When we think of the causes of the famous mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty in April, 1789, the acerbic temper of Captain William Bligh, the yearning of the crew for the Tahitian women they left behind are brought to mind. Less well known is yet another important reason for the mutiny led by

Fletcher Christian, breadfruit.

The mission of the HMS Bounty was to deliver breadfruit from Tahiti to the Caribbean. During his voyage to Tahiti in 1769, Captain James Cook was introduced to breadfruit when he brought it back to England. Breadfruit, a nutritious starchy melon weighing between two to five pounds was looked upon as an excellent food source for the African slaves in the plantations of the Caribbean. Although it is a fruit, it’s light yellow flesh has the starchy consistency of unripe potatoes which makes it seem more like a vegetable. As the breadfruit ripens it softens to about the consistency of a mango but without the sweetness.

The reason for the name “breadfruit” is that when eaten before it is ripe, breadfruit not only feels like fresh bread, but also tastes like it. Not only are breadfruit trees in the Pacific prized for their fruits but their wood is also highly valuable. In Hawaii, the wood of breadfruit trees were made into fine quality canoes, drums, and surfboards. In Guam and Samoa, the bark of the breadfruit trees were used for making tapa cloth.

King George III was convinced of the necessity of transporting breadfruit from the Pacific to the Caribbean and in 1787 Captain Bligh was sent to Tahiti with the mission of delivering the breadfruit trees to the Caribbean. Upon reaching Tahiti the following year, the Bounty’s crew spent six months there collecting and preparing the young breadfuit trees for shipment. Over a thousand such plants were placed on board the Bounty. Unfortunately, when the men were informed that a portion of their fresh drinking water would be used for irrigating the breadfruit plants, they became quite upset and was yet another contributing factor to their mutiny.

Captain Bligh and his loyal crew members were cast adrift following the mutiny on April 28, 1789. Their voyage in a small longboat, where against all odds they traveled over 3600 miles to the island of Timor, was dramatically chronicled in the popular Nordhoff and Hall mutiny book. What many have today have forgotten is that following Bligh’s return to England, he returned to Tahiti in another ship in August, 1791 on the same mission, which was to deliver breadfruit trees to the Caribbean. This second mission was successfully accomplished. Unfortunately, after the breadfruit trees were delivered to the Caribbean, the slaves there, disliking its taste, refused to eat it. Years later the Caribbean descendants of those slaves learned to appreciate the breadfruit and now prepare it in a number of tasty ways.

Today, if you visit the St. Vincent Botanic Gardens in the Caribbean you will see a very old breadfruit tree. Look at it closely. It is living history that will link you back over two centuries. You see, that is the very breadfruit tree that Captain Bligh himself planted.

Written by P.J. Gladnick