Bligh << bly >>, William (1754-1817), a British sea captain and colonial governor, won fame as a result of the mutiny on his ship, the Bounty. The mutiny occurred in 1789 near the island of Tofoa (now part of Tonga) in the South Pacific Ocean. Bligh and 18 of his crew were set adrift in a 23-foot (7-meter) boat with little food or water. They suffered incredible hardships but sailed 3,900 miles (6,300 kilometers) across the Pacific to the Dutch colony of Timor in Southeast Asia. The mutineers on the Bounty sailed to Tahiti. Nine of them, led by Fletcher Christian, settled on Pitcairn Island (see Pitcairn Island).
Bligh resumed his career in the British Navy in 1791. In 1806, he became governor of New South Wales, Australia. The next year, the English government asked him to end the liquor trade in New South Wales. Bligh’s actions caused a rebellion, often called the Rum Rebellion, in 1808, and Bligh was replaced as governor in 1810. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1811 and vice admiral in 1814.
From 1776 to 1780, Bligh was sailing master on Captain James Cook’s third voyage to the Pacific. Bligh was born on Sept. 9, 1754, in Plymouth, England. He died on Dec. 7, 1817.
