HMS Bounty journal kept by one of Christian's followers, the Tahitians were actually kidnapped when Christian set sail without warning them, the purpose of this being to acquire the women. The mutineers passed through the Fiji and Cook Islands, but feared that they would be found there. Continuing their quest for a safe haven, on 15 January 1790 they rediscovered Pitcairn Island, which had been misplaced on the Royal Navy's charts. After the decision was made to settle on Pitcairn, livestock and other provisions were removed from the "Bounty". To prevent the ship's detection, and anyone's possible escape, the ship was burned
The Bounty (1984 film) The music score was composed by Vangelis and the cinematography designed by Arthur Ibbetson. The film is set as flashbacks from the court martial at Greenwich of Commanding Lieutenant William Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) for the loss of "HMS Bounty" to mutineers led by his friend Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson), during its expedition to Tahiti to gather breadfruit pods for transplantation in the Caribbean. Bligh sets out from Great Britain in December 1787, electing to sail the "Bounty" west round the tip of South America in an attempt to use the expedition to fulfill an ambition to circumnavigate the globe. The