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The ''Bounty'' began her life as the ''Bethia'', a collier which was built in Hull, England in 1784. She was engaged in the Baltic trade, and had at least three captains before she was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1787 for the purpose of transplanting the breadfruit plant from the island of Tahiti to [[Jamaica]].

The ''Bounty'' carried 46 men altogether, which also included naval Master John Fryer and also Fletcher Christian, a personal friend of Bligh’s. There was also a botanist from [[Kew Gardens]], David Nelson, who was given the special task of taking care of the breadfruit when they arrived at Tahiti.

After numerous delays, the ''Bounty'' departed England on December 23rd, 1987. After battling severe storms she stopped at the island of [[Tenerife ]] in the [[Azores ]] from January 6th, 1788 until January 11th, 1788 before continuing on. The ''Bounty'' tried to enter the [[Pacific ]] via [[Cape Horn]], on the southern tip of [[South America ]] between March 28th and April 22nd, 1788 but terrible weather drove her back, and the ship turned and headed for the [[Cape of Good Hope ]] where it arrived on May 24th, 1788 and damages were repaired. The ''Bounty'' departed there on July 1st, 1788 and crossed the Indian Ocean, stopping briefly in Adventure Bay in [[Tasmania ]] between August 21st, 1788 and September 4th, 1788 in order to resupply. Taking a southerly route from there, the ''Bounty'' passed well south of [[New Zealand]], and discovered the remote Bounty Islands on September 19th. The ''Bounty'' finally arrived in Tahiti on October 26th, 1788. On the outward voyage, only one man died as a result of an illness.

After filling the ship with supplies and breadfruit, Bligh turned the ''Bounty'' towards home and departed Tahiti on April 4th, 1789 heading towards [[Indonesia]]. The ship stopped at several islands on the way, but on the island of [[Nomuka ]] (which is part of present-day [[Tonga]]) there were thefts and misunderstandings, resulting in a major falling-out with the locals. In the early morning of April 28th, 1789, several of the crew, headed by Fletcher Christian (who was now more or less Bligh’s second-in-command) and Charles Churchill (the ships Master-at-Arms) seized the ship and set Bligh and 18 loyal crew (including the Master, John Fryer, and David Nelson the expeditions botanist) adrift in the 23-foot ships launch (Bligh managed to navigate the launch and the crew safely to the island of Timor, with the loss of only one man to hostile Tongans). The remaining mutineers and loyalists remained on the ''Bounty'', which turned and headed back towards Tahiti.

After setting Bligh and his crew adrift, the mutineers took the ''Bounty'' to the island of [[Tubuai]], where, despite a hostile welcome, it was decided to settle there. They sailed the ''Bounty'' to Tahiti for women, men and supplies, then headed back to Tubuai where they attempted to settle. Between June 23rd and September 17th, 1789, the crew of the ''Bounty'' tried to settle on the generally hostile island and even managed to build a fort before the project was abandoned. On returning to Tahiti, the crew were divided. 16 men (Churchill among them) stayed on Tahiti, while the remaining 9 (which included Christian) set sail with 6 Polynesian men and 12 Polynesian women (and one baby girl) in order to find a permanent home. To add to the crimes of the mutineers, some of the Polynesians were abducted.

Between October 22nd, 1789 and January 15th, 1790, the ''Bounty'' went on a months-long Odyssey around the Pacific, and was possibly the first European ship to stop at the island of [[Rarotonga]]. Finding no uninhabited island that had fresh water, the ''Bounty'' eventually went in search of the previously elusive Pitcairn Island.

The remains of the ''Bounty'' has been the subject of salvage since she was destroyed. Despite the erroneous claims of [[National Geographic ]] writer Luis Marden, the ''Bounty'' wreck had been the focus of salvage for a long time before he arrived on Pitcairn in 1957. He was, however, the first person to dive on the wreck with an aqua-lung.