Captain William Bligh Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fletcher Christian

Of course, Fletcher Christian. Christian and some of the other mutineers settled on Pitcairn Island with their Tahitian women and some Tahitian men. John Adams was the last surviving mutineer of the colony on Pitcairn Island when an American ship landed there in 1808. Peter Heywood was a young mutineer who stayed on Tahiti, returned to England, was court-martialled, sentenced to death, pardoned, reinstated in the navy and enjoyed a distinguished career. Fryer, a loyalist, made the journey in the longboat with Bligh and had a distinguished naval career following his return to England.

Answer: Lieutenant

Although he commanded the Bounty, Bligh's rank in the Royal Navy was that of lieutenant at the time of the voyage to Tahiti. He reached the rank of vice-admiral in 1814.

Answer: To transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to Jamaica

The breadfruit trees were to be introduced as a source of food for the slaves working plantations in the West Indies. The Transit of Venus was observed by Captain Cook on his first voyage to the South Pacific in 1769. Sir Joseph Banks, naturalist, accompanied Cook on his first voyage and collected his own specimens. Banks was involved in the decision to send the Bounty to Tahiti for breadfruit.

Answer: Timor

Bligh had only a sextant and a pocket watch, no charts or compass, but managed to navigate over 3,000 miles of open sea, a remarkable feat. There was only one casualty, a man killed when they landed at Tofoa for provisions. Timor was the nearest European outpost.

Answer: Bligh was acquitted, and soon promoted to captain.

Bligh was cleared of blame, and then set out to get the breadfruit again. Meanwhile the "Pandora" was dispatched to round up the mutineers, some of whom were found on Tahiti and brought back to Britain to stand trial.

Answer: He returned in 1792.

In 1792, he returned in command of two ships, and successfully completed his breadfruit mission, transporting plants to the West Indies. He died in London on December 7, 1817.

Answer: Mutiny at the Nore

The mutiny at Spithead in April 1797 was followed by the mutiny at Nore in May. Both were over pay, rations, and conditions on board navy ships. Spithead was settled with concessions from the Admiralty for better pay and living conditions, and a royal pardon for the mutineers. Those at Nore didn't fare as well, their leader was hanged and many participants were imprisoned, flogged or transported. Bligh commanded the "HMS Director", one of the ships at Nore.

The Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Rebellion was an uprising of native troops under British command in India in 1857.

The mutiny on the "Batavia" took place on a Dutch ship in 1629. The mutiny on the Hermione took place abroad a British ship in the West Indies in 1797, over a captain's cruelty.

Answer: Battle of Copenhagen (1801)

Bligh commanded the "HMS Glatton" at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, against the Danish-Norwegian fleet. This was the battle where Nelson raised his spyglass to his blind eye, saying he did not see Admiral Parker's signal to stand down. Bligh also ignored the order to disengage and followed Nelson, and was commended by Nelson for bravery.

The other battles are also among Nelson's engagements.

Answer: The Rum Rebellion

When Bligh attempted to curtail the production of rum in the colony, the soldiers mutinied. Bligh was imprisoned for two years and returned to England in 1811 where he was cleared of all blame, and the leader of the mutiny, Major Johnson, cashiered. The "Rum Corps," British officers in collusion with merchants who controlled the alcohol trade in the colony, had long been a source of concern.

The British government dispatched a new governor, Lachlan Macquarie, who arrived with his own regiment in 1809 to break up the rebellion and the rum monopoly.

Answer: Vice-Admiral

Bligh first went to sea at the age of seven as a captain's servant. He became a midshipman at the age of 17. He rose to lieutenant before he took command of the "Bounty", was made a captain in 1790, and after his appointment as Governor of New South Wales, rose to commander, commodore, rear-admiral, and finally, vice-admiral in 1814. Bligh married in his 20s and was the father of six daughters.

He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1801 for his services to navigation and botany.