Possible causes of the mutiny[edit]

The reasons behind the mutiny are still debated; some sources report that Bligh was a tyrant
whose abuse of the crew led them to feel that they had no choice but to take over the ship. Other
sources argue that Bligh was no worse (and in many cases gentler) than the average captain
and naval officer of the era, and that the crew—inexperienced and unused to the rigours of the
sea—were corrupted by the freedom, idleness and sexual licence of their five months in Tahiti,
finding themselves unwilling to return to the "Jack Tar's" life of an ordinary seaman. This view
holds that most of the men supported Christian's prideful personal vendetta against Bligh out of a
misguided hope that their new captain would return them to Tahiti to live their lives hedonistically
and in peace, free from Bligh's acid tongue and strict discipline.
The mutiny is made more mysterious by the friendship of Christian and Bligh, which dates back
to Bligh's days in the merchant service. Christian was well acquainted with the Bligh family. As
Bligh was being set adrift he appealed to this friendship, saying "you have dandled my children
upon your knee". According to Bligh, Christian "appeared disturbed" and replied, "That,—Captain
Bligh,—that is the thing;——I am in hell—I am in hell".[9]
Bounty's log shows that Bligh was relatively sparing in his punishments. He scolded when other
captains would have whipped, and whipped when other captains would have hanged. He was an
educated man, deeply interested in science, convinced that good diet and sanitation were
necessary for the welfare of his crew. He took a great interest in his crew's exercise, was very
careful about the quality of their food and insisted upon the Bounty being kept very clean. He
tried (unsuccessfully) to check the spread of venereal disease among the men. [citation needed] The
modern historian John Beaglehole has described the major flaw in this otherwise enlightened
naval officer: "[Bligh made] dogmatic judgements which he felt himself entitled to make; he saw
fools about him too easily … thin-skinned vanity was his curse through life … [Bligh] never learnt
that you do not make friends of men by insulting them."[10] Bligh was also capable of dogmatically
holding grudges against those whom he thought had betrayed him such as Midshipman Peter
Heywood and ships gunner William Peckover; in regard to Heywood, Bligh was convinced that
the young man was as guilty as Christian. Bligh's first detailed comments on the mutiny are in a
letter to his wife Betsy, in which he names Heywood (a mere boy not yet 16) as "one of the
ringleaders", adding: "I have now reason to curse the day I ever knew a Christian or a Heywood
or indeed a Manks [sic] man.[11] Bligh's later official account to the Admiralty lists Heywood with
Christian, Edward Young and George Stewart as the mutiny's leaders, describing Heywood as a
young man of abilities for whom he had felt a particular regard. [12] To the Heywood family Bligh
wrote: "His baseness is beyond all description." [13]Peckover applied for a position as gunner
on HMS Providence (the second breadfruit expedition to Tahiti) but was refused by Bligh. In a
letter to Sir Joseph Banks, 17 July 1791 (two weeks before departure), Bligh wrote: