HOLIDAYS WITH A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
According to Oleg Loginov.
January 23 – BOUNTY DAY IN AUSTRALIA
Drawing by Newell Wyeth. «Mutiny on the Bounty»
On April 28, 1789, there was a mutiny on the Bounty — an uprising of part of the crew on the British ship Bounty during an expedition for a breadfruit tree in the Pacific Ocean. The mutiny against Captain William Bligh was led by his assistant, Fletcher Christian.
A painting by Robert Dodd. «The rebels are disembarking Captain Bligh and part of the crew from the Bounty into the boat. April 28, 1789»
Captain Bly, who was landed by the rebels in a boat together with loyal crew members, overcame over 6,710 km and miraculously escaped.
Peter Jackson. «Mutiny on the Bounty»
Fletcher Christian and the rest of the rebel team tried to establish their own colony on one of the islands, but after bloody disputes, the rebels split up — some of them, led by Christian, settled on Pitcairn Island, and the rest remained in Tahiti, where they were arrested, returned to England and put on trial. Those who settled on Pitcairn Island were discovered only in 1808 by an American ship. The story of the uprising received great publicity in the UK, acquired romantic and adventurous features, and became the main theme of several plays, books and poems.
«Bounty Day is celebrated on the Pitcairn Islands on January 23, the anniversary of the arrival of the rebels on the island and their burning of the remains of the ship, and on Norfolk Island — on June 8, the anniversary of the arrival of the descendants of the rebels from Pitcairn Island.
On January 23, 1790, the Bounty, on board of which, in addition to 9 crew members, there were 11 Tahitian women, 6 Tahitian men and 1 child, approached the shores of Pitcairn Island. The crew and passengers of the Bounty became the first inhabitants of the island. In memory of this event, the Bounty Day was established, which has the status of an official holiday on the Pitcairn Islands.
Various events are held in honor of the holiday (for example, rowing competitions). The culmination of the holiday is always the evening burning of a miniature replica of the Bounty ship in the waters of Bounty Bay. It is intended to remind that the rebels burned the ship after arriving on the islands.
To date, the Pitcairn Islands are the most sparsely populated in the world: its population as of 2011 was only 67 people. Therefore, we can say that everyone from young to old participates in the holiday.
*Texts from Wikipedia and other Internet resources were used.
*Translated using an electronic dictionary. The original text in Russian and much more on the criminal topic can be selected on the main page of the site — http://crimerecords.info/
