Biography on WILLIAM BLIGH!

Captain William Bligh, is one of the main characters, and author of the book

called The Mutiny on H.M.S. Bounty. William Bligh was born in Plymouth, England,

in 1754. His whole life was centered on the sea. When he was sixteen years old, he was

part of the British navy, and when he was twenty-two, he became a sailing master under

the command of Captain James Cook. Soon the Bounty's voyage was distracted by a

mutiny, and Bligh and eighteen of his followers were put to sea. They faced many certain

deaths traveling three thousand miles in a small open boat. His surprising experiences on

the Bounty, and the open boat were recorded completely by himself, and were then

published when he reached England in 1790. There were many different versions of the

Mutiny on his Bounty. Some of these showed that Bligh was a villain and a brute. He was

then he was acquitted by a court martial, and then was sent on a second expedition to

Tahiti for breadfruit to plant in the island of the West Indies. He must have been one of

the most popular captains in history. I could not decide myself to whether he was a harsh

cruel captain who mistreated his sailors, or was it just Fletcher Christian who wanted to

take over the ship. To make it fair and square, I would call it a fifty-fifty.

Captain Cook who discovered Australia appointed William Bligh captain. Before

he was appointed captain, he used to work really hard in the British navy. He said that,

"Ship life in the British navy was not easy. The work was hard, and the discipline was

harsh. The crew consisted mainly of men who were hiding from the law or common

riffraff kidnapped off the streets and forced into naval service by gangs hired for that

purpose. Severe treatment was sometimes the only way a captain could keep his ship

sailing and his sailors healthy." Captain William Bligh's job was to take breadfruit from

the island of Tahiti and plant it in the islands of the West Indies. One of his sailors who

accompanied him was Fletcher Christian. Fletcher Christian always wanted to do things

on his own most of the time. He wanted to take over the ship. As to

Captain William Bligh, he always made sure that his sailors danced every night

for two hours every night. He said, "Ever since we left England, there has been fiddling

and dancing on board. I punish any man who does not dance for two hours every night. I

need these men to limber, and ready to haul lines at any moment." Apart from us thinking

whether he was actually a harsh cruel captain or not, he had to be strict with the sailors who were

accompanying him during the voyage. For example, he had to punish those who

disobeyed his commands. Other than that William Bligh was a good captain for example:

he exchanged gifts with the natives of the islands, and he even gave some awesome gifts

for free. Unfortunately for him, he got into big trouble after accusing Fletcher Christian

stealing few coconuts. Christian soon took Bligh prisoner. Fletcher Christian was soon known as

the leader of the Mutiny on H.M.S. Bounty. Captain William Bligh had to take one off the

longboats with a few sailors a go away, and disappear from the Bounty. All was lost after that

because, all the little breadfruits that they have put into pots to take to the West Indies were

thrown overboard by the mutineers that took over the ship after they had disposed of William

Bligh.

Many people think that Captain William Bligh deserved this sort of punishment

after being harsh and cruel to his sailors, whereas other people think that William Bligh

was simply being accused by Fletcher Christian for being a bad captain. The point of view was

actually the fight between Christian and Bligh, and how Bligh's ship was stolen by the mutiny.

SO WHY DON'T YOU DECIDE?