Mutiny

In 1787, ancestor James Bloodwell set sail from London in the ship Charlotte for the penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia. He was a convicted criminal, sentenced to 7 years of transportation for the theft of one fighting cock and two hens. In that same year, the Royal Navy ship Bounty set off from England to collect and transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies. Captain William Bligh was in command and a young and capable Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian was First Mate.

When the Bounty reached Tahiti, the crew began the task of gathering the breadfruit. They were stunned by what they saw— beautiful, young Tahitian women, half naked, friendly and beguiling. As the work continued, the men established relationships with the women. Many took up residence in the villages. This was heaven on earth, far removed from the rule-driven, staid English society of Georgian England.
As months passed, discipline among the crew dissolved, infuriating the duty-bound Captain Bligh. Finally the day came to weigh anchor and set sail for the West Indies. Many of the crew were heart broken and resentful. Bligh was determined to whip his unruly crew into shape and imposed harsh penalties on the sailors who failed to meet his expectations. Resentment among the crew grew and after 3 weeks at sea, Fletcher Christian, the target of much of Captain Bligh’s ire, and disgruntled crew took command of the ship. The mutineers set Bligh and 18 of his loyalists adrift in a longboat, affording them meagre rations, water and a sextant.

Bligh was a superb navigator, taught by Captain James Cook when he served under him as First Mate. The incident occurred well into the Pacific Ocean, requiring Bligh to navigate his tiny vessel 6500 km to the nearest downwind landfall. Several of the men died en route; Bligh himself was near death when they were rescued. It was an extraordinary feat of skill and perseverance in endless tropical heat and a relentless sun.
Bligh reached England in April of 1790, triggering a manhunt by the Royal Navy. The Admiralty dispatched the HMS Pandora to track the mutineers down and bring them to justice. Fourteen were captured in Tahiti, but the remainder, after an exhaustive search, were not found. The Pandora headed for home, but foundered on the Great Barrier Reef. Thirty one crew and four prisoners were lost. Ten surviving prisoners found their way back to England. Four were acquitted, three were pardoned and three were hanged.

All this time, Fletcher and his mutineers searched for a hideaway, sufficiently remote to escape the eye of the Royal Navy. Pitcairn Island was chosen and preparations made. They returned to Tahiti where they convinced or forced Tahitian men and women to join them and start a community on Pitcairn. Pitcairn is a small, rugged, volcanic island with no harbour and barely a place to land a longboat. Once ashore, the decision was made to burn the Bounty, ensuring the ship would not give away their presence on the island. It was a fateful decision, for when the Bounty went down, they were there forever.

The next chapter of the tale is not pleasant. For almost 20 years, the community was beset with jealousies and murderous fights. When a sealer stopped at Pitcairn in 1808, only one male had survived, John Adam.

Then a wonderful thing happened. One of the Tahitian women stepped forward and said, enough is enough. From now on, we live by a set of agreed upon laws in a democratic community where every adult, women included, have the right to vote. In this new society, we shall act with civility and respect. Her name was Maimiti Isobel Mauatua. She was the partner of by then deceased, Fletcher Christian. Thus, Pitcairn Island became the society with the longest, continuous vote for women in the world.

Fletcher Christian is my 1st cousin 1x removed of husband of my 1st cousin 3x removed