What Is Bligh's Failure

Arrogance grew within Bligh under his time as Cook's apprentice. He saw Cook at both his best and worst on Cook's final voyage. Bligh believed he what and what not to do depending on the situation. Bligh's hauteur caused him to make ill founded decisions about his crew for the Bounty's voyage to Tahiti. Deciding not to bring any marines, bound by oath to obey him grew to be one of Bligh's most daunting mistakes. Without the marines to back him, Bligh constantly battled to remain in control of his seamen. Also, Bligh brought the least amount of men possible and allowed rule breakers to continue without punishment. With marines and more men, Bligh could have punished his men freely. Captain Cook's punishments affected how Bligh viewed them as well. In the beginning Bligh believed the punishments would harm the coherency of his crew and thus lengthen the trip. The Bounty's mutiny arose from a lack of discipline. The crew feared no punishments because they saw weakness in Bligh's form of leadership. Also, They knew they were irreplaceable. …show more content…
The men followed orders for the time being, believing that Bligh had their best interests in mind. Over time, as jobs were missed, the crew began to realize how little authority Bligh had. After the futile attempts to traverse the ocean South of Cape Horn, the snow and ice forced Bligh to turn back and caused a major decrease in morale throughout the boat. Bligh's arrogance promoted his temptation to not flog his seamen to not stain his perfect record. Eventually, Bligh forced himself to deal with direct punishment rather than lash out with his usual verbal threats. Crimes grew worse, over time, and seamen who Bligh respected as friends began to commit