Cyprus mutiny Cyprus mutiny The "Cyprus" mutiny took place in 1829 off the British penal settlement of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia). Convicts seized the brig and sailed her to Canton, China, where they scuttled her and claimed to be castaways from another vessel. On the way, "Cyprus" visited Japan during the height of the period of severe Japanese restrictions on the entry of foreigners, the first Australian ship to do so. The mutineers were eventually captured. Two of them, George James Davis and William Watts, were hanged at Execution Dock, London on 16 December 1830, the last men hanged for
George Washington Watts George Washington Watts George Washington Watts (18 August 1851 – 7 March 1921) was an American manufacturer, financier and philanthropist. Alongside James B. Duke, he co-founded the American Tobacco Company, as well as Watts Hospital, the first hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which prompted the establishment of Duke University. Born in Cumberland, Maryland George W. Watts was the son of Gerard Snowden Watts and Ann Elizabeth Wolvington. He received his early education in private schools in Baltimore and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1871 with a degree in civil engineering. After graduation, Watts joined his father's tobacco commission