Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse In November 1790, Captain Edward Edwards—in command of HMS "Pandora"—had sailed from England with orders to comb the Pacific for the mutineers of HMS "Bounty". In March of the following year, "Pandora" arrived at Tahiti and picked up 14 "Bounty" men who had stayed on that island. Although some of the 14 had not joined the mutiny, all were imprisoned and shackled in a cramped "cage" built on the deck, which the men grimly nicknamed "Pandora's Box". "Pandora" then left Tahiti in search of "Bounty" and the leader of the mutiny, Fletcher Christian. Captain Edwards' search for the remaining mutineers
Bounty Bible and Elizabeth Bligh's marriage certificate, a prayer book, and other artifacts. On 15 October 1940 the Pitcairn Islands Post Office opened with the release of the first Pitcairn Islands postage stamps; the 4d (fourpence) value issued on 1 September 1951 features an illustration of the Bible. Bounty Bible The "Bounty" Bible is a Bible that is thought to have been used on HMS "Bounty", the ship famed for the Mutiny on the "Bounty". In January 1790, nine of the mutineers from the ship and their Tahitian companions (six men, eleven women and a baby) settled on Pitcairn Island, having anchored