Survivors of the Mutiny on the Bounty Reach Timor
- When
- 1789
- Where
- Coupang, Timor, Dutch East Indies; South Pacific Ocean, near Tofua
- Episodes
- 2
After being set adrift in Bounty's launch by Fletcher Christian's mutineers on 28 April 1789, Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 loyalists navigated the open boat to the Dutch East Indies. They reached Coupang on Timor after a 47-day voyage of 3,618 nautical miles, with the sole casualty being a crewman killed on Tofua.
Episodes
- Set adrift after the mutiny
On 28 April 1789, mutineers led by Fletcher Christian seized Bounty and set Bligh and 18 loyalists adrift in the ship's open launch.
- Bligh and loyalists reach Timor
Bligh and 18 loyalists arrived at Coupang on Timor on 14 June 1789 after a 47-day open-boat voyage of 3,618 nautical miles.
Background and detail
Background. Bounty had left England in 1787 to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti for the West Indies, and departed Tahiti westward in April 1789. On 28 April 1789, in the South Pacific, disaffected crewmen led by Master's Mate Fletcher Christian seized the ship and set Lieutenant Bligh, the ship's captain, and 18 loyalists adrift in the open launch.
The Open-Boat Voyage. Set adrift mid-ocean, Bligh and his loyalists sailed toward the Dutch East Indies. Early in June they passed through the Endeavour Strait and crossed open sea until they reached Coupang, a settlement on Timor, on 14 June 1789. Bligh recorded the journey in his logbook, carried with him on the boat voyage.
Aftermath at Timor. Bligh succeeded in reaching Timor after a 47-day voyage covering 3,618 nautical miles (6,700 km; 4,160 mi), the only casualty being the crewman killed on Tofua. From Coupang he obtained passages home for himself, his clerk Samuel, and his servant John Smith, sailing on 16 October 1789 and landing in England on 14 March 1790.
People involved
- William Bligh · Lieutenant and commander of Bounty, leader of the loyalists in the launch
- Fletcher Christian · Master's Mate / Acting Lieutenant who led the mutiny and set Bligh adrift
Sources
- William Bligh Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
- Mutiny on the Bounty Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-24
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.