Mutiny on the Bounty
In April 1789, a bitter mutiny was instigated on board a British trading ship, the HMS Bounty.
The vessel had originally been sent to Tahiti and other nearby islands to cultivate breadfruit and bring back the plants for growing in other colonies.
This involved mooring the HMS Bounty in beautiful Tahiti for 5 months while the crew made preparations.
So far so good.
Except it was TAHITI — one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And the captain was gracious enough to let the entire crew live on the island for those 5 months.
As often happens when people live on tropical islands for a while — they didn’t want to leave.
After the 5 months were up, the crew was commanded to board and set sail for a journey back to England.
This didn’t sit quite well with many of them. Especially the crewmember who was married during that time.
I wonder what they used instead of shotguns for weddings back then?
No one wanted to leave paradise. They mutinied.
Fortunately for the captain, it was a bloodless coup. The loyalists were arrested but kindly shipped off on a few small lifeboats.
The remaining crew, happy with their victory, went back to living on the beautiful islands.
Perhaps they forgot they were now legally ‘enemies of the crown’. A crown belonging to the largest empire in history.
Talk about getting a royal flush.