This theory has remained popular, even though there is little or no direct evidence for it. The supposition is that Christian reluctantly yielded to Bligh's advances in return for promotions and other considerations, but that his distaste for the relationship finally led to the mutiny. The most notorious theory based on Barrow's version of the mutiny is that Christian and Bligh were homosexual lovers. Its authenticity is questionable, and the vague reference to unknown circumstances has given rise to some uninhibited speculation. Like so many of the details of the mutiny, though, Barrow's account has only served to more thoroughly entangle legend and fact. Sign up to British Heritage Travel's daily newsletter here! Historians have speculated that something else must have happened between the time of the Bounty's arrival at Tahiti on 25th October and its departure on 28th April to make Christian choose to spend the rest of his life as a fugitive rather than cope with his anguish a few months more, after which he could, if he chose, have disassociated himself from Bligh forever. Bligh was known to have had a foul mouth, but so did most sailors of his day, and mutiny seems too exaggerated a response to attribute to crude language. Christian seems actually to have been treated with more favour and given more responsibility than his limited experience merited. Far from there being any friction on previous voyages, the two had become friends. Christian had sailed with him before without incident or complaint. On the other hand, Bligh's conduct doesn't seem an adequate cause of the mutiny either. Christian and eight other ringleaders, however, left Tahiti forever shortly after taking control of the Bounty. Some of the less prominent mutineers actually did stay on Tahiti, knowing they would be found and taken home to England, where they assumed they would be excused for their minor role in the affair. If this was so, Christian and his followers realized too late the obvious fact that they could never make Tahiti a permanent home after the mutiny because the British authorities would look for them there. Bligh's own assumption was that the mutineers had plotted to overthrow him so that they could return to Tahiti and avoid a comparatively mundane existence in England or the hardships of navy life. In the 200 years since no one has provided a definitive answer to the questions of whether Bligh was a villain or victim and why the mutiny occurred. Speculation about what could have driven so many respectable men to commit so disgraceful a crime became widespread. Though the debate raged inconclusively, Bligh's reputation had been irreparably damaged. Peter Heywood, who had sided with the mutineers but did not play a major part in the crime, presented a lengthy defense of his actions that cast Bligh in a less favourable light than had previous accounts. Unhappily for Bligh, the captain of the expedition that had brought the mutineers to justice had, in fact, treated his captives so brutally that the public began to sympathize with them. The emotional testimony of some of the defendants, along with the efforts of some influential families, including the Christians, had swayed popular opinion against the Bounty's commander. He found, however, that while he was away 14 of the mutineers had been captured and put on trial. He became the subject of romanticized accounts of the mutiny and was given the chance to return to Tahiti, this time with two ships under his command, in order to complete his original mission.Īfter succeeding in this second attempt to introduce breadfruit to the West Indies, Bligh again returned to England on 9th September 1793, expecting that his accomplishment would have earned him even greater acclaim. A court-martial cleared him of all responsibility for the loss of the Bounty he was promoted to commander and then to post-captain. Upon his return from the ordeal in the South Pacific, Bligh was regarded as a heroic victim.
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