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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Bligh,_William
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1992-09-02
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1754-1817. British admiral. Bligh accompanied
Captain James Cook on his second voyage
around the world 1772-74, and in 1787
commanded HMS Bounty on an expedition to the
Pacific. On the return voyage the crew
mutinied 1789, and Bligh was cast adrift in a
boat with 18 men. He was appointed governor
of New South Wales in 1805, where his
discipline again provoked a mutiny 1808 (the
Rum Rebellion). He returned to Britain, and
was made an admiral in 1811. Bligh went to
Tahiti with the Bounty to collect
breadfruit-tree specimens shortly before the
mutiny, and gained the nickname `Breadfruit
Bligh'. In protest against harsh treatment,
he and those of the crew who supported him
were put in a small craft with no map and few
provisions. They survived, after many weeks
reaching Timor, near Java, having drifted
5,822 km/3,618 mi. Many of the crew members
settled in the Pitcairn Islands.