Mutiny on the Bounty 1790, the Admiralty despatched the frigate HMS "Pandora" under Captain Edward Edwards to capture the mutineers and return them to England to stand trial. "Pandora" arrived at Tahiti on 23 March 1791 and, within a few days, all 14 surviving "Bounty" men had either surrendered or been captured. Edwards made no distinction between mutineers and those who claimed they had been detained on "Bounty" unwillingly; all were incarcerated in a specially constructed prison erected on "Pandora"'s quarterdeck, dubbed "Pandora's Box". "Pandora" remained at Tahiti for five weeks while Captain Edwards unsuccessfully sought information on "Bounty's" whereabouts. The ship finally sailed
Mutiny on the Bounty on 8 May, to search for Christian and "Bounty" among the thousands of southern Pacific islands. Apart from a few spars discovered at Palmerston Island, no traces of the fugitive vessel were found. Edwards continued the search until August, when he turned west and headed for the Dutch East Indies. On 29 August 1791, "Pandora" ran aground on the outer Great Barrier Reef. The men in "Pandora's Box" were ignored as the regular crew attempted to prevent the ship from foundering. When Edwards gave the order to abandon ship, "Pandora"s armourer began to remove the prisoners' shackles, but the ship