The welcome at Tahiti when Bounty returns…
September 1789 CE
The Tahitians have learned from the crew of a visiting British ship that the story of Cook and Bligh founding a settlement in Aitutaki is a fabrication, and that Cook has been long dead.
Christian worries that their reaction might turn violent, and does not stay long.
Of the sixteen men who had voted to settle in Tahiti, he allows fifteen ashore; Joseph Coleman is detained on the ship, as Christian requires his skills as an armorer.
In the evening, Christian inveigles aboard Bounty a party of Tahitians, mainly women, for a social gathering.
With the festivities under way, he cuts the anchor rope and Bounty sails away with her captive guests.
Coleman escapes by diving overboard and reaches land.