What was William's mission?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
August 12, 2003
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History Series: | 1 | | 2 | | 3 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading—>Click here.
Sunday morning, 8 a.m. February 14, 1779. Captain James Cook of the HMS Resolution is dead. He was killed in Hawaii in a melee with the natives when he attempted to take King Kalaniopu as a hostage until a stolen cutter (towed storage boat) was returned. Twenty-four year old William, the ship's navigator, would return the Resolution and the Discovery and their crews safely to England. ("The Death of Captain Cook", Richard P. Aulie, 1999)
Sir Joseph Banks was the scientific advisor to King George III. Banks and Cook had had a long friendship based on Cook's discoveries and Banks scientific studies of those discoveries. Banks knew of William and although he was only a lieutenant, Banks and the Admiralty commissioned William to take a ship to Tahiti.
There had been problems in the British colonies in the West Indies. Between 1780 and 1786, a number of famines hit Jamaica. Slaves were the first to starve. Plantation owners appealed to the Crown for help. King George turned to his advisors and Banks believed the solution lay in a fruit tree cultivated by Islanders all over the Pacific. It was believed the fruit trees could provide the staple diet for slaves.
The French, who had been at war with England, had already imported a few of the fruit trees into the French West Indies. There may well have been a bit of competition to get more and better ones into the Caribbean before the French did. ("Breadfruit", Fruits of Warm Climates, Julia F. Morton, 1987)
The ninety-foot Bethia was refitted for this special mission. It now carried four four-pound cannons and ten swivels (cannon mounted to swivel for aim). It was reclassified from an HMS (his majesty's ship) to an HMAV (his majesty's armed vessel). The ship was renamed. Some of the crew were assigned, others volunteered to go especially those who were friends of William.
The oldest crew member was 39, the youngest members were 14. The ship's surgeon was said to be a drunk, a botanist and his assistant were on-board. William made his friend, Fletcher, an acting lieutenant and placed him second in command. Fletcher noted in his diary that William "treated him like a brother" and taught him how to navigate. ("The Saga of HMS Bounty and Pitcairn Island", Butch Kerr, Mutiny on the HMS Bounty, Paul J. Lareau)
December 23, 1787. Lieutenant William Bligh 'captained' HMAV Bounty out of port at Spithead and headed for the cold stormy seas of Cape Horn. His friend, Fletcher Christian, was at his side. The Bounty's mission: to barter for breadfruit trees in Tahiti and to get them alive and healthy to the starving people in Jamaica.
To view a breadfuit, see the Plant of the Week photograph taken by Dustin P. Ròebére.
http://www.killerplants.com/plant-of-the-week/20030811.asp
Plant Series: | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 |
History Series: | 1 | | 2 | | 3 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg Plant of the Week - August 11, 2003
What is 'ulu? Herbal Folklore - August 11, 2003
What was William's mission? Plants that Changed History - August 12, 2003
How are breadfruit propagated? Weird Plants - August 14, 2003
Who was Parkinson? What's in a Name? - August 15, 2003
Why ghosts gather at breadfruit trees Herbal Folklore - August 18, 2003
Paradise, breadfruit, and mutiny Plants that Changed History - August 19, 2003
William completes his mission Plants that Changed History - August 26, 2003
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