"IN 1789 Fletcher Christian led a mutiny on H. M. S. Bounty. He and his men dragged Lieutenant William Bligh from his bed, accused him of tyranny, and set him adrift in an open launch with eighteen men loyal to him. Bligh guided the little boat 3,600 miles to the safety of the Dutch Indies (today’s Indonesia).
British captains sought for the mutineers and learned that they had sailed between the islands of
Tubai and Tahiti. Some of the crew, who had not been involved in the mutiny, remained on Tahiti. Fletcher Christian and eight mutineers, however, along with some Polynesian women and men, disappeared on the sea.
For nineteen years, mystery hung over their fate, until a New England whaling ship, the Topaz, landed on Pitcairn island to take on water in September, 1808. To the surprise of the captain, he found natives who spoke garbled English and could read a little. The islanders begged for books and the crew of the Topaz collected two hundred for them from among their personal possessions.
The mutineers had settled on uninhabited Pitcairn, fought over women, and murdered each other. One of the survivors made a still, and drunkenness became the norm. Eventually the only men left were Edward “Ned” Young and John Adams. They sobered up, and when Young died of an asthma attack, Adams was left alone to guide the little clan. He turned to his Bible and Prayer Book. Although barely able to read himself, Adams taught them what he knew of Christianity, and managed to teach some of the older children to read.
The British granted Adams amnesty for his part in the mutiny. Exposure to the outer world brought the Pitcairn islanders more books (including Seventh-Day Adventist literature), opportunities to visit other countries, and visitors. One of those was a Seventh Day Adventist layman named John L. Tay, who converted everyone on Pitcairn Island to Seventh-Day Adventism in 1887."
ChristianHistoryInstitute
British captains sought for the mutineers and learned that they had sailed between the islands of
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| The only mutineer alive when the British discovered Pitcairn was the patriarch John Adams. |
For nineteen years, mystery hung over their fate, until a New England whaling ship, the Topaz, landed on Pitcairn island to take on water in September, 1808. To the surprise of the captain, he found natives who spoke garbled English and could read a little. The islanders begged for books and the crew of the Topaz collected two hundred for them from among their personal possessions.
The mutineers had settled on uninhabited Pitcairn, fought over women, and murdered each other. One of the survivors made a still, and drunkenness became the norm. Eventually the only men left were Edward “Ned” Young and John Adams. They sobered up, and when Young died of an asthma attack, Adams was left alone to guide the little clan. He turned to his Bible and Prayer Book. Although barely able to read himself, Adams taught them what he knew of Christianity, and managed to teach some of the older children to read.
The British granted Adams amnesty for his part in the mutiny. Exposure to the outer world brought the Pitcairn islanders more books (including Seventh-Day Adventist literature), opportunities to visit other countries, and visitors. One of those was a Seventh Day Adventist layman named John L. Tay, who converted everyone on Pitcairn Island to Seventh-Day Adventism in 1887."
ChristianHistoryInstitute
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Revelation 14:6
