Beschreibung:

[HMS BOUNTY]. An original cannonball from the HMS Bounty. A rare relic discovered by Tony Probst, a well-known photographer and collector of HMS Bounty relics, that is recognized by the natives as the “island’s ambassador”. 3” diameter. (Severe oxidation and flaking). In 1787, a small merchant vessel under the flag of the Royal Navy was sent to the South Pacific Ocean under the command of William Bligh to acquire breadfruit plants and transport them to the West Indies to be grown as food to feed the large population of slaves. On 28 April 1789, Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate, led a successful mutiny against Captain Bligh due to the harsh 4,000 mile voyage and the captain’s oppression of those under him. The mutineers landed on Pitcairn Island on 15 January 1790 after having taken the Bounty from Bligh and his officers which were sent adrift in the middle of the Pacific (although sent out to their death sentence, the men reached the East Indies after a voyage of roughly 3600 miles and returned to England to soon set tail again to Tahiti). The remoteness of the island and its abundance of natural resources proved an ideal place to make a permanent settlement. To prevent the mutineers escaping, the Bounty was destroyed by fire on 23 January 1790, after having been stripped of everything that might be useful to the settlers. Today, around 40 people live on Pitcairn Island, and all but a handful are descendants of the Bounty mutineers. With Certificate of Authenticity signed by Probst.