Editing William Bligh

{{Short description|Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator (1754–1817)}}
{{distinguish|William Blight}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = William Bligh
| honorific-suffix    = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRS}}
| image               = WilliamBligh.jpeg
| image_size          = 
| caption             = 1814 portrait
| office              = [[Governor of New South Wales]]
| term_start          = 13 August 1806
| term_end            = 26 January 1808
| monarch             = [[George III]]
| lieutenant          = [[William Paterson (explorer)|William Paterson]]
| predecessor         = [[Philip Gidley King]]
| successor           = [[Lachlan Macquarie]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1754|9|9|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Plymouth]], Devon (or [[St Tudy]], Cornwall), England
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1817|12|7|1754|9|9|df=y}}
| death_place         = London, England
| resting_place       = [[St Mary-at-Lambeth]], Lambeth, London, England
| occupation          = Naval officer, colonial administrator
| known_for           = [[Mutiny on the Bounty]]
| spouse              = {{marriage |Elizabeth Betham |4 February 1781 |15 April 1812 |end=d.}}
| children            = 8, including [[Mary Putland]]
| footnotes           = <!--Military service-->
| branch              = [[Royal Navy]]
| serviceyears        = 1761–1783{{efn|In 1783, Bligh left the Royal Navy to join the Merchant Service. He returned to the Royal Navy in 1787.<ref name="Thought"/>}}<br/>1787–1817
| rank                = [[Vice-Admiral of the Blue]]
| battles             = {{Tree list}}
* [[American Revolutionary War]]
**[[Great Siege of Gibraltar]]
* [[Fourth Anglo-Dutch War]]
**[[Battle of Dogger Bank (1781)|Battle of Dogger Bank]]
* [[War of the First Coalition]]
**[[Battle of Camperdown]]
* [[War of the Second Coalition]]
**[[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|Battle of Copenhagen]]
{{tree list/end}}
| mawards             = [[Naval Gold Medal]]
}}

[[Vice-admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] '''William Bligh''', [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a [[Royal Navy]] officer and colonial administrator who served as the [[governor of New South Wales]] from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on HMS ''Bounty'']], which occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command. The reasons behind the mutiny continue to be debated. After being set adrift in ''Bounty''{{'}}s [[Launch (boat)|launch]] by the mutineers, Bligh and those loyal to him stopped for supplies on [[Tofua]], losing one man to native attacks. Bligh and his men reached [[Timor]] alive, after a journey of {{convert|3618|nmi|-1}}.

On 13 August 1806, Bligh was appointed governor of the British [[colony of New South Wales]], with orders to clean up the corrupt [[rum]] trade of the [[New South Wales Corps]]. His actions directed against the trade resulted in the so-called [[Rum Rebellion]], during which Bligh was placed under arrest on 26 January 1808 by the New South Wales Corps and deposed from his command, an act which the [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|Foreign Office]] later declared to be illegal. He died in London on 7 December 1817.

==Early life==
Bligh was born on 9 September 1754,<ref name="Britannica"/> but it is not clear where. It is likely that he was born in [[Plymouth]], Devon, as he was baptised at [[St Andrew's Church, Plymouth|St Andrew's Church]] on Royal Parade in Plymouth on 4 October 1754,<ref>Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1–20, 22</ref> where Bligh's father, Francis, was serving as a customs officer. Bligh's ancestral home of Tinten Manor in [[St Tudy]], near [[Bodmin]], Cornwall, is also a possibility. Bligh's mother, Jane Pearce (née Balsam), was a widow who married Francis at the age of 40.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sttudy.org.uk/Bligh/bligh.htm |title=Vice-Admiral William Bligh |access-date=9 January 2008 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125130358/https://www.sttudy.org.uk/Bligh/bligh.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Bligh was signed for the [[Royal Navy]] at age seven, at a time when it was common to sign on a "young gentleman" simply to gain, or at least record, the experience at sea required for a commission. In 1770, at age 16, he joined HMS ''Hunter'' as an [[Able Seaman (rank)|able seaman]], the term used because there was no vacancy for a [[midshipman]]. He became a midshipman early in the following year. In September 1771, Bligh was transferred to {{HMS|Crescent|1779|2}} and remained on the ship for three years.<ref name="Cook Society">{{cite web |title=William Bligh (1754–1817) |url=https://www.captaincooksociety.com/cooks-life/people/cooks-officers-and-crew-and-contemporaries/william-bligh-1754-1817 |website=Captain Cook Society |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>
[[File:William Bligh, 1775.jpg|right|thumb|William Bligh, 1775 by John Webber]]

In 1776, Bligh was selected by Captain [[James Cook]], for the position of [[sailing master]] of {{HMS|Resolution|1771|2}} and accompanied Cook in July 1776 on Cook's third voyage to the [[Pacific Ocean]], during which Cook was killed and was succeeded by Captain [[Charles Clerke]], who was dying from tuberculosis.<ref name="Cook Society"/> Due to his weakened state, Clerke placed Bligh in charge as navigator of the expedition and attempted to explore the Northwest Passage for a second time. Following Cook's and Clerke's deaths, Bligh played a significant role in navigating the beleaguered expedition back to England in August 1780.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seafaring Tales Presents: Captain James Cook's Second and Third Voyages |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce8AXF_H-fc |website=Youtube | date=9 November 2012 }}</ref> He was also able to supply details of Cook's last voyage following the return.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Bligh married Elizabeth Betham, daughter of a customs collector (stationed in [[Douglas, Isle of Man]]), on 4 February 1781.<ref name="Pacific Union">{{cite web |title=Vice Admiral William Bligh |url=https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/bounty/wmbligh.shtml |website=Pacific Union College |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> The wedding took place at nearby [[Onchan]].{{sfn|Kneale|2007}} The couple had eight children together: six daughters and twin sons (the boys died in infancy).<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="Pacific Union"/> The couple remained married until Elizabeth's death on 15 April 1812.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elizabeth (Betsey) Betham |url=https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/elizabeth-betsey-betham-24-21sxv9c |website=Ancestry.com |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> A few days after the wedding, Bligh was appointed to serve on [[French frigate Belle Poule (1766)|HMS ''Belle Poule'']] as master (senior warrant officer responsible for navigation). Soon after this, in August 1781, he fought in the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1781)|Battle of Dogger Bank]] under [[Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet|Admiral Parker]], which won him his commission as a [[Lieutenant (Royal Navy)|lieutenant]]. For the next 18 months, he was a lieutenant on various ships. He also fought with [[Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe|Lord Howe]] at [[Great Siege of Gibraltar|Gibraltar]] in 1782.<ref name="Pacific Union"/>

Between 1783 and 1787, Bligh was a captain in the [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|Merchant Service]].<ref name="Thought">{{cite web |title=Biography of William Bligh, Captain of the HMS Bounty |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/napoleonic-wars-vice-admiral-william-bligh-2361145 |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> Like many lieutenants, he would have found full-pay employment in the Navy; however, commissions were hard to obtain with the fleet largely demobilised at the end of the War with France, during which that country was allied with the North American rebelling colonies in the [[War of American Independence]] (1775–1783). In 1787, Bligh was selected as commander of His Majesty's Armed Transport ''[[HMS Bounty|Bounty]]''. He rose eventually to the rank of [[vice admiral]] in the Royal Navy.<ref name="Thought"/>

==Naval career==
William Bligh's naval career involved various appointments and assignments. He first rose to prominence as Master of ''Resolution'', under the command of Captain James Cook. Bligh received praise from Cook during what would be the latter's final voyage. Bligh served on three of the same ships on which [[Fletcher Christian#Naval career|Fletcher Christian]] also served simultaneously in his naval career.<ref name="Pacific Union"/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Date
!Rank
!Ship (number of guns)
|-
|1 July 1761 – 21 February 1763||[[Ship's boy]] and captain's servant||{{HMS|Monmouth|1667|6}} (64)
|-
|27 July 1770||[[Able seaman (rank)|Able seaman]]|| rowspan="2" |HMS ''Hunter'' (10)
|-
|5 February 1771|| rowspan="2" |[[Midshipman]]
|-
|22 September 1771||{{HMS|Crescent|1779|6}} (28)
|-
|2 September 1774||Able seaman|| rowspan="2" |HMS ''Ranger''
|-
|30 September 1775||[[Master's mate]]
|-
|20 March 1776 – October 1780|| rowspan="2" |[[Master (naval)|Master]]||{{HMS|Resolution|1771|6}} (12)
|-
|14 February 1781||[[French frigate Belle Poule (1766)|HMS ''Belle Poule'']]
|-
|5 October 1781|| rowspan="2" |Lieutenant||{{HMS|Berwick|1775|6}} (74)
|-
|1 January 1782||{{HMS|Princess Amelia|1757|6}} (80)
|-
|20 March 1782||Sixth lieutenant||{{HMS|Cambridge|1755|6}} (80)
|-
|14 January 1783||colspan=2|''Joins merchant service''
|-
|1785||Commanding lieutenant||Merchant vessel ''Lynx''
|-
|1786||Captain||Merchant vessel ''Britannia''
|-
|1787||colspan=2 |''Returns to Royal Navy''
|-
|16 August 1787||Lieutenant commander|Commanding lieutenant||[[HMS Bounty|HM Armed Vessel ''Bounty'']]
|-
|14 November 1790||[[Commander]]||[[HMS Falcon (1782)|HM Brig-sloop ''Falcon'']] (14)
|-
|15 December 1790|| rowspan="7" |[[Captain (naval)|Captain]]||{{HMS|Medea|1778|6}} (28) (for rank only)
|-
|16 April 1791 – 1793||{{HMS|Providence|1791|6}} (28)
|-
|16 April 1795||{{HMS|Calcutta|1795|6}} (24)
|-
|7 January 1796||{{HMS|Director|1784|6}} (64)
|-
|18 March 1801||{{HMS|Glatton|1795|6}} (56)
|-
|12 April 1801||{{HMS|Monarch|1765|6}} (74)
|-
|8 May 1801 – 28 May 1802||{{HMS|Irresistible|1782|6}} (74)
|-
|March 1802 – May 1803 || colspan=2 | [[Peace of Amiens]]
|-
|2 May 1804||Captain||{{HMS|Warrior|1781|6}} (74)
|-
|14 May 1805|| colspan=2 |Appointed [[Governor of New South Wales]]
|-
|27 September 1805||Captain||{{HMS|Porpoise|1804|6}} (12), voyage to New South Wales
|-
|13 August 1806 – 26 January 1808 ||colspan=2|Governor of New South Wales
|-
|31 July 1808||[[Commodore (Royal Navy)|Commodore]]||HMS ''Porpoise'', Tasmania
|-
|3 April 1810 –<br>25 October 1810||Commodore||{{HMS|Hindostan|1804|6}} (50), returning to England.
|-
|31 July 1811|| colspan=2 | Appointed [[Rear-Admiral of the Blue]] (backdated to 31 July 1810)
|-
|12 August 1812|| colspan=2 | Appointed [[Rear-Admiral of the White]]
|-
|4 December 1813|| colspan=2 | Appointed [[Rear-Admiral of the Red]]
|-
|4 June 1814|| colspan=2 | Appointed [[Vice-Admiral of the Blue]]
|}
In the early 1780s, while in the merchant service, Bligh became acquainted with a young man named [[Fletcher Christian]] (1764–1793), who was eager to learn navigation from him. Bligh took Christian under his wing, and the two became friends.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fletcher Christian |url=https://www.thelakedistrict.org/historical-figures/fletcher-christian/ |website=The Lake District |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

==Voyage of ''Bounty''==
{{main|Mutiny on the Bounty}}

The mutiny on the [[Royal Navy]] vessel HMAV ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789.<ref name="Greenwich">{{cite web |title=William Bligh |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/william-bligh |website=Royal Museums Greenwich |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> Led by [[Master's Mate]] / Acting [[Lieutenant (Royal Navy)|Lieutenant]] [[Fletcher Christian]], disaffected crewmen seized control of the ship, and set the then Lieutenant Bligh, who was the ship's captain, and 18 loyalists adrift in the ship's open launch.<ref name="Greenwich"/> The mutineers variously settled on [[Tahiti]] or on [[Pitcairn Island]]. Meanwhile, Bligh completed a voyage of more than {{convert|3,500|nmi|km mi|abbr=off}} to the west in the launch to reach safety north of Australia in the [[Dutch East Indies]] (modern Indonesia) and began the process of bringing the mutineers to justice.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mutiny on the Bounty |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/mutiny-on-bounty |website=Royal Museums Greenwich |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

===First breadfruit voyage===
In 1787, Lieutenant Bligh, as he then was, took command of [[His Majesty's Armed Vessel|HMAV]] ''Bounty.'' In order to win a premium offered by the [[Royal Society]], he first sailed to [[Tahiti]] to obtain [[breadfruit]] trees, then set course east across the South Pacific for South America and the [[Cape Horn]] and eventually to the [[Caribbean Sea]], where breadfruit was wanted for experiments to see whether it would be a successful food crop for enslaved Africans on British colonial plantations in the [[West Indies]] islands.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |title=William Bligh |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Bligh |website=Britannica |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> According to one modern researcher, the notion that breadfruit had to be collected from Tahiti was intentionally misleading. Tahiti was merely one of many places where the esteemed seedless breadfruit could be found. The real reason for choosing Tahiti has its roots in the territorial contention that existed then between [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] at the time.<ref>Lorbach, Karl Ernst Alwyn. 'Conspiracy on the Bounty: Bligh's Convenient Mutiny'. 2012, printed University of Queensland, hardcover/Kindle, 366 pages, {{ISBN|978-0-9806914-1-2}}.  [see Appendix Four – An Afterword on Banks and his Breadfruit, pp. 309–314].</ref> ''Bounty'' never reached the Caribbean, as [[mutiny]] broke out on board shortly after the ship left Tahiti.

The voyage to Tahiti was difficult. After trying unsuccessfully for a month to go west by rounding South America and [[Cape Horn]], ''Bounty'' was finally defeated by the notoriously stormy weather and opposite winds and forced to take the longer way to the east around the southern tip of Africa ([[Cape of Good Hope]] and [[Cape Agulhas]]). That delay caused a further delay in Tahiti, as Bligh had to wait five months for the breadfruit plants to mature sufficiently to be potted in soil and transported. ''Bounty'' departed Tahiti heading west in April 1789.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Voyage of HMAV Bounty |url=https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/bounty/voyage.shtml |website=Pacific Union College |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

===Mutiny===
[[File:Mutiny HMS Bounty.jpg|thumb|The [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutineers]] turning Lt Bligh and some of the officers and crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship {{HMS|Bounty||6}}. By [[Robert Dodd (artist)|Robert Dodd]]]]
Because the vessel was rated only as a [[Cutter (boat)|cutter]], ''Bounty'' had no commissioned officers other than Bligh (who was then only a lieutenant), a very small crew, and no [[Royal Marines]] to provide protection from hostile natives during stops or to enforce security on board ship. To allow longer uninterrupted sleep, Bligh divided his crew into three watches instead of two, placing his ''protégé'' [[Fletcher Christian]]—rated as a [[Master's Mate]]—in charge of one of the watches. The [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny]], which took place on 28 April 1789 during the return voyage, was led by Christian and supported by eighteen of the crew.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mutiny of the Bounty|url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/mutiny.html|work=Discover Collections|publisher=State Library of NSW|access-date=12 December 2013}}</ref> They had seized firearms during Christian's night watch and surprised and bound Bligh in his cabin.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

[[File:Wr Bligh Journal fl3156809 a286171.jpg|thumb|upright=1.18|Account of arrival at Timor, 14 June 1789. Log of the Proceedings of His Majesty's Ship ''Bounty'', 1789.]] Despite being in the majority, none of the loyalists put up a significant struggle once they saw Bligh bound, and the ship was taken over without bloodshed. The mutineers provided Bligh and eighteen loyal crewmen a {{convert|23|ft|0|adj=mid}} [[Launch (boat)|launch]] (so heavily loaded that the [[gunwale]]s were only a few inches above the water). They were allowed four [[cutlass]]es, food and water for perhaps a week, a [[Quadrant (instrument)|quadrant]] and a compass, but no charts, or [[marine chronometer]]. The gunner, [[William Peckover]], brought his pocket watch, which was used to regulate time.<ref name="Bligh"/> Most of these instruments were obtained by the clerk, Mr Samuel, who acted with great calm and resolution, despite threats from the mutineers. The launch could not hold all the loyal crew members, so four were detained on ''Bounty'' for their useful skills; they were later released in Tahiti.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Tahiti was upwind from Bligh's initial position, and was the obvious destination of the mutineers. Many of the loyalists claimed to have heard the mutineers cry "Huzzah for Otaheite!" as ''Bounty'' pulled away. [[Timor]] was the nearest European colonial outpost in the [[Dutch East Indies]] (modern Indonesia), {{convert|3618|nmi|abbr=on}} away. Bligh and his crew first made for Tofua, only a few leagues distant, to obtain supplies. However, they were attacked by hostile natives and John Norton, a quartermaster, was killed.<ref>"The Bounty" by Caroline Alexander.</ref> Fleeing from Tofua, Bligh did not dare to stop at the next islands to the west (the [[Fiji]] islands), as he had only a pair of cutlasses for defence and expected hostile receptions. He did however keep a log entitled "Log of the Proceedings of His Majesty's Ship Bounty Lieut. Wm Bligh Commander from Otaheite towards Jamaica" which he used to record events from 5 April 1789 to 13 March 1790.<ref name="Bligh">{{cite archive|first= William|last=Bligh|item = [http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110339148 Log of the Proceedings of His Majestys Ship Bounty Lieut. Wm Bligh Commander from Otaheite towards Jamaica, signed `Wm Bligh'] |type =Bound Manuscript |date = 13 March 1790 |series = William Bligh – Papers relating to HMS Bounty, 1787–1794|file = Safe 1 / 47|box= Item 2|collection = William Bligh – Papers |repository = [https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/ State Library of New South Wales] |institution =State Library of NSW |location =NSW, Au |ref=none}}</ref> He also made use of a small notebook to sketch a rough map of his discoveries.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

[[File:Mutineers of the Bounty by Jules Verne, illustration by Leon Bennett.jpg|thumb|upright=1.18|Original illustration by S. Drée from French author [[Jules Verne]]'s story ''[[The Mutineers of the Bounty]]'' (Les Révoltés de la Bounty) (1879).]]Bligh had confidence in his navigational skills, which he had perfected under the instruction of [[Captain James Cook]]. His first responsibility was to bring his men to safety. Thus, he undertook the seemingly impossible {{convert|3618|nmi|adj=on}} voyage to Timor, the nearest European settlement. Bligh succeeded in reaching Timor after a 47-day voyage, the only casualty being the crewman killed on Tofua.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bounty's Launch |url=https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/bounty/launch.shtml |website=Pacific Union College |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> From 4 May until 29 May, when they reached the [[Great Barrier Reef]] north of Australia, the 18 men lived on {{convert|1/12|lb|g|abbr=off|-1}} of bread per day. The weather was often stormy, and they were in constant fear of foundering due to the boat's heavily laden condition. On 29 May they landed on a small island off the coast of Australia, which they named [[Restoration Island]], 29 May 1660 being the date of the restoration of the English monarchy after the [[English Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Queensland Places – Restoration |url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-places-restoration |website=State Library of Queensland |date=6 November 2015 |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> Strains were showing within the party; following a heated disagreement with Purcell, Bligh grabbed a cutlass and challenged the carpenter to fight. Fryer told Cole to arrest their captain but backed down after Bligh threatened to kill him if he interfered. Fryer later said Bligh "was as tyrannical in his temper in the boat as in the ship." Over the next week or more they island-hopped north along the Great Barrier reef—while Bligh, cartographer as always, sketched maps of the coast. Early in June they passed through the [[Endeavour Strait]] and sailed again on the open sea until they reached [[Kupang|Coupang]], a settlement on Timor, on 14 June 1789.<ref name="Bligh"/> Despite the hardships he and his men had endured, upon reaching Kupang Bligh maintained his stubborn adherence to Navy protocol, insisting that a makeshift Union Jack be made up and hoisted and that Fryer remain aboard the launch to guard her.<ref>[https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2023/03/what-really-happened-after-the-mutiny-on-the-bounty/ ''WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AFTER THE MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY?"''], {{smallcaps|Today I Found Out Blog}} (3 April 2024). Rubber erasers have been in use since approximately 1770. See {{smallcaps|Joseph Priestley, A Familiar Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Perspective}} xv n. (1769).</ref> Three of the men who survived this arduous voyage with him were so weak that they soon died of sickness, possibly malaria, in the pestilential [[Dutch East Indies]] port of [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]], the present-day Indonesian capital of Jakarta, as they waited for transport to Britain.{{sfn|Toohey|2000}} Two others died on the way to England.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

===Possible causes of the mutiny===
The reasons behind the mutiny are still debated; some sources report that Bligh was a tyrant whose abuse of the crew led them to feel that they had no choice but to take over the ship.<ref name="Historic UK">{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Ben |title=Mutiny on the Bounty |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Mutiny-on-the-Bounty/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> Other sources argue that Bligh was no worse (and in many cases gentler) than the average captain and naval officer of the era.<ref>{{cite web |title=Righting a historic wrong: the real story of the mutiny on the Bounty |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/righting-a-historic-wrong-the-real-story-of-the-mutiny-on-the-bounty/ |website=RadioTimes |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> They also argue that the crew—inexperienced and unused to the rigours of the sea—were corrupted by the freedom, idleness and sexual licence of their five months in Tahiti, finding themselves unwilling to return to the "[[Jack Tar]]'s" life of an ordinary seaman. This view holds that most of the men supported Christian's prideful personal vendetta against Bligh out of a misguided hope that their new captain would return them to Tahiti to live their lives "hedonistically" and in peace, free from Bligh's acid tongue and strict discipline.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The mutiny is made more mysterious by the friendship of Christian and Bligh, which dates back to Bligh's days in the merchant service. Christian was well acquainted with the Bligh family. As Bligh was being set adrift, he appealed to this friendship, saying "you have dandled my children upon your knee". According to Bligh, Christian "appeared disturbed" and replied, "That,—Captain Bligh,—that is the thing;—I am in hell—I am in hell".{{sfn|Bligh|1790}}

''Bounty''{{'}}s log shows that Bligh was relatively sparing in his punishments. He scolded when other captains would have whipped, and whipped when other captains would have hanged.<ref>{{cite web |title=The True Face of Captain Bligh  |url=https://welcome-tahiti.com/en/the-true-face-of-captain-bligh/ |website=Welcome Tahiti |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> He was an educated man, deeply interested in science, convinced that good diet and sanitation were necessary for the welfare of his crew.<ref name="Pacific Union"/> He took a great interest in his crew's exercise, was very careful about the quality of their food and insisted upon the ''Bounty'' being kept very clean.<ref>{{cite web |title=Captain Cook and Captain Bligh |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BeaBlig-t1-body1.html |website=Victoria University of Wellington |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> The modern historian [[John Beaglehole]] has described the major flaw in this otherwise enlightened naval officer: "[Bligh made] dogmatic judgements which he felt himself entitled to make; he saw fools about him too easily … thin-skinned vanity was his curse through life … [Bligh] never learnt that you do not make friends of men by insulting them."{{sfn|Beaglehole|1974|p=498}} Bligh was also capable of holding intense grudges against those he thought had betrayed him, such as Midshipman [[Peter Heywood]] and ship's gunner [[William Peckover]]; in regard to Heywood, Bligh was convinced that the young man was as guilty as Christian. Bligh's first detailed comments on the mutiny are in a letter to his wife Betsy,<ref>[https://famous-trials.com/bounty/401-letters Bligh letter of 1789]</ref> in which he names Heywood (a mere boy not yet 16) as "one of the ringleaders", adding: "I have now reason to curse the day I ever knew a Christian or a Heywood or indeed a Manks{{sic}} man."<ref>Alexander, p. 152. Natives of the Isle of Man are known as "Manxmen".</ref> Bligh's later official account to the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] lists Heywood with Christian, [[Ned Young|Edward Young]] and George Stewart as the mutiny's leaders, describing Heywood as a young man of abilities for whom he had felt a particular regard.<ref>Bligh, Ch. 13.</ref> To the Heywood family, Bligh wrote: "His baseness is beyond all description."<ref>Alexander, p. 168.</ref> Peckover applied for a position as gunner on [[HMS Providence (1791)|HMS ''Providence'']] (the second breadfruit expedition to Tahiti) but was refused by Bligh. In a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, dated 17 July 1791 (two weeks before departure), Bligh wrote:{{sfn|Kennedy|1978|p=235}}

<blockquote>Should Peckover my late Gunner ever trouble you to render him further services I shall esteem it a favour if you will tell him I informed you he was a vicious and worthless fellow—He applied to me to render him service & wanted to be appointed Gunner of the Providence but as I had determined never to suffer an officer who was with me in the ''Bounty'' to sail with again, it was for the cause I did not apply for him.</blockquote>

Bligh's refusal to appoint Peckover was partly due to [[Edward Christian]]'s polemic testimony against Bligh in an effort to clear his [[Fletcher Christian|brother]]'s name.{{sfn|Kennedy|1978|p=235}} Christian states in his appendix:{{sfn|Kennedy|1978|p=235}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fatefulvoyage.com/minutes/minutesMAppendix.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122223317/http://fatefulvoyage.com/minutes/minutesMAppendix.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 November 2010|title=The Appendix, Minutes of Bounty Court-Martial|date=22 November 2010|access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref>

<blockquote>In the evidence of Mr. Peckover and [[John Fryer (Royal Navy officer)|Mr. Fryer]], it is proved that [[David Nelson (botanical collector)|Mr. Nelson]] the botanist said, upon hearing the commencement of the mutiny, "We know whose fault this is, or who is to blame, Mr. Fryer, what have we brought upon ourselves?" In addition to this, it ought to be known that Mr. Nelson, in conversation afterwards with an officer (Peckover) at Timor, who was speaking of returning with Captain Bligh if he got another ship, observed, "I am surprized that you should think of going a second time with [Bligh] (using a term of abuse) who has been the cause of all our losses."</blockquote>

Popular fiction often confuses Bligh with [[Edward Edwards (Royal Navy officer)|Edward Edwards]] of {{HMS|Pandora|1779|6}}, who was sent on the Royal Navy's expedition to the South Pacific to find the mutineers and bring them to trial. Edwards is often made out to be the cruel man that Hollywood has portrayed. The 14 men from ''Bounty'' who were captured by Edwards's men were confined in a cramped 18′ × 11′ × 5′8″ wooden cell on ''Pandora''{{'}}s quarterdeck. Yet, when ''Pandora'' ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, three prisoners were immediately let out of the prison cell to help at the pumps. Finally, Captain Edwards gave orders to release the other 11 prisoners, to which end Joseph Hodges, the armourer's mate, went into the cell to remove the prisoners' irons. Unfortunately, before he could finish the job, the ship sank. Four of the prisoners and 31 of the crew died during the sinking. More prisoners would likely have perished, had not William Moulter, a bosun's mate, unlocked their cages before jumping off the sinking vessel.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.southbank.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Histories+of+Queensland/Transport+Maritime+History/~/media/4AC2615C4B2645F992EF72EB80A5BC99.pdf |title=The Pandora Story |publisher=Queensland Museum |date=14 August 2010 |first=Stephen |last=Wilson}}</ref>

===Aftermath===
In October 1790, Bligh was honourably acquitted at the [[court-martial]] inquiring into the loss of ''Bounty.''<ref name="Greenwich"/> Shortly thereafter, he published ''A Narrative of the Mutiny on board His Majesty's Ship "Bounty"; And the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, In the Ship's Boat, from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch Settlement in the East Indies.'' Of the 10 surviving prisoners eventually brought home in spite of ''Pandora'''s loss, four were acquitted, owing to Bligh's testimony that they were non-mutineers that Bligh was obliged to leave on ''Bounty'' because of lack of space in the launch. Two others were convicted because, while not participating in the mutiny, they were passive and did not resist. They subsequently received royal pardons. One was convicted but excused on a technicality. The remaining three were convicted and hanged.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Court-Martial of the Bounty Mutineers: An Account |url=https://www.famous-trials.com/bounty/392-story |website=Famous Trials |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

<div style="width: 97%; border: 1px solid black; padding: 2ex; background:#f9f9e9;">
;Comparative travels of ''Bounty'' and the small boat after mutiny:<ref>{{Citation |url=http://pgosse.chez.com/maquette/story.htm |title=Bounty Story |date=19 October 2005 |first=Philip |last=Gosse}}</ref>
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break|width=auto}}
;Travel up to the mutiny (red):
:1. Tasmania, Adventure Bay (21 August 1788)
:2. first arrival at Tahiti (26 October 1788)
:3. departure for the Caribbean (4 April 1789)
:4. Palmerston
:5. Tofua
:6. 28 April 1789: mutiny
{{col-break|width=auto}}
[[File:Bounty Voyages Map.png|thumb|right|upright=1.35]]
{{col-end}}
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break|width=auto}}
;Travel of the mutineers (yellow):
:7. Tubuai (6 July 1789)
:8. second arrival at Tahiti
:9. Tubuai (16 July 1789)
:10. third arrival at Tahiti (22 September 1789)
:11. departure from Tahiti (23 September 1789)
:12. Tongatapu (15 November 1789)
:13. 15 January 1790: Pitcairn, burning of the Bounty
{{col-break|width=auto}}
;Travel of Bligh's boat (green):
:14. Bligh's party set adrift (29 April 1789)
:15. Tonga
:16. Timor (14 June 1789)
{{col-end}}
</div>

===Bligh's letter to his wife, Betsy===
The following is a letter to Bligh's wife, written from Coupang, Timor, Dutch East Indies (circa June 1791), in which the first reference to events on the ''Bounty'' is made.
[[File:William Bligh - Project Gutenberg eText 15411.jpg|thumbnail|upright|William Bligh, pictured in his 1792 account of the mutiny voyage, ''A Voyage to the South Sea'']]

<blockquote>My Dear, Dear Betsy,

I am now, for the most part, in a part of the world I never expected, it is however a place that has afforded me relief and saved my life, and I have the happiness to assure you that I am now in perfect health....

Know then my own Dear Betsy, that I have lost the ''Bounty'' ... on the 28&nbsp;April at day light in the morning Christian having the morning watch. He with several others came into my Cabin while I was a Sleep, and seizing me, holding naked Bayonets at my Breast, tied my Hands behind my back, and threatened instant destruction if I uttered a word. I however call'd loudly for assistance, but the conspiracy was so well laid that the Officers Cabbin Doors were guarded by Centinels, so Nelson, Peckover, Samuels or the Master could not come to me. I was now dragged on Deck in my Shirt & closely guarded—I demanded of Christian the case of such a violent act, & severely degraded for his Villainy but he could only answer—"not a word sir or you are Dead." I dared him to the act & endeavoured to rally some one to a sense of their duty but to no effect....

The Secrisy of this Mutiny is beyond all conception so that I can not discover that any who are with me had the least knowledge of it. It is unbeknown to me why I must beguile such force. Even Mr. Tom Ellison took such a liking to Otaheite [Tahiti] that he also turned Pirate, so that I have been run down by my own Dogs...

My misfortune I trust will be properly considered by all the World—It was a circumstance I could not foresee—I had not sufficient Officers & had they granted me Marines most likely the affair would never have happened—I had not a Spirited & brave fellow about me & the Mutineers treated them as such. My conduct has been free of blame, & I showed everyone that, tied as I was, I defied every Villain to hurt me...

I know how shocked you will be at this affair but I request of you My Dear Betsy to think nothing of it all is now past & we will again looked forward to future happyness.<!-- Check source to determine spelling, if it's as shown here add " [sic] ", else please fix --> Nothing but true consciousness as an Officer that I have done well could support me....Give my blessings to my Dear Harriet, my Dear Mary, my Dear Betsy & to my Dear little stranger<ref>The Blighs' fourth child, another daughter, born a few months after Lt. Bligh sailed from England.</ref> & tell them I shall soon be home...To You my Love I give all that an affectionate Husband can give –

Love, Respect & all that is or ever will be in the power of your <br>ever affectionate Friend and Husband Wm Bligh.<ref>Alexander, Caroline, ''The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty'' (Viking Penguin, New York, 2003), pp. 154–156.</ref></blockquote>

Strictly speaking, the crime of the mutineers (apart from the disciplinary crime of [[mutiny]]) was not piracy but [[barratry (admiralty law)|barratry]], the misappropriation, by those entrusted with its care, of a ship and/or its contents to the detriment of the owner (in this case the [[British Crown]]).

==Second breadfruit voyage==
[[File:Thomas Gosse, Transplanting of the bread-fruit trees from Otaheite, 1796, SLNSW.jpg|thumb|Transplanting breadfruit trees from Otaheite, 1796, Thomas Gosse]]
After his exoneration by the [[court-martial]] [[inquiry]] into the loss of ''Bounty'', Bligh remained in the Royal Navy. From 1791 to 1793, as master and commander of {{HMS|Providence|1791|6}} and in company with {{HMS|Assistant}} under the command of [[Nathaniel Portlock]], he undertook again to transport [[breadfruit]] from Tahiti to the [[West Indies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/banks/section-09|title=The Second Breadfruit Voyage of William Bligh|website=State Library of NSW|access-date=16 July 2018|date=6 August 2017}}</ref> He also transported plants provided by [[Hugh Ronalds]], a nurseryman in [[Brentford]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.&nbsp;F.|date=2017|title=Ronalds Nurserymen in Brentford and Beyond |journal=[[Garden History Society|Garden History]] |volume=45|pages=82–100}}</ref> The operation was generally successful but its immediate objective, which was to provide a cheap and nutritious food for the African slaves in the [[West Indies]] islands around the Caribbean Sea was not met, as most slaves refused to eat the new food. During this voyage, Bligh also collected samples of the [[ackee|ackee fruit]] of Jamaica, introducing it to the [[Royal Society]] in Britain upon his return.<ref name="kew.org">[https://web.archive.org/web/20071014213759/http://kew.org/ksheets/fruits.html Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Information Sheets: Staple Foods II – Fruits<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The ackee's scientific name ''[[Blighia sapida]]'' in [[binomial nomenclature]] was given in honour of Bligh.
In [[Adventure Bay, Tasmania]], third lieutenant [[George Tobin (Royal Navy officer)|George Tobin]] made the first European drawing of an [[echidna]].<ref name="Tobin">{{cite web |title=George Tobin journal and sketches on HMS Providence, 1791–1793, with additional material to 1831 |url=http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110327638 |website=State Library – New South Wales |access-date=4 December 2020 }}</ref>

==Later life==

In February 1797, while Bligh was captain of {{HMS|Director|1784|6}}, he surveyed the [[Humber]] estuary, preparing a map of the stretch from [[Spurn]] to the west of [[Sunk Island]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Survey of the Humber |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/70b410fb-00ca-4e8b-a8f2-4ca2ede86f49 |website=The National Archives |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> In April–May, Bligh was one of the captains whose crews mutinied over "issues of pay and involuntary service for common seamen" during the [[Spithead and Nore mutinies]].{{sfn|Gill|1913|p=102}} The mutinies were not triggered by any specific actions by Bligh; the mutinies "were widespread, [and] involved a fair number of English ships". Whilst ''Director'''s role was relatively minor in this episode, she was the last to raise the white flag at its cessation. It was at this time that he learned "that his common nickname among men in the fleet was 'that Bounty bastard'."{{sfn|Mundle|2010|pp=288–291}}

As captain of ''Director'' at the [[Battle of Camperdown]] on 11 October, Bligh engaged three [[Batavian Navy]] vessels: ''Haarlem'', ''Alkmaar'' and [[Dutch ship Vrijheid|''Vrijheid'']]. While the Batavians suffered serious casualties, only seven seamen were wounded on ''Director''. ''Director'' captured ''Vrijheid'', the flagship of Batavian Vice-Admiral [[Jan Willem de Winter]].<ref name="Maritime">{{cite web |title=William Bligh at war |url=https://www.sea.museum/2019/11/05/william-bligh-at-war |website=Australian National Maritime Museum |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> For his actions during the battle, Bligh was awarded the [[Naval Gold Medal]].<ref>{{cite web |title=William Bligh |url=https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/trailblazers/william-bligh/ |website=The Australian Museum |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref>

Bligh went on to serve under [[Admiral Nelson]] at the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|Battle of Copenhagen]] on 2 April 1801, in command of {{HMS|Glatton|1795|2}}, a 56-gun [[ship of the line]], which was experimentally fitted exclusively with [[carronades]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Copenhagen |url=https://www.britishbattles.com/napoleonic-wars/battle-of-copenhagen/ |website=British Battles |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> After the battle, Nelson personally praised Bligh for his contribution to the victory.<ref name="Maritime"/> He sailed ''Glatton'' safely between the banks while three other vessels ran aground. When Nelson ignored [[Hyde Parker (Royal Navy officer, born 1739)|Admiral Parker]]'s signal "43" (stop the battle) and kept the signal "16" hoisted to continue the engagement, Bligh was the only captain in the squadron who could see that the two signals were in conflict. By choosing to fly Nelson's signal, he ensured that all the vessels behind him kept fighting.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Bligh was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in May 1801 for distinguished services in navigation, botany, etc.<ref name="Pacific Union"/><ref name="Dictionary"/>

===Governor of New South Wales===
{{Main|Rum Rebellion}}

Bligh had gained a reputation as a firm disciplinarian. Accordingly, he was offered the position of [[Governor of New South Wales]] on the recommendation of Sir [[Joseph Banks]] (President of the Royal Society and a main sponsor of the breadfruit expeditions) and appointed in March 1805, at £2,000 per annum (equal to £{{Inflation|UK|2000|1805|fmt=c}} today), twice the pay of the retiring governor, [[Philip Gidley King]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mary Bligh O'Connell |url=https://www.riverstonehistoricalsociety.org.au/blog/?page_id=811 |website=Riverstone & District Historical Society Museum |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> He arrived in Sydney on 6 August 1806,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18516841 |title=A Place In History. |newspaper=[[The Sunday Herald (Sydney)|The Sunday Herald]] |location=Sydney |date=9 November 1952 |access-date=2 May 2012 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> to become the fourth governor. As his wife Elizabeth had been unwilling to undertake a long sea voyage, Bligh was accompanied by his daughter, [[Mary Putland]], who would be the Lady of Government House; Mary's husband John Putland was appointed as William Bligh's [[aide-de-camp]].<ref>Whitaker, Anne-Maree, 'William Bligh', in David Clune and Ken Turner (eds), ''The Governors Of New South Wales 1788–2010'', Federation Press, Sydney, 2009, pp. 87–105, {{ISBN|978-1-86287-743-6}}.</ref> During his time in Sydney, his confrontational administrative style provoked the wrath of influential settlers and officials. They included the wealthy landowner and businessman [[John Macarthur (wool pioneer)|John Macarthur]], and prominent Crown representatives such as the colony's principal surgeon, [[Thomas Jamison]], as well as senior officers of the [[New South Wales Corps]]. Jamison and his military associates were defying government regulations by engaging in private trading ventures for profit, a practice that Bligh was determined to end.<ref>{{cite web |title=Governor William Bligh |url=https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Governor-William-Bligh.pdf |website=Rule of Law |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

The conflict between Bligh and the entrenched colonists culminated in another mutiny, the [[Rum Rebellion]],<ref>Evatt, H. V., Rum Rebellion: A Study of the Overthrow of Governor Bligh, Dawson Publishing, Folkestone, 1937.</ref> when, on 26 January 1808, 400 soldiers of the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major [[George Johnston (British Marines officer)|George Johnston]] marched on [[First Government House, Sydney|Government House]] in Sydney to arrest Bligh.<ref>{{cite web |title=Governor William Bligh is deposed in the Rum Rebellion |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rum-rebellion |website=National Museum Australia |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> A petition written by John Macarthur and addressed to George Johnston was written on the day of the arrest but most of the 151 signatures were gathered in the days after Bligh's overthrow.<ref>{{cite web|title=The petition against Governor Bligh|url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/rebellion/petition.html|work=Discover Collections|publisher=State Library of NSW|access-date=12 December 2013}}</ref> A rebel government was subsequently installed and Bligh, now deposed, made for Hobart in Tasmania aboard {{HMS|Porpoise|1804|6}}. Bligh failed to gain support from the authorities in Hobart to retake control of New South Wales, and remained effectively imprisoned on the ''Porpoise'' from 1808 until January 1810.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exploration: William Bligh |url=http://www.ourtasmania.com.au/exploration-bligh.html |website=Our Tasmania |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Arrest of Govenor Bligh.jpg|thumb|right|Propaganda cartoon of Bligh's arrest in Sydney in 1808, portraying him as a coward. [[State Library of New South Wales]], Sydney]]

Shortly after Bligh's arrest, a watercolour illustrating the arrest by an unknown artist was exhibited in Sydney at perhaps Australia's first public art exhibition.<ref name=Australiana>{{cite journal|last=Neville|first=Richard|title=The Arrest of Governor Bligh: Pictures and Politics|journal=Australiana|date=May 1991|volume=13|issue=2|pages=38–42}}</ref> The watercolour depicts a soldier dragging Bligh from underneath one of the servants' beds in Government House, with two other figures standing by. The two soldiers in the watercolour are most likely John Sutherland and Michael Marlborough and the other figure on the far right is believed to represent Lieutenant [[William Minchin]].<ref name=Australiana/> This cartoon is Australia's earliest surviving political cartoon and like all political cartoons it makes use of caricature and exaggeration to convey its message.<ref name=100Objects>{{cite web|title=Governor Bligh's Arrest, 1808|url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2010/onehundred/100-objects/Exhibit-026.htm|access-date=8 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015162122/http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2010/onehundred/100-objects/Exhibit-026.htm|archive-date=15 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The New South Wales Corps' officers regarded themselves as gentlemen, and in depicting Bligh as a coward, the cartoon declares that Bligh was not a gentleman and therefore not fit to govern.<ref name=100Objects/>

Of interest, however, was Bligh's concern for the more recently arrived settlers in the colony, who did not have the wealth and influence of Macarthur and Jamison. From the tombstones in Ebenezer and Richmond cemeteries, (areas being settled west of Sydney during Bligh's tenure as governor), can be seen the number of boys born around 1807 to 1811 who received "William Bligh" as a [[given name]], e.g. William Bligh Turnbull, ancestor of former Prime Minister of Australia, [[Malcolm Bligh Turnbull]];<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72543348 |title=Death of an Early Hawkesbury Settler. |newspaper=[[Windsor and Richmond Gazette]] |location=NSW |date=9 July 1892 |access-date=23 October 2015 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and James Bligh Johnston, who designed Ebenezer Chapel, Australia's oldest extant church and oldest extant school.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The heritage of Historic Ebenezer Church - since 1809 |url=http://ebenezerchurch.org.au/heritage.htm |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=ebenezerchurch.org.au}}</ref>

[[File:Captain Bligh House London.jpg|thumb|right|William Bligh House in London]]

===Aftermath of the Rum Rebellion===

Bligh received a letter in January 1810, advising him that the rebellion had been declared illegal, and that the British Foreign Office had declared it to be a mutiny. [[Lachlan Macquarie]] had been appointed to replace him as governor. At this news Bligh sailed from Hobart. He arrived in Sydney on 17 January 1810, only two weeks into Macquarie's tenure.{{sfn|Mundle|2010|pp=330–332}} There he would collect evidence for the coming court martial in England of Major Johnston. He departed to attend the trial on 12 May 1810, arriving on 25 October 1810. In the days immediately prior to their departure, his daughter, Mary Putland (widowed in 1808), was hastily married to the new Lieutenant-Governor, [[Maurice Charles O'Connell]], and remained in Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mary Putland |url=https://www.daao.org.au/bio/version_history/mary-putland/recognitions/?p=2&revision_no=2 |website=Design & Art Australia |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> The following year, the trial's presiding officers sentenced Johnston to be [[cashiered]], a form of disgraceful dismissal that entailed surrendering his commission in the [[Royal Marines]] without compensation.{{sfn|Yarwood|1967}} (This was a comparatively mild punishment that enabled Johnston to return a free man to New South Wales, where he could continue to enjoy the benefits of his accumulated private wealth.) Bligh was court martialled twice again during his career, being acquitted both times. Soon after Johnston's trial had concluded, Bligh received a backdated promotion to [[rear admiral]]. In 1814, he was promoted again to [[vice-admiral of the blue]].<ref name="Pacific Union"/> Perhaps significantly, he never again received an important command, though with the Napoleonic Wars almost over there would have been few fleet commands available.<ref name="Greenwich"/>

===Final years and death===
Bligh was recruited to chart and map [[Dublin Bay]], and recommended the building walls for a refuge harbour at what was then known as Dunleary; the large harbour and naval base subsequently built there between 1816 and 1821 was called Kingstown, later renamed [[Dún Laoghaire]]. Many sources claim that Bligh designed the North [[Bull Wall]] at the mouth of the [[River Liffey]] in Dublin. He did propose the construction of a sea wall or barrier at the north of the bay in order to clear a sandbar by [[Venturi effect|Venturi action]], but his design was not used. The wall that was constructed used a design by [[George Halpin]] and resulted in the formation of [[North Bull Island]] by the sand cleared by the river's now more narrowly focused force.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Daly|first=Gerald J.|date=1991|title=Captain William Bligh in Dublin, 1800–1801|journal=Dublin Historical Record|volume=44|issue=1|pages=20–33|jstor=30100863|issn=0012-6861}}</ref>

[[File:Grave of William Bligh, Lambeth, London - geograph.org.uk - 1411724.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Bligh's tomb, surmounted by an [[eternal flame]], sits in the Sackler Garden at the Garden Museum.]]
Bligh died of cancer in [[Bond Street]], London, on 7 December 1817 and was buried in a family plot at St. Mary's, [[Lambeth]] (this church is now the [[Garden Museum]]).<ref name="Dictionary">{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |title=Bligh, William (1754–1817) |id2=bligh-william-1797 |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref> His tomb was notable for its use of [[Coade stone]] (''Lithodipyra''), a compound of clay and other materials that was moulded in imitation of carved stonework and fired in a kiln. This stoneware was produced by Eleanor Coade at her factory in Lambeth. The tomb is topped by an eternal flame, not a breadfruit.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Woodward|first=Christopher|date=April 2016|title=Captain Bligh's tomb|url=http://britain-australia.org.uk/uploads/3rdparty/AGHVol27-Bligh.pdf|journal=Australian Garden History|volume=27|issue=4|pages=18–20|via=The Britain-Australia Society|accessdate=29 August 2018|archive-date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829212118/http://britain-australia.org.uk/uploads/3rdparty/AGHVol27-Bligh.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> A plaque marks Bligh's house, half a mile (700m) east of the Garden Museum at 100 Lambeth Road,{{sfn|Rennison|2009}} opposite the [[Imperial War Museum]].<ref name="english-heritage.org.uk">{{Cite web |title=William Bligh {{!}} Commander of the 'Bounty' {{!}} Blue Plaques |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/william-bligh/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=English Heritage}}</ref>

He was related to [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] Sir [[Richard Rodney Bligh]] and Captain [[George Miller Bligh]], and his British and Australian descendants include [[Native Police]] Commandant [[John O'Connell Bligh]] and the former [[Premier of Queensland]], [[Anna Bligh]].<ref>[http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/features/bligh-out-to-make-history/story-e6freor6-1111118940460 Couriermail.com.au]</ref> He was also distantly related to the architect and psychical researcher [[Frederick Bligh Bond]].<ref name="english-heritage.org.uk"/>

The New South Wales suburb of [[Bligh Park, New South Wales|Bligh Park]]&nbsp;is named after William Bligh, as at the time of the&nbsp;[[Rum Rebellion]], the Hawkesbury settlers supported the then-deposed governor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bligh Park |url=https://www.hawkesburyaustralia.com.au/info/towns/bligh-park/ |website=Hawkesbury Australia |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Bligh's reputation as the archetypal bad commander remains though several historians' attempts to portray Bligh more sympathetically are those of Richard Hough (1972) and Caroline Alexander (2003).

Bligh's logbooks documenting the mutiny were inscribed on the [[UNESCO]] Australian Memory of the World register on 26 February 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 February 2021|title=Bligh's Bounty logbooks recognised by UNESCO|url=https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about-library/media-centre/blighs-bounty-logbooks-recognised-unesco|website=State Library of New South Wales}}</ref>

===Portrayals===
Bligh has been the subject of numerous print and film portrayals.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Mutiny on the Bounty |url=https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/the-mutiny-on-the-bounty/critical-essays/movies-based-on-the-mutiny-on-the-bounty |website=Cliffnotes |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Screen Depictions of the Mutiny on the Bounty |url=https://www.famous-trials.com/bounty/398-movies |website=Famous Trials |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref>

===Film===
Bligh was portrayed by:

* [[George Cross (actor)|George Cross]] (1916) ''[[The Mutiny of the Bounty]]'' 
* Mayne Lynton (1933) ''[[In the Wake of the Bounty]]'' 
* [[Charles Laughton]] (1935) ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' 
* [[Bugs Bunny]] (1948) ''[[Buccaneer Bunny]]'', in imitation of Laughton's 1935 portrayal
* [[Trevor Howard]] (1962) ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' 
* [[Anthony Hopkins]] (1984) ''[[The Bounty (1984 film)|The Bounty]]''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=4 May 1984|title=Film: 'The Bounty,' Capt. Bligh Story by Dino De Laurentiis|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/04/movies/the-bounty-capt-bligh-story-by-dino-de-laurentiis.html}}</ref>

The 1935 and 1962 films largely perpetuate the image of Bligh as a tyrant while the 1984 film attempts a non-judgmental portrayal of Bligh.

===Literature===
Bligh is humorously portrayed in Sir [[Arthur Quiller-Couch]]'s short story "Frenchman's Creek" as a competent but irascible and tactless surveyor sent to a small fishing village in Cornwall during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. His accent and strong language being misunderstood by the locals as French, he is temporarily imprisoned as a spy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frenchman's Creek |first=Arthur Thomas |last=Quiller-Couch |access-date=2 August 2014 |url=http://fullreads.com/literature/frenchmans-creek/}}</ref>

The situation in Sydney in 1810, with Bligh returning from Tasmania to be restored as governor, is the setting of [[Naomi Novik]]'s fantasy novel ''[[Tongues of Serpents]]'' (Harper-Collins, 2011).<ref>{{cite web |title=Tongues of Serpents |url=https://www.naominovik.com/tongues-of-serpents/ |website=Naomi Novik |date=18 February 2011 |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

===Television===
On 17 December 1964, the "Adobe Dick" episode of the cartoon ''[[The Flintstones]]'' (episode 128) paid a humorous homage to Captain Bligh and his ship. On the show, the characters Fred and Barney took a chartered fishing trip with the guys from the lodge on the U.S.S. ''Bountystone''. The captain of the ship, Captain Blah, was a domineering man with a uniform resembling the historical figure William Bligh.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flintstones |url=https://www.thecorporatecounsel.net/nonmember/flintstones/ |website=The Corporate Counsel |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

''Mutiny'', on Channel 4 in the UK, charts a recreation of Bligh's journey to Timor. It aired in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mutiny – Channel 4 |url=https://www.channel4.com/press/news/mutiny |website=Channel 4 |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Cornwall}}
*[[European and American voyages of scientific exploration]]
*''[[Historical Records of Australia]]''

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Beaglehole |first1=John |author1-link=John Beaglehole |title=The Life of Captain James Cook |year=1974 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |location=Stanford, California}}
* {{cite book |last=Bligh |first=William |title=A Narrative of the Mutiny, on board His Majesty's ship Bounty |location=London |publisher=George Nicol |year=1790 |url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bounty/blighnarrative.html}}
* {{cite book |last=Gill |first=Conrad |title=The Mutinies of 1797 |year=1913 |publisher=Manchester University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tx68AAAAIAAJ&dq=The+naval+mutinies+of+1797&pg=PA102}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Gavin |date=1978 |title=Bligh |location=London |publisher=Duckworth |isbn=0-7156-0957-2 |oclc=4359325}}
* {{cite book |last=Kneale |first=Trevor |title=The Isle of Man (Pevensey Island Guides) |publisher=Brunel House |location=Newton Abbot, Devon |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-898630-25-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Mundle |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Mundle |title=Bligh: Master Mariner |year=2010 |publisher=Hachette Australia |isbn=978-0-7336-2506-0 |location=Sydney}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rennison |first=Nick |title=London Blue Plaque Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxATDQAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |publisher=History Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780752499963 |edition=Fourth}}
* {{cite book |last=Toohey |first=John |title=Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare |year=1999 |publisher=Fourth Estate |isbn=1-84115-077-0}}
* {{cite book |first=John |last=Toohey |title=Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare: From the Bounty to safety{{snd}}4,162 Miles Across the Pacific in a Rowing Boat |location=New York |isbn=0-06-019532-0 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |date=March 2000 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/captainblighspor00tooh}}
* {{cite book |last=Yarwood |first=A. T. |chapter=Johnston, George (1764–1823) |year=1967 |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/johnston-george-2277 |title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |volume=II |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=17 April 2023}}
{{refend}}

==Manuscript sources==
{{refbegin|40em}}
*[http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110339148 Log of the Proceedings of His Majestys Ship Bounty Lieut. Wm Bligh Commander from Otaheite towards Jamaica, signed `Wm Bligh', 5 Apr. 1789 – 13 Mar. 1790], Bligh family papers, principally those of Vice-Admiral William Bligh, were presented to the then Public Library of New South Wales on 29 October 1902 by Bligh's grandson William Russell Bligh. These papers were subsequently transferred from the Public Library to the Mitchell Library in June 1910, [[State Library of New South Wales]], Safe 1/47.
*Greville, Charles Francis, [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110331275&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US Letter from William Bligh to Rt. Hon. Charles Francis Greville], 10 September 1808. 10 September 1808; Autograph letter, signed, written from Government House, Sydney (8 pages). Bligh relates the circumstances of his seizure by the New South Corps on 26 January 1808 and subsequent house arrest, blaming the events on the machinations of John Macarthur, [[State Library of New South Wales]], Safe 1/49.
*Rev. Dr Vyse, [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110322377&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US papers concerning William Bligh], 1811, Proceedings of A General Court-Martial held at Chelsea Hospital ... for the Trial of Lieut.-Col. Geo. Johnston ..., London, Sherwood, Neely and Jones, 1811. Dr Vyse's bookplate is pasted on the inside of the front cover. Letter from William Bligh to Rev. Dr Vyse presenting him with the above book, 13 November 1811. The letter is unsigned but is sealed with Bligh's personal seal. [[State Library of New South Wales]], MLMSS 7307.
*William Bligh, [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110324365&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US papers relating to Bligh estate, 1838–1840, 1844–1846], Legal documents that pertain to the administration and sale of the estate amassed by William Bligh in New South Wales that include Copenhagen, Camperdown, Mount Betham, Simpson's Farm, and Tyler's Farm, [[State Library of New South Wales]], A 462.
*William Bligh, [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110326071&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US Letter from William Bligh to Sir Evan Nepean, 24 April 1791], Letter (with transcript) from William Bligh to Sir Evan Nepean referring to preparations for the second breadfruit voyage to Tahiti and the West Indies. [[State Library of New South Wales]], Safe 1/241b
*William Bligh, [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110326072&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US Letter from William Bligh to Sir Joseph Banks, 26 November 1805], letter was written from the Lady Madeleleine Sinclair several months before she sailed for New South Wales, [[State Library of New South Wales]], Safe 1/241c. 
*William Bligh – [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110314362&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US Papers, 1769–1822, undated, A. HMS Bounty papers, 1787–1794, B. HMS Falcon, Commission, 1790, C. HMS Medea, Commission, 1790, D. HMS Providence and the tender HMS Assistant, papers, 1791–1793, undated, E. HMS Warley, Commission, 1795, F. HMS Calcutta, Commission, 1795, G. HMS Director, papers, 1796, 1797, undated, H. HMS Glatton, papers, 1801, I. HMS Irresistable, Commission, 1801, J. HMS Warrior, Commission, 1804, K. Captain and Governor-in-Chief of the Territory of New South Wales and its dependencies, papers, 1805–1811, undated, L. Naval and Other papers, 1769–1822, undated], [[State Library of New South Wales]], series 414414.
*William Bligh, [https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110353105&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US Pardon granted to Joseph Moreton by William Bligh, 29 October 1806], 1 folder of textual material – manuscript, [[State Library of New South Wales]], Am 68
Digitised versions of Bligh's logbooks are available on the Library's website. {{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikisource|Author:William Bligh}}
{{EB1911 poster|Bligh, William}}
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010111b.htm A. G. L. Shaw, 'Bligh, William (1754–1817)'], ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp.&nbsp;118–122
* [http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheets_bounty.htm Royal Naval Museum, The Mutiny on HMS Bounty ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050329160914/http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheets_bounty.htm |date=29 March 2005 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051212113113/http://www.abc.net.au/bligh/ The Extraordinary Life, Times and Travels of Vice-Admiral William Bligh]. Multimedia biography with music, sound effects, video, large images and graphics
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?sText=William+Bligh&LinkID=mp00451 Portraits of Bligh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930180527/http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?sText=William+Bligh&LinkID=mp00451 |date=30 September 2007 }} in the [[National Portrait Gallery, London]]
* [https://archive.org/details/log-of-captain-bligh Log Of Captain Bligh – Mutiny and Survival] His Day-by-Day personal account of survival in a 23&nbsp;ft boat.

'''Online works'''
*{{librivox book | title=The Mutiny of the Bounty and Other Narratives | author=William Bligh}}
*[http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110339148 Log of the Bounty by Lieut. Wm Bligh], 5 April 1789 – 13 March 1790, original logbook covering the mutiny and carried by Bligh on his subsequent boat journey to Timor.
*{{Gutenberg author | id=6039}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Bligh}}
* {{Librivox author |id=482}}
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20337 A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty], 1790
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15411 A Voyage to the South Sea], 1792
* {{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/logbook/logbookHome.html|title=William Bligh's official Bounty logbook|via= transcribed from the original held at National Archives, UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530115412/http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/logbook/logbookHome.html|archive-date=30 May 2016|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/2bligh/index.html|title=William Bligh's letters to Joseph Banks concerning the first breadfruit expedition|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416151241/http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/2bligh/index.html|archive-date=16 April 2016|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/notebook/index.html|title=Bligh Notebook in which he kept notes during the voyage in the Bounty's launch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304173320/http://fatefulvoyage.com/notebook/index.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/resource/index.html|title=Bligh's Resource Logbook – Bligh's personal logbook of the voyage of the schooner ''Resource'', which carried the launch survivors from Coupang, Timor, to Batavia, Java|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305055047/http://fatefulvoyage.com/resource/index.html|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/vlydt/index.html|title=Bligh's Vlydt Journal – A log kept of his return to England from Batavia on the Dutch packet Vlydt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304234532/http://fatefulvoyage.com/vlydt/index.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/providenceBligh/index.html|title=Bligh's Providence Logbook|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407163150/http://fatefulvoyage.com/providenceBligh/index.html|archive-date=7 April 2016|url-status=dead}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=us0BAAAAMAAJ Rutter, Owen, Turbulent Journey: A Life of William Bligh, Vice-admiral of the Blue, I. Nicholson and Watson, 1936]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=w7UgAAAAMAAJ Mackaness, George, The Life of Vice-Admiral William Bligh, R.N., F.R.S. By Farrar & Rinehart, 1936]
* [[George Tobin (Royal Navy officer)|George Tobin]] – [http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/providenceNarrative/index.html Journal on HMS Providence, 1791–1793] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625112427/http://fatefulvoyage.com/providenceNarrative/index.html |date=25 June 2011 }}
*William Bligh, [http://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110353105 Pardon granted to Joseph Moreton by William Bligh, 29 October 1806], [[State Library of New South Wales]], Am 68

{{S-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Philip Gidley King]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of New South Wales]]|years=1806–1808}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lachlan Macquarie]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Mutiny on the Bounty}}
{{NewSouthWales Governors}}
{{Captain James Cook}}
{{Bond family tree}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bligh, William}}
[[Category:1754 births]]
[[Category:1817 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:Governors of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Mutiny on the Bounty]]
[[Category:Royal Navy vice admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:Sailors from Cornwall]]
[[Category:Australian penal colony administrators]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers who were court-martialled]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian people]]
[[Category:People from St Tudy]]
[[Category:Australian people of Cornish descent]]
[[Category:British emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:Burials at St Mary-at-Lambeth]]
[[Category:History of the London Borough of Lambeth]]
[[Category:Colony of New South Wales people]]
[[Category:Sea captains]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon]]
[[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]]
[[Category:People of the War of the First Coalition]]
[[Category:Rum Rebellion]]