Mutiny on the Bounty

April 28, 1789

In Pacific waters near Tonga, acting lieutenant Fletcher Christian led part of HMS Bounty's crew in mutiny against Captain William Bligh. Bligh and loyalists were set adrift in an open boat - and sailed 3,600 miles to Timor. The mutineers, fearing the gallows, eventually found Pitcairn Island and vanished. Their descendants still live on Pitcairn today, speaking a creole blend of English and Tahitian.