Return To Tahiti - Bligh's Second Breadfruit Voyage
By Douglas Oliver
Published by Melbourne University Press: Burwood 1988 1st Edition
With Unclipped Dustjacket - 1 Of 1250 Copies
"Return to Tahiti: Bligh's Second Breadfruit Voyage presents a fascinating and often overlooked chapter in the career of Captain William Bligh. While history has long focused on the dramatic mutiny aboard HMS Bounty, Douglas Oliver turns attention to Bligh's successful return voyage to Tahiti in 1791-1793, undertaken after his remarkable survival and return to England. Commissioned once again to transport breadfruit plants to the West Indies, Bligh completed the mission that had eluded him during the ill-fated Bounty expedition, demonstrating the navigational skill, determination, and leadership for which he was respected by many contemporaries.
Drawing extensively upon Bligh's own journals and the writings of his officers, Oliver reconstructs the expedition with particular emphasis on the crew's prolonged stay in Tahiti. The work offers valuable insight into eighteenth-century Polynesian society through the observations of European visitors, exploring Tahitian customs, social structures, daily life, and interactions with the expedition's officers and sailors. By presenting substantial excerpts from original sources alongside informed commentary, Oliver allows readers to encounter both the voyage and Tahiti itself through the eyes of those who experienced it firsthand.
Published as the second volume in the prestigious Miegunyah Press Series, this scholarly yet highly readable work combines maritime history, Pacific exploration, and ethnographic study. Enhanced by illustrations, maps, and reproductions of Lieutenant George Tobin's remarkable watercolours, many reproduced in colour, the book sheds fresh light on both Tahitian culture and the often misunderstood character of William Bligh. Complete with its original unclipped dustjacket, it remains an important contribution to Australian, Pacific, and naval history, offering a richer understanding of the man whose name has become inseparable from the story of the Bounty."
Dustjacket with light wear as shown. Book is very clean with no inscriptions. An excellent copy in very good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
