July 26, 2021

Bligh's Breadfruit Ships: The Bounty and Providence

14 minutes

The Caribbean had a food supply problem for their enslaved population. Planters petitioned the government to bring back breadfruit trees from the newly "discovered" Polynesian islands- namely Tahiti. Capt Bligh was tasked to undertake this long mission to bring back seedlings on his plant nursery ships. The mission went terribly wrong the first try before he gave it another go. This expedition introduced many beloved foods which are now staples in the Jamaican diet.

Resources:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/breadfruit-and-the-bounty-that-brought-it-across-the-ocean

“Bastard Breadfruit and Other Cheap Provisions: Early Food Science for the Welfare of the Lower Orders.” Early Science and Medicine, vol. 21, no. 5, 2016, pp. 492–508. www.jstor.org/stable/44490835.

“3. Banks and Breadfruit.” RSA Journal, vol. 141, no. 5444, 1993, pp. 817–820. www.jstor.org/stable/41376302.

“4. Bligh's Successful Breadfruit Voyage.” RSA Journal, vol. 141, no. 5444, 1993, pp. 821–824. www.jstor.org/stable/41376303.

“The Voyage of the Plant Nursery, H.M.S. Providence, 1791-1793.” Economic Botany, vol. 31, no. 4, 1977, pp. 387–431. www.jstor.org/stable/4253870.

“Voyages of the Bounty.” The Sewanee Review, vol. 115, no. 3, 2007, pp. 462–469. www.jstor.org/stable/40211620.

Captain Bligh's Second Voyage to the South Sea. http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks12/1204361h.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/01/origins-most-popular-caribbean-foods/579052/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/captain-blighs-cursed-breadfruit-41433018/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-real-story-behind-infamous-mutiny-hms-bounty

https://jis.gov.jm/information/symbols/jamaican-national-fruit-ackee/

Intro & outro music: Music: Dutty - Vibe Tracks https://youtu.be/YeHqPHl1114

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By Danielle Barnett

22 ratings