Charles Churchill (mutineer) facts for kids
Charles Churchill (born 1759, died 1790) was the master-at-arms on board the ship HMAV Bounty. He sailed with William Bligh on a trip to Tahiti. Their mission was to collect breadfruit plants and take them to British colonies in the West Indies.
On April 28, 1789, a famous event happened: a mutiny took place on the Bounty. Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian took control of the ship from Bligh. Churchill was an important part of this mutiny. He was one of Christian's supporters who helped arrest Bligh in his cabin.
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Charles Churchill was born in Manchester, England, in 1759. Not much is known about his early life. In 1787, the crew for the Bounty's voyage to Tahiti was being chosen. On September 7, 1787, Churchill joined the ship as the corporal. His job was to help keep order among the crew members.
Desertion During the Bounty Expedition
While the Bounty was in Tahiti, three months before it was set to leave, Churchill and two other crew members, John Millward and William Muspratt, left the ship without permission. This happened on January 5, 1789. They took the ship's small boat, some muskets, and ammunition. Muspratt had recently been punished for not doing his duty.
Captain Bligh wrote about this event in the ship's logbook. He noted that the small boat was missing and three men were gone. He didn't know their plan or where they had gone.
Churchill left some belongings on the Bounty. Among them was a list of names. Bligh thought this list showed other crew members who planned to leave the ship. Bligh later believed that Peter Heywood and Fletcher Christian were on this list.
After three weeks of hiding, Churchill, Millward, and Muspratt were found. When they were brought back to the ship, they received lashes as punishment. Churchill received twelve lashes, while the others received twenty-four each.
Churchill and the other two men wrote a letter to Bligh. They hoped it would help them avoid serious trouble when they returned to England. They thanked Bligh for not sending them to a court-martial. They promised to behave better in the future.
During the Mutiny
On the morning of April 28, 1789, the mutiny began. Churchill was one of the crew members loyal to Fletcher Christian. He entered Bligh's cabin with weapons and forced him onto the ship's deck.
Later, while Bligh was in the Bounty's launch boat, he described Churchill in his notebook. He noted Churchill was 30 years old and 5 feet 10 inches tall. He had fair skin, short light-brown hair, and was bald. Bligh also mentioned that Churchill was strongly built. His left forefinger was bent, and his hands showed marks from a bad burn. He also had tattoos on his body.
On Tahiti and His Fate
After the mutiny, Christian sailed the Bounty to Tahiti one last time before heading to Pitcairn Island. Churchill and fifteen other crew members chose to stay on Tahiti. Churchill found a friend in Vehiatua, a local chief.
Churchill used his experience from the Royal Navy and the weapons from the Bounty. He helped in the conflicts between different island groups. His involvement changed these conflicts, making them more dangerous.
The other Bounty crew members who stayed on Tahiti started to organize their lives. Some tried to build a small ship to sail to the Dutch East Indies and surrender. Others settled into Tahitian life.
However, Churchill and another crew member named Matthew Thompson made poor choices. Their behavior led to both of them dying violently. Churchill was killed by Thompson during an argument over a stolen musket. Then, Thompson was killed by Patiri, a local friend of Churchill's.
Appearances in Film
Charles Churchill has been shown in movies by these actors:
- Pat Flaherty in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
- Liam Neeson in The Bounty (1984)
