Editing Mutiny on the Bounty (section)

== Background ==
=== ''Bounty'' and its mission ===
[[File:HMS BOUNTY II with Full Sails.jpg|thumb|[[Bounty (1960 ship)|A 1960 reconstruction]] of {{HMS|Bounty}}]]

[[HMS Bounty|His Majesty's Armed Vessel (HMAV) ''Bounty'']], or HMS ''Bounty'', was built in 1784 at the [[Blaydes Family|Blaydes]] shipyard in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[Yorkshire]], as a [[Collier (ship)|collier]] named ''Bethia''. It was renamed after being purchased by the [[Royal Navy]] for [[Pound sterling|£]]1,950 in May 1787 ({{Inflation|UK|1,950|1787|fmt=eq|cursign=£|round=-1}}).{{sfn|Winfield|2007|p=355}} It was three-masted, {{convert|91|ft|m}} long overall and {{convert|25|ft|m}} across at its widest point, and registered at [[Builder's Old Measurement|230 tons burthen]].{{sfn|Hough|1972|p=64}} Its armament was four short four-pounder [[Gun carriage|carriage guns]] and ten half-pounder [[swivel gun]]s, supplemented by small arms such as [[musket]]s.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=70}} As it was rated by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] as a [[Naval cutter|cutter]], the smallest category of warship, its commander would be a [[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] rather than a [[post-captain]] and would be the only [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned officer]] on board. Nor did a cutter warrant the usual detachment of [[Royal Marines]] that naval commanders could use to enforce their authority.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|pp=49, 71}}{{#tag:ref|[[James Cook]] commanded his first voyage in [[HMS Endeavour|HMS ''Endeavour'']] as a newly promoted lieutenant, and was not promoted to the rank of captain until after his second voyage.{{sfn|David|2004}}{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=72}} However, Cook always insisted on the support of a marine detachment of at least twelve.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p= 71}} |group="n"|name="ranks"}}

''Bounty'' had been acquired to transport [[breadfruit]] plants from [[Tahiti]] (then rendered "Otaheite"), a [[Polynesia]]n island in the South Pacific Ocean, to the British colonies in the [[West Indies]]. The expedition was promoted by the [[Royal Society]] and organised by its president [[Joseph Banks|Sir Joseph Banks]], who shared the view of Caribbean [[plantation]] owners that breadfruit might grow well there and provide cheap food for the slaves.{{sfn|McKinney|1999|p=16}} ''Bounty'' was refitted under Banks' supervision at [[Deptford Dockyard]] on the [[River Thames]]. The [[Cabin (ship)|great cabin]], normally the quarters of the ship's [[sea captain|captain]], was converted into a greenhouse for over a thousand potted breadfruit plants, with glazed windows, skylights, and a lead-covered deck and drainage system to prevent the waste of fresh water.{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=17–20}} The space required for these arrangements in the small ship meant that the crew and officers would endure severe overcrowding for the duration of the long voyage.{{sfn|Hough|1972|p=65}}

=== Bligh ===
[[File:Portrait of William Bligh.jpg|thumb|Lieutenant [[William Bligh]], [[sea captain|captain]] of HMS ''Bounty'']]

With Banks' agreement, command of the expedition was given to Lieutenant [[William Bligh]],{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=43}} whose experiences included Captain [[James Cook]]'s [[Third voyage of James Cook|third and final voyage]] (1776–80) in which he had served as [[Master (naval)|sailing master]], or chief navigator, on [[HMS Resolution (1771)|HMS ''Resolution'']].{{#tag:ref|The latter part of this voyage was without Cook, who was [[Kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu by Captain James Cook|killed by Hawaiians]] in 1779.{{sfn|Darby|2004}}{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=7–12}}|group="n"|name="cookdead"}} Bligh was born in [[Plymouth]] in 1754 into a family of naval and military tradition—Admiral [[Richard Rodney Bligh|Sir Richard Rodney Bligh]] was his third cousin.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=43}}{{sfn|Darby|2004}} Appointment to Cook's ship at the age of 21 had been a considerable honour, although Bligh believed that his contribution was not properly acknowledged in the expedition's official account.{{sfn|Frost|2004}} With the 1783 ending of the eight-year [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]]—in which [[France in the American Revolutionary War|the French Navy fought]] from 1778—the vast Royal Navy was reduced in size, and Bligh found himself ashore on half-pay.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=47}}

After a period of idleness, Bligh took temporary employment in the [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|mercantile service]] and in 1785 was captain of the ''Britannia'', a vessel owned by his wife's uncle, Duncan Campbell.{{sfn|Hough|1972|pp=58–59}} Bligh assumed the prestigious ''Bounty'' appointment on 16 August 1787, at a considerable financial cost. His lieutenant's pay of four [[shilling]]s a day (£70 a year) contrasted with the £500 a year he had earned as captain of ''Britannia''. Because of the limited number of [[warrant officer]]s allowed on ''Bounty'', Bligh was also required to act as the ship's [[purser]].{{sfn|Hough|1972|pp=66–67}}{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=73}} To survey an important but under-explored passage, Bligh's sailing orders stated that he was to enter the Pacific via [[Cape Horn]] around South America and then, after collecting the breadfruit plants, sail westward through the [[Endeavour Strait]]. He was then to cross the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans to the West Indies islands in the Caribbean. ''Bounty'' would thus complete a [[circumnavigation]] of the Earth in the Southern Hemisphere.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=48}}

=== Crew ===
{{Main|Complement of HMS Bounty}}

[[Complement of HMS Bounty|''Bounty''{{'}}s complement]] was 46 men, comprising 44 Royal Navy personnel (including Bligh) and two civilian botanists. Directly beneath Bligh were his warrant officers, appointed by the [[Navy Board]] and headed by the sailing master [[John Fryer (Royal Navy officer)|John Fryer]].{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=164–166}} The other warrant officers were the [[boatswain]], the [[Ship's doctor|surgeon]], the carpenter and the gunner.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=51}} To the two [[master's mate]]s and two [[midshipman|midshipmen]] were added several honorary midshipmen—so-called "[[young gentlemen]]" who were aspirant naval officers. These signed the ship's roster as [[able seamen]] but were quartered with the midshipmen and treated on equal terms with them.{{sfn|Hough|1972|p=74}}

Most of ''Bounty''{{'}}s crew were chosen by Bligh or were recommended to him by influential patrons. The gunner, [[William Peckover]], and the armourer, Joseph Coleman, had been with Cook and Bligh on ''Resolution'';{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=56}} several others had sailed under Bligh more recently on ''Britannia''. Among these was the 23-year-old [[Fletcher Christian]], who came from a wealthy [[Cumberland]] family descended from [[Manx people|Manx]] [[gentry]]. Christian had chosen a life at sea rather than the legal career envisaged by his family.{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=20–22}} He had twice voyaged with Bligh to the West Indies, and the two had formed a master-pupil relationship through which Christian had become a skilled navigator.{{sfn|Hough|1972|pp=75–76}} Christian was willing to serve on ''Bounty'' without pay as one of the "young gentlemen";{{sfn|Dening|1992|p=70}} Bligh gave him one of the salaried master's mate's berths.{{sfn|Hough|1972|pp=75–76}} Another of the young gentlemen recommended to Bligh was 15-year-old [[Peter Heywood]], also from a Manx family and a distant relation of Christian's. Heywood had left school at age 14 to spend a year on {{HMS|Powerful|1783|6}}, a harbour-bound training vessel at Plymouth.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|pp=63–65}} His recommendation to Bligh came from Richard Betham, a Heywood family friend who was Bligh's father-in-law.{{sfn|Hough|1972|p=74}}

The two botanists, or "gardeners", were chosen by Banks. The chief botanist, [[David Nelson (botanical collector)|David Nelson]], was a veteran of Cook's third expedition who had been to Tahiti and had learned some of the natives' language.{{sfn|Hough|1972|pp=67–68}} Nelson's assistant William Brown was a former midshipman who had seen naval action against the French.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=56}} Banks also helped to secure the official midshipmen's berths for two of his protégés, [[Thomas Hayward (Royal Navy officer)|Thomas Hayward]] and [[John Hallett (Royal Navy officer)|John Hallett]].{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=68}} Overall, ''Bounty''{{'}}s crew was relatively youthful, the majority being under 30;{{sfn|McKinney|1999|p=23}} at the time of departure, Bligh was 33 years old. Among the older crewmembers were the 39-year-old Peckover, who had sailed on all three of Cook's voyages, and Lawrence Lebogue, a year older and formerly sailmaker on ''Britannia''.<ref>{{harvnb|McKinney|1999|pp=17–23, 164–166}}; {{harvnb|Wahlroos|1989|p=304}}.</ref> The youngest aboard were Hallett and Heywood, both aged 15 when they left England.{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=17–23, 37, 164–166}}

Living space on the ship was allocated on the basis of rank. Bligh, having yielded the great cabin,{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=17–23, 37, 164–166}} occupied private sleeping quarters with an adjacent dining area or pantry on the [[port and starboard|starboard]] side of the ship, and Fryer a small cabin on the opposite side. The surgeon Thomas Huggan, the other warrant officers, and Nelson the botanist had tiny cabins on the lower deck,{{sfn|Dening|1992|pp=28–32}} while the master's mates and the midshipmen, together with the young gentlemen, berthed together in an area behind the captain's dining room known as the [[Cockpit (sailing)|cockpit]]; as junior or prospective officers, they were allowed use of the [[quarterdeck]].{{sfn|McKinney|1999|pp=164–166}} The other ranks had their quarters in the [[forecastle]], a windowless unventilated area measuring {{convert|36|by|22|ft|m}} with headroom of {{convert|5|ft|7|in }}.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|p=69}}

{{Col-float|firstcol=40em}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Officers and gentlemen of HMS ''Bounty'', December 1787<ref name=crewlist>{{Harvnb|Bligh|1792|pp=158–160}}; {{Harvnb|Hough|1972|pp=76–77}}; {{Harvnb|Alexander|2003|loc=frontispiece}}.</ref>
! style="width:200px;" scope="col"|Name
! style="width:250px;" scope="col"|Rank or function
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Bligh}}
|{{sort|009|Lieutenant, Royal Navy: Ship's captain}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Fryer|dab=Royal Navy officer}}
|{{sort|008|Warrant officer: Sailing master}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Cole|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|007|Warrant officer: Boatswain}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Peckover|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|006|Warrant officer: Gunner}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Purcell|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|006|Warrant officer: Carpenter}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|Huggan|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|006|Ship's surgeon}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Fletcher|Christian}}
|{{sort|005|Master's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Elphinstone|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|005|Master's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|Ledward|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|005|Surgeon's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Hallett|dab=Royal Navy officer}}
|{{sort|004|Midshipman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|Hayward|dab=Royal Navy officer}}
|{{sort|004|Midshipman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Peter|Heywood}}
|{{sort|003|Honorary midshipman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|George|Stewart|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|003|Honorary midshipman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Robert|Tinkler|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|003|Honorary midshipman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Edward "Ned"|Young|Ned Young}}
|{{sort|003|Honorary midshipman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|David|Nelson|dab=botanical collector}}
|{{sort|-2|Botanist (civilian)}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Brown|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|-1|Assistant gardener (civilian)}}
|}
{{Col-float-break}}
<div style="float:right; background:none; margin-left:2em;">
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Other ranks of HMS ''Bounty'', December 1787<ref name=crewlist />
! style="width:200px;" scope="col"|Name
! style="width:200px;" scope="col"|Rank or function
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Peter|Linkletter|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|002|Quartermaster}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Norton|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|002|Quartermaster}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|George|Simpson|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Quartermaster's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|James|Morrison|dab=mutineer}}
|{{sort|001|Boatswain's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Mills|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Gunner's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Charles|Norman|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Carpenter's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|McIntosh|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Carpenter's mate}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Lawrence|Lebogue|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Sailmaker}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Charles|Churchill||dab=mutineer}}
|{{sort|001|Master-at-arms}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Joseph|Coleman|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Armourer}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Samuel|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Captain's clerk}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Smith|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Captain's servant}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Henry|Hillbrant|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Cooper}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|Hall|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Cook}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Robert|Lamb|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|001|Butcher}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|Muspratt}}
|{{sort|000|Assistant cook}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|Burkett|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Michael|Byrne|dab=sailor}} (or "Byrn")
|{{sort|-3|Able seaman – musician}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Thomas|Ellison|dab=mutineer}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|William|McCoy|dab=mutineer}} (or "McKoy")
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Isaac|Martin|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Millward|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Matthew|Quintal}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Richard|Skinner|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Adams|dab=mutineer}} ("Alexander Smith")
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Sumner|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|Matthew|Thompson|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|James|Valentine|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|- valign="top"
|{{sortname|John|Williams|nolink=1}}
|{{sort|000|Able seaman}}
|}
</div>
{{Col-float-end}}