Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
HMS Bounty (ship)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1787 - 1790
History
Originally a small, 240-ton merchant ship that was bought by the Admiralty in 1787 and fitted out as an armed transport to carry breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the West Indies in 1788. The plan was to introduce breadfruit in the West Indies as a cheap food for slaves. Bounty’s crew mutinied during the voyage from Tahiti, putting the Captain, William Bligh, and 18 loyal men into a small boat. Bligh accomplished an epic voyage of 3,600 nm to the Dutch East Indies. Bligh had earlier served in the rank of Master under Captain James Cook and carried out surveys on the North-West coast of North America. In 1790, Bounty was burned by the mutineers who settled on Pitcairn Island.