September 1789 the Bounty was last seen on the northern horizon, after dropping off 16 Bountys and their consorts, all of whom had elected to return to Tahiti. Fletcher Christian sailed off with eight Bountys and their Tahitian wives and friends.

Their fate was to remain a mystery until an American sealing ship happened on tiny, uncharted Pitcairn Island 19 years later. The Topaz (under Captain Mayhew Folger) stumbled upon Pitcairn Island in 1808. By then, all but one of the mutineers (John Adams aka Alexander Smith) were dead. Most had died violently, including Fletcher Christian.

The first 10 years of settlement on the previously uninhabited Pitcairn Island had witnessed a violent confrontation between the mutineers and the eight Polynesian men who had accompanied them from Tahiti. When midshipman Edward Young died of asthma in December 1800, he was the first male to die of natural causes. Fifteen other adult males on the island had been murdered or had chosen suicide. Only Adams, several of the Polynesian women and numerous children had survived. Among the children was "Thursday October Christian", Fletcher Christian's son.

This early period of absolute isolation is characterised by the presence and skills of the Polynesian women, who are probably largely responsible for the survival of the community. Adams is credited with bringing Christianity and stability to the community. When he died in 1829, the tiny island's population was 77. Their descendants still live there today.