Fletcher Christian

Fletcher Christian (September 25, 1764 - October 3, 1793) was a Master's Mate on board HMS Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants. It was Christian who seized command of the Bounty from Bligh in 1789. Fletcher was born at the Moorland Close farmstead in Cumberland. His family, which was originally from the Isle of Man, was relatively well-to-do and controlled several properities. However, Fletcher's father died when he was 18, and Fletcher went to sea in order to support his family. He sailed with Bligh twice. After the mutiny, he eventually went to the Pitcairn Islands where the Bounty was broken up for firewood and to construct homes. When the island was next reached, only one mutineer was found alive along with the descendants of others by the Tahitian women they had taken with them; those remaining on the island claimed Christian had been murdered. Rumours claim that Fletcher left the island and made it back to England. See Mutiny on the Bounty for a more detailed account of this famous incident.\n