Cornwall.University

 

 

 

Cornish Ship Captain

Cartographer and Governor

of New South Wales

William Bligh

 

 

 

 

Popular culture has painted Cornishman William Bligh as being a cruel English captain whose heartless brutality was the cause of his crew's infamous mutiny (It does sell a lot of popcorn).   Records show that William Bligh was born at St. Tudy, in Cornwall, Great Britain.   Bligh's uncles were mayors at nearby Bodmin

 

 

 

 

 

Not all Penzance pirates were swashbuckling bandits. In the Eighteenth Century, the high cost of goods and outrageous tax imposed by the English crown created an environment of survival

 

 

 

 

Cornish relief sailors brought sustenance to Cornish peasantry. Modern inspection of sunken ships, court documents and governmental correspondence has led historians, authors, scholars -- and at least one explorer -- to view these sailors as fair traders who voted democratically on major issues, shared wealth among themselves, offered an early version of workman's compensation...

 

 

 

 

...and gave African slaves the opportunity to live freely. Surprisingly, only ONE case of walking the plank has been documented

 

 

 

 

Documentation shows William Bligh as being an enlightened captain and one of the least brutal in the British Navy with a record of floggings much lower than the norm. As well, he was a leader in reducing scurvy aboard ship. William Bligh was also a master mariner and cartographer, and retired his naval career as a Vice Admiral, then to become governor of New South Wales, Australia.

 

 

 

 

Tell a Cornish Cousin Jack the truth about

Cornish Ship Captain William Bligh

and Mutiny on the Bounty

---

Cornish Inventor Richard Trevithick

 

 

 

 

 

 

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