Mutiny on the Bounty
When mutiny on a ship is mentioned, there is only one that comes to the public’s mind. Helped by countless books, TV documentaries and films, the popular view of naval mutiny is synonymous with the events that overtook the Bounty in the lonely South Pacific. Naval historians point out, in vain, how unusual this mutiny was, not least because it was led by an officer. Some indication of its continuing fascination can be judged by the £17K paid at auction in June 2017 for a rust
The “Billy Ruffian”
HMS Bellerophon was affectionately known by the sailors who served on her as the “Billy Ruffian.” She was a 74-gun ship of the line launched in 1786, one of a class of forty third-rates built in the 1770s and 80s to modernise the Royal Navy. These ships would go on to form the backbone of the battle fleet throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and few ships would see more action than Bellerophon. She was commissioned at the very start of the war and joined the Chan
