A Narrative of the Mutiny, on Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty and the

Bligh, William, 1754-1817Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.2
Word count
155K words
Chapters
16

Tags

English Originals World HistoryDocumentary Literature Sea AdventureAdventure JourneyMutinyFate and FortuneStruggle for SurvivalHeroismMaritime AccountTrue EventsDocumentary Narrative

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; And TheAuthor: Bligh, William, 1754-1817,Language: English, Class: DU: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: History of Oceania (South Seas), Release Date: Jan 11, 2007

Editor's review

A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty is William Bligh's own firsthand account of the Bounty mutiny. Unlike the literary adaptations that later became widely known, this text records, from the perspective of the ship's captain, the voyage, the course of the conflict, and the small-boat voyage he and his loyal crew made after being cast adrift, all in chronological order. Its value lies first in its status as a primary source: readers can see directly how the man involved organized the facts and how he judged his companions and subordinates, and thus recognize how the same event can appear utterly different in different narrators' accounts. The prose is late-eighteenth-century English with long sentences, but the narrative thread is clear and events are densely packed. It suits as introductory material for the study of maritime history, colonial history, and narrative history, and also suits readers who enjoy true adventure records and are willing to compare multiple accounts. Reading it alongside the mutineers' side or later scholarship is recommended for a fuller judgment.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Learn the basic timeline of the Bounty mutiny before reading the main text, to help grasp the narrative focus.
  2. Note Bligh's evaluative language about people and events as you read, and observe how his stance shapes the narrative.
  3. Read alongside the mutineers' perspective or later scholarship to compare how different versions select facts.
  4. Eighteenth-century English has many long sentences; aim to understand paragraph by paragraph rather than translating word for word.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
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  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
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  11. 11
  12. 12
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FAQ

Is this a novel or a true record? This is a firsthand narrative written by Captain William Bligh himself, a primary source rather than a novel. The framework of events is based on his personal experience, but the narrative carries a clear personal stance; readers should treat it as one side's account rather than the whole picture.
Do I need to know about the Bounty mutiny before reading this book? It is not required, but knowing the basic timeline and main figures beforehand is recommended; otherwise it is easy to get lost in the long sentences and the many names. With that background, readers can more easily distinguish factual statements from the author's judgments and justifications.
How difficult is the English? The text dates from the late eighteenth century, with long sentences and period features in spelling and diction; overall it is harder than modern English popular writing. Readers with intermediate or better English reading ability who are willing to slow down can finish it.

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About the author

Bligh, William, 1754-1817 Author · British · 1754–1817

William Bligh (1754–1817) was a British naval officer, widely known for the Bounty affair, having served as commander of that ship and later as Governor of New South Wales. Two of his works are held in this collection: A Voyage to the South Sea and A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty And The. Both are maritime narratives written from the perspective of a participant, recounting long ocean voyages and the mutiny aboard ship. The narration is concrete and bears a distinct personal stance and the marks of its era, making these works important primary sources for the study of eighteenth-century British naval voyages and the Bounty affair. His writing is largely documentary, plain and direct in style, and combines historical value with readability. Public information on his early life and biographical details is limited, so they are not elaborated here.