William Bligh

William Bligh — page 3 — But what's this There's a young woman confronting the soldiers trying to block their progress She screams at them You traitors you rebels You come to murder my father This must be Mary Governor Bligh's daughter She came from England to look after him and everyone knows she is very protective of her father And look now she is trying to fight them off with her parasol That's feisty The soldiers look embarrassed and are not sure what to do until a couple of them are ordered to drag her aside A few others rush into the house with orders to arrest the governor Bligh hears their footsteps and realises they are coming for him He retreats to an upstairs bedroom and thinks Do I stand on my dignity and confront them Do I try to escape to give myself a chance of winning back my authority 211 Bligh hears the soldiers cursing as room after room turns out to be empty His refuge is a bedroom where secret papers are stored and he is busily destroying the documents when two soldiers burst through the door and arrest him at bayonet point As they march him downstairs threatening him with death should he show any resistance Bligh thinks to himself No not again I don't believe it

William Bligh — page 4

William Bligh — page 5 — What was the earlier incident in Governor Bligh's mind Let's go back to the dining room of his London house in 1787 when he was a 33 year old lieutenant in the British Navy A group of men who will soon be sailing under Bligh's command on HMS His Majesty's Ship Bounty are dining with him Their voyage will take them to the Pacific island of Tahiti where they will pick up hundreds of breadfruit plants to transport to British colonies in the West Indies There the plants will be grown to provide cheap food for the slaves working on the sugar plantations More about that later for the dining room door has opened and Bligh's wife Elizabeth has ushered in their three daughters to say goodnight to the guests The eldest Mary she looks about five years old gives a goodnight kiss to Fletcher Christian a family friend Christian will be the Master on the Bounty which means he will be Bligh's second in command

William Bligh — page 6 — With Mary and her sisters tucked away in bed the men go back to discussing their mission As he listens Bligh feels some satisfaction at being given this new command With an impressive fighting record in naval battles against the French and experience as Captain Cook's Master on HMS Resolution he feels he deserves it Cook praised Bligh for his skills at drawing maps and charts an important task in the days of world exploration There is one thing that irks him why is he still just a lieutenant Why has the Admiralty not promoted him to the rank of captain His record speaks for itself The Bounty voyage to Tahiti and beyond is extremely important and will require exceptional seamanship and diplomacy He should be Captain Bligh

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