On 28th April, 1789, the crew of the Bounty led by Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian mutinied against their commander Lieutenant William Bligh (he wasn’t a captain at the time). Bligh and his supporters were cast adrift in an open boat, who managed make a 3,618 mile trip back home and survive. Bligh even managed to bring down most of the mutineers on a return trip.
While we may be the familiar with the view of Bligh as being cruel, many modern historians are now trying to bring a more sympathetic portrayal of him. This Channel 4 endurance programme is one of the odder ways of doing this. In Mutiny, ex-SAS man Ant Middleton and his nine-man crew consisting of people of similar backgrounds to those in Bligh’s boat, are attempting to recreate Bligh’s trip after he was thrown off the Bounty.
If Bligh could do this in the 18th century, surely there should be no problem with doing it in the 21st century… right?
Mutiny is on Channel 4 tonight and tomorrow at 21.00.
