Mutiny and Aftermath

Mutiny and Aftermath

James Morrison's Account of the Mutiny on the Bounty and the Island of Tahiti

Edited by: Vanessa Smith, Nicholas Thomas and Maia Nuku

University of Hawaii Press | 2013

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824839055

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Contents

About this book

The mutiny on the Bounty was one of the most controversial events of eighteenth-century maritime history. This book publishes a full and absorbing narrative of the events by one of the participants, the boatswain's mate James Morrison, who tells the story of the mounting tensions over the course of the voyage out to Tahiti, the fascinating encounter with Polynesian culture there, and the shocking drama of the event itself.

In the aftermath, Morrison was among those who tried to make a new life on Tahiti. In doing so, he gained a deeper understanding of Polynesian culture than any European who went on to write about the people of the island and their way of life before it was changed forever by Christianity and colonial contact. Morrison was not a professional scientist but a keen observer with a lively sympathy for Islanders. This is the most insightful and wide-ranging of early European accounts of Tahitian life.

Mutiny and Aftermath is the first scholarly edition of this classic of Pacific history and anthropology. It is based directly on a close study of Morrison’s original manuscript, one of the treasures of the Mitchell Library in Sydney, Australia. The editors assess and explain Morrison’s observations of Islander culture and social relations, both on Tubuai in the Austral Islands and on Tahiti itself. The book fully identifies the Tahitian people and places that Morrison refers to and makes this remarkable text accessible for the first time to all those interested in an extraordinary chapter of early Pacific history.

Author information

ThomasNicholas:

Nicholas Thomas is director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. He first visited the Pacific in 1984 to research his PhD thesis on the Marquesas Islands. He has since written extensively on art, empire, and related themes, and curated exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, many in collaboration with contemporary artists. His early book, Entangled Objects, influentially contributed to a revival of material culture studies. He went on to publish, among other works, Oceanic Art in the Thames and Hudson World of Art series and Islanders: The Pacific in the Age of Empire, which was awarded the Wolfson History Prize.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Illustrations Free access PDF PDF	vii
Preface Free access PDF PDF	xiii
Acknowledgments Free access PDF PDF	xix
Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
Part I. The Journal: Mutiny, Mutineers, Islanders
1. The Voyage and the Mutiny Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	25
2. The Occupation of Tubuai Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	56
3. Return to Tahiti Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	88
4. From Tahiti to England Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	121
Part II. The Account: The Island of Tahiti
5. The Tahitian World Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	157
6. Tahitian Society, History, and Culture Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	185
7. Arts, Rites, and Customs Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	220
Appendix I: Morrison’s Polynesian Words and Terms Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	269
Appendix II: Morrison’s People Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	275
Appendix III: Morrison’s Place-names Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	283
Appendix IV: Morrison’s Plants Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	285
Notes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	287
Select Bibliography Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	321
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	329
About the Editors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	345

Mutiny and Aftermath

James Morrison's Account of the Mutiny on the Bounty and the Island of Tahiti

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