Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 9,001
The „Rum Rebellion“ –
Captain Bligh makes history one more time!
We all know the British Captain William Bligh ...
... as the energetic and strict skipper of HMS "Bounty", whose behavior - allegedly! - started the famous mutiny...:
Little known, however, is that Captain Bligh made history again!
In 1805, the Admiralty appointed Bligh Governor of the British colony of New South Wales in southeastern Australia.
His assignment: As Bligh was known for his energetic leadership style, he was supposed to serve the poorly regarded Governor Philip Gidley King ...
... replace, who had lost all control over the colony - especially its officers.
In 1808, Bligh arrived in Sidney, the capital of the colony, and immediately set about taking action against the corrupt clique of officers.
On January 26th, 1808 the so-called "Rum Rebellion" broke out!
Rum had a particularly high value in the convict colony and was also used as a means of payment. Among other things, each convict was given a weekly ration of rum. The trade monopoly on rum, however, lay solely with the military.
Corrupt officers took advantage of this and sold the “liquid gold” at exorbitant prices.
The main culprits were Colonels George Johnston, the lieutenant governor ...
...und John Macarthur...:
Captain Bligh was arrested by supporters of the two Colonels - hidden under the bed of his quarters ...:
And the warship HMS "Porpoise" banished ....:
Once there, he immediately ordered the ship's commander to bombard the city of Sydney.
When the commander refused (he should have shot at bystanders too!) Bligh managed to persuade him to sail to Tasmania, where Bligh spent two years quietly mapping the coast of what was then known as Van Dieman's Land.
In the meantime the two rebellious colonels had realized their untenable situation and embarked for England in 1809.
Colonel Macarthur was sentenced to eight and a half years of exile in England by the court martial because he was unreasonable and was only allowed to re-enter Australia after this time.
Colonel Jonston found the court martial guilty of mutiny and sentenced him to a fine. The court justified this extremely mild judgment with the fact that he was "only the tool of other people".
William Bligh arrived back in New South Wales with the "Porpoise" in 1910, collected newly arrived troops and smoked out the corruption nest!
A year later, Bligh returned home in London for his part. His house is still standing, I already stood in front of it ...:
... was first promoted to Rear Admiral for his services and, in 1814, before he retired, to Vice Admiral ...:
He died at the age of 63 on December 7, 1817, presumably of stomach cancer.
In Lambeth, the part of London where he lived when he was not at sea, William Bligh is buried ...:
Captain Bligh makes history one more time!
We all know the British Captain William Bligh ...
... as the energetic and strict skipper of HMS "Bounty", whose behavior - allegedly! - started the famous mutiny...:
Little known, however, is that Captain Bligh made history again!
In 1805, the Admiralty appointed Bligh Governor of the British colony of New South Wales in southeastern Australia.
His assignment: As Bligh was known for his energetic leadership style, he was supposed to serve the poorly regarded Governor Philip Gidley King ...
... replace, who had lost all control over the colony - especially its officers.
In 1808, Bligh arrived in Sidney, the capital of the colony, and immediately set about taking action against the corrupt clique of officers.
On January 26th, 1808 the so-called "Rum Rebellion" broke out!
Rum had a particularly high value in the convict colony and was also used as a means of payment. Among other things, each convict was given a weekly ration of rum. The trade monopoly on rum, however, lay solely with the military.
Corrupt officers took advantage of this and sold the “liquid gold” at exorbitant prices.
The main culprits were Colonels George Johnston, the lieutenant governor ...
...und John Macarthur...:
Captain Bligh was arrested by supporters of the two Colonels - hidden under the bed of his quarters ...:
And the warship HMS "Porpoise" banished ....:
Once there, he immediately ordered the ship's commander to bombard the city of Sydney.
When the commander refused (he should have shot at bystanders too!) Bligh managed to persuade him to sail to Tasmania, where Bligh spent two years quietly mapping the coast of what was then known as Van Dieman's Land.
In the meantime the two rebellious colonels had realized their untenable situation and embarked for England in 1809.
Colonel Macarthur was sentenced to eight and a half years of exile in England by the court martial because he was unreasonable and was only allowed to re-enter Australia after this time.
Colonel Jonston found the court martial guilty of mutiny and sentenced him to a fine. The court justified this extremely mild judgment with the fact that he was "only the tool of other people".
William Bligh arrived back in New South Wales with the "Porpoise" in 1910, collected newly arrived troops and smoked out the corruption nest!
A year later, Bligh returned home in London for his part. His house is still standing, I already stood in front of it ...:
... was first promoted to Rear Admiral for his services and, in 1814, before he retired, to Vice Admiral ...:
He died at the age of 63 on December 7, 1817, presumably of stomach cancer.
In Lambeth, the part of London where he lived when he was not at sea, William Bligh is buried ...:
