Description
In 1787 the Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty, captained by William Bligh, set sail for Tahiti in search of breadfruit plants. Soon after leaving Tahiti, Master’s Mate Fletcher Christian led a successful revolt, setting Bligh and eighteen of his men adrift. In his journal, Boatswain’s Mate James Morrison recounts the Bounty’s voyage, placing considerable blame for the mutiny on Bligh’s irascible personality and style of command.
This event, however, only introduces Morrison’s remarkable journey through the South Seas. A born storyteller, Morrison pens compelling tales of the time after the mutiny, beginning with ringleader Fletcher Christian’s two ill-fated attempts to establish a refuge on the island of Tubuai. Morrison then recounts his eighteen-month sojourn on Tahiti, where he constructed a seaworthy schooner and closely observed the island and its way of life. He tells of the subsequent arrival of HMS Pandora, which was charged with bringing the mutineers back to England for trial, and his imprisonment in the horrific “Pandora’s Box.” Morrison once again faces peril when the Pandora sinks on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, where thirty-one of the crew and four prisoners perished.
Although Morrison did not actively participate in the Bounty insurrection, he had remained with Fletcher Christian’s party, which was enough evidence for his eventual condemnation. While imprisoned, Morrison began composing his journal. King George III granted a pardon, and soon after his release, Morrison wrote the second half of the journal, which he filled with detailed descriptions of Tahitian life, culture, and natural history. Morrison’s journal is an invaluable resource for naval and cultural historians and an enthralling tale for the general reader.
In this journal Boatswain’s Mate James Morrison recounts the Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty’s 1787 voyage and the ensuing mutiny, providing an invaluable resource for naval historians and an enthralling tale for the general reader. Donald A. Maxton worked in the field of corporate communications and public affairs for thirty-five years. He is the author of The Mutiny on H.M.S. Bounty: A Guide to Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Films, Articles, and Music and Chasing the Bounty: The Voyages of Pandora and Matavy. He lives in New York City.
List of Illustrations
Foreword by Glynn Christian
Acknowledgements
Introduction by Donald A. Maxton
Part One
The Mutiny and the Subsequent Misfortunes of the Mutineers
Part Two:
An Account of the Island of Tahiti and the Customs of the Islanders
Glossary of Nautical Terms
Bibliography
Index
About the Editor
“For anyone interested in the
Bounty saga, this volume is a most worthwhile addition to the extant nonfiction reading currently available.”—S
ea History “[This book] can be expected to add richly and pervasively to general knowledge of that historically and historiographically conspicuous incident.”—
Mariner’s Mirror “Editor Maxton . . . has done an excellent job in preparing Morrison’s works for publication, and supplemented them with a valuable commentary, which makes After the Bounty a good read for anyone interested in life at sea in the age of sail or the history and culture of the South Seas.”—strategypage.com
“It’s a curiously, entertaining and instructive for age-of-fighting-sail or Herman Melville enthusiasts.”—
Naval Review “Recommended.”—
Choice “After the Bounty makes a most important contribution to the literature of the Bounty saga. Through its publication, Morrison’s enlightening account of the Bounty mutiny becomes available to the general public for the first time in three quarters of a century. This book is a ‘must have’ for any Bounty literature library.”—Herbert Ford, director, Pitcairn Islands Study Center
“[Morrison’s] stories of adventure after the
Bounty mutiny makes for a powerful historical journal packed with nautical adventure and perfect for any nautical history library.”—
Midwest Book Review “What a monumental undertaking! Donald Maxton’s passion and perseverance in pursuing his goal is topped only by his impeccable scholarship and thorough knowledge of his subject. Kudos and ‘Huzzah for Otaheite’ and for Maxton!”—Éva Wahlroos, contributor, researcher, and collaborator on
English-Tahitian/Tahitian-English Dictionary and Mutiny and
Romance in the South Seas: A Companion to the Bounty Adventure “At long last we have here a complete ‘Everyman’s Morrison,’ prepared by an established, devoted authority on the
Bounty, and for the first time making available to a wider audience a readable and useful modern version of one of the great classic sources to our knowledge not only of the
Bounty affair but also of late eighteenth-century Polynesia.”—Rolf E. Du Rietz, author of
Bibliotheca Polynesiana and Peter Heywood's Tahitian Vocabulary and the Narratives of James Morrison: some notes on their origin and history "Written with a novelist’s eye for detail, a participant’s firsthand knowledge, and a literate seaman’s plain-spoken clarity, pardoned mutineer James Morrison’s account of the Bounty mutiny and its aftermath is an engrossing illustration of humanity at its best and worst. A true seafaring odyssey, After the Bounty leaves the reader with the sense of being present at the events described—it superbly conveys the rich reality of life at sea, the strident clash of cultures, and the exceptional experiences that change, and even end, lives. Above all, the journal is an extraordinary look at the complexity of human behavior, an intimate, sympathetic account of the Tahitian people, and a reminder of the epic dangers and discoveries that make adventure what it is."—Benerson Little, author of The Sea Rover’s Practice and Pirate Hunting
