Bounty-Prinzip® in a nutshell

In December 1787, in the British naval port of Portsmouth, the final preparations are being made for the sailing ship BOUNTY to set sail. Shortly before the anchors are lifted, the crew, under the command of Captain Bligh, must witness a macabre ritual: A man sentenced by the naval court is to be flogged on the BOUNTY. Before the sentence is carried out, however, the man is found to be dead. Bligh insists on the execution, saying, “Discipline is everything!” The crew learns what Bligh means by this shortly after the BOUNTY departs. Any laxity, no matter how slight, will be punished with at least two dozen lashes. Due to the harsh and unjust treatment of the crew, the first riots occur, but they are suppressed with a firm hand. First Officer Fletcher Christian takes issue with Bligh several times for his inhumane harshness, but is ultimately threatened with punishment and court martial himself. He repeatedly calms the crew and keeps them from assaulting the captain.

As Bligh changes the BOUNTY’s original course via Cape Horn and chooses the longer sea route via the Cape of Good Hope, the voyage becomes increasingly strenuous. Food becomes scarce and five sailors die of scurvy. Shortly before their arrival in Tahiti, Bligh asks Christian to sign the provision lists he has forged. Christian refuses, knowing that Bligh has been enriching himself on these rations. Bligh judges this to be a disobedience. He gives Christian one last chance by threatening him with court martial in front of a mustered crew and forcing him to sign the lists.

On Tahiti, the crew recovers from the rigors of the voyage. Everyone enjoys a few months in the paradisiacal island world. Many members of the crew fall in love with the attractive Tahitian women, among them Christian and Roger Byam.

After the BOUNTY is loaded with 2000 bread tree plants, Bligh orders the departure. In order to bring the plants to England in usable condition, he plans from the outset to massively cut the drinking water ration of the crew. This sows the seeds of new unrest.

Even on the return voyage, Bligh continues to be merciless against any misconduct. When he orders the sick ship’s doctor on deck for punishment, he dies. The measure is now full. Christian can no longer see the suffering and the much blood on board and gives the signal for mutiny. Bligh and his few faithful are arrested and abandoned in a small boat. Against all odds, Bligh makes it to Timor after a grueling and depriving voyage, from where he takes up the search for the mutineers after his recovery. Meanwhile, Christian has sailed the BOUNTY back to Tahiti. Byam and some others who did not actively participate in the mutiny are also there.

In Tahiti, the mutineers feel safe. They start families and lead a simple but happy life. After more than a year, the British sailing ship PANDORA – led by Captain Bligh – is sighted off Tahiti. Christian and the mutineers with their native women and children board the BOUNTY. Left behind are Byam and several others who believe they will not be charged with mutiny in England. The BOUNTY flees from the English. Eventually, Christian and his friends go ashore on Pitcairn Island. They burn the BOUNTY and take possession of the island. Bligh is blinded by hatred and steers the PANDORA onto a reef during the search. The crew saves themselves in small boats. Back in England, Byam and the other sailors are brought before a naval court-martial for mutiny and sentenced to death. It is not until the sentencing that Byam tells the truth about what happened aboard the BOUNTY. After intercession, the English king pardons those involved in the mutiny. Bligh was never again given command of an English ship.