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John Adams (mutineer)
Encyclopedia
John Adams was the last survivor of the Bounty mutineers
who settled on Pitcairn Island in January 1790, the year after the mutiny. His real name was John Adams; He used the name Alexander Smith until he was discovered in 1808 by Captain Mayhew Folger of the ship Topaz. His children used the surname "Adams".
The mutineers of HMS Bounty
and their Tahiti
an companions settled on the island and set fire to the Bounty. The wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay. Although the settlers were able to survive by farming and fishing, the initial period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among the settlers. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills had taken the lives of most of the mutineers and Tahitian men. John Adams, Ned Young
, and Matthew Quintal
were the last three mutineers surviving in 1799 when Adams and Young got the thuggish Quintal drunk and killed him with a hatchet. Adams and Young then turned to the Scriptures using the ship's Bible
as their guide for a new and peaceful society. As a result, Adams and Young embraced Christianity and taught the children to read and write using the Bible. Young eventually died of an asthmatic infection, but Adams continued his work of educating the women and children. The Pitcairners also converted to Christianity
. (The Pitcairners would later convert from their existing form of Christianity to Adventism after a successful Adventist mission in the 1890s.)
The American
sailing ship Topaz
was the first to rediscover Pitcairn in 1808. John Adams was eventually granted amnesty
for the mutiny. On 17 December 1825 Adams was married to Teio, or 'Mary', Teio had already borne Adams' only son, George Adams
in 1804.
The main settlement and capital of Pitcairn, Adamstown
, is named for John Adams.
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Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
who settled on Pitcairn Island in January 1790, the year after the mutiny. His real name was John Adams; He used the name Alexander Smith until he was discovered in 1808 by Captain Mayhew Folger of the ship Topaz. His children used the surname "Adams".
The mutineers of HMS Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
and their Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
an companions settled on the island and set fire to the Bounty. The wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay. Although the settlers were able to survive by farming and fishing, the initial period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among the settlers. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills had taken the lives of most of the mutineers and Tahitian men. John Adams, Ned Young
Ned Young
Edward "Ned" Young , was a British sailor, mutineer from the famous HMS Bounty incident, and co-founder of the mutineers' Pitcairn Island settlement. He was noted for his ability to sleep through important events....
, and Matthew Quintal
Matthew Quintal
Matthew Quintal was an Cornish able seaman and mutineer aboard HMS Bounty. His surname was, in all probability, the result of mis-spelling the Cornish surname "Quintrell". He was the last of the mutineers to be murdered on Pitcairn Island...
were the last three mutineers surviving in 1799 when Adams and Young got the thuggish Quintal drunk and killed him with a hatchet. Adams and Young then turned to the Scriptures using the ship's Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
as their guide for a new and peaceful society. As a result, Adams and Young embraced Christianity and taught the children to read and write using the Bible. Young eventually died of an asthmatic infection, but Adams continued his work of educating the women and children. The Pitcairners also converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. (The Pitcairners would later convert from their existing form of Christianity to Adventism after a successful Adventist mission in the 1890s.)
The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sailing ship Topaz
Mayhew Folger
Mayhew Folger was an American whaler who captained the sealing ship Topaz that rediscovered the Pitcairn Islands in 1808. Only one of 's mutineers was still alive: Alexander Smith, whose alias was John Adams....
was the first to rediscover Pitcairn in 1808. John Adams was eventually granted amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
for the mutiny. On 17 December 1825 Adams was married to Teio, or 'Mary', Teio had already borne Adams' only son, George Adams
George Adams (magistrate)
George Adams was the only son of the Bounty Mutineer John Adams. He was born to his partner Teio, who had once been the partner of William McCoy and was the mother-in-law of Charles Christian, on Pitcairn Island...
in 1804.
The main settlement and capital of Pitcairn, Adamstown
Adamstown, Pitcairn Island
Adamstown is the only settlement on, and as such, the capital of, the Pitcairn Islands.-Geography:The settlement is located on the central-north side of the island of Pitcairn, facing the Pacific Ocean and close to the Bounty Bay, the only seaport of the island.-Overview:Adamstown has a population...
, is named for John Adams.
Further reading
- Conway, Christiane (2005). Letters from the Isle of Man - The Bounty-Correspondence of Nessy and Peter Heywood. The Manx Experience. ISBN 1-873120-77-X.
External links
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