The Bounty story teems with fascinating characters. When I began this work I did not expect so many of them to demand my attention, but I soon realised that they all had something to contribute to understanding the mutiny and events that followed.
For those interested in the history of Tahiti, all the relationships and genealogies mentioned are drawn from historical fact.
Bounty descendants will be able to identify their own ancestors among the crowd. The unrelated reader may enter into the story without being overly concerned with the many details of relationship. The important people will stand out.
It has often been said that Mauatua was a ‘chief’s daughter’, or, by the romantically inclined, a ‘Tahitian princess’. This is not strictly true, but there is no doubt that she had close blood ties with the ruling powers of the time.
I took the liberty of inventing three characters: Hinuia the priestess, Maunu, the mahu servant, and Rehua, Mauatua’s Tahitian lover. I did this to elucidate the events and fill gaps in the history.
Apart from these three, every other character mentioned was an actual person.
Note that in Tahitian, as in all Maohi languages, the words for cousin and sister, or cousin and brother, are the same. Also note that it was common practice for Tahitians to change their names, usually to mark an important event or change in status. For example, the chief Tu changed his name to Taina after the birth of his first son, and Mauatua changed her name to Maimiti around the time of the mutiny. Most of the characters in the book changed their name at least once during the course of events, including the mutineer Aleck Smith, who mysteriously became John Adams on Pitcairn.
Adams
The name adopted or reverted to by Alexander Smith, ABS on the Bounty. Died on Pitcairn in 1829.
Aimata
lit. ‘Eater of Eyes’, traditional Tahitian name of Pomare Vahine, Queen of Tahiti in 1831.
Aleck
Alexander Smith, see above. On Pitcairn was known as John Adams.
Auo
Younger sister of the chief Tu/Taina, of Pare. Cousin of Mauatua/Maimiti.
Ari’ipaea
Younger brother of chief Tu/Taina.
Eti
Edward Young, midshipman on the Bounty.
Fataua
Older sister of the chief Tu/Taina, of Pare. Cousin of Mauatua/Maimiti.
Hinuia
A priestess in the service of Mauatua/Maimiti’s grandmother.
Itia
High chiefess of Pare by her marriage to Tu/Taina.
Mai
A native of Huahine who travelled to England with Cook and returned to Tahiti two years later.
Manari’i
A young Tahitian man who accompanied the Bounty to Pitcairn. Murdered there in 1793.
Maoiti
Birth mother of Mauatua/Maimiti.
Mareiti
Mauatua/Maimiti’s father’s second wife.
Margaret
A granddaughter of Mauatua/Maimiti, daughter of Charles Christian and Sully, born in 1822.
Mauatua
A young woman of the chiefly family of Matavai, with blood connections to the high chief Tu, of Pare. Later known as Maimiti, or Mainmast, and by Fletcher Christian as Isabella. Died on Pitcairn in 1841.
Maunu
A personal servant of Mauatua/Maimiti’s grandmother, and later of Itia.
McCoy, William
A Scottish ABS on the Bounty. Died on Pitcairn in 1797.
Nari’i
An aunt to Mauatua/Maimiti by marriage.
Niau
A Tahitian boy, killed on Pitcairn around 1793.
Oha
A young man who joined the Bounty at Tupuai, as companion to Titahiti.
Pani
Joseph Banks, scientist and gentleman, Cook’s patron on the Endeavour voyage.
Parai
Captain Bligh.
Purea
A high chiefess of southern Tahiti who was seeking to extend her power and prestige
during the first visits by European ships.
Quintal, Matthew
A Cornish ABS on the Bounty. Murdered there in 1799.
Rehua
Mauatua/Maimiti’s lover, from the island of Aimeo (Moorea).
Sully
The daughter of Teio, who was born on Tahiti and went to Pitcairn as a baby. Died on Pitcairn in 1826.
Taina
Name adopted by the chief Tu, of Pare, after the birth of his first son.
Tapuetefa
An uncle to Mauatua/Maimiti.
Tararo
A chief from Raiatea who joined the Bounty.
Tatahe
Mauatua/Maimiti’s younger cousin, son of Tapuetefa and Nari’i.
Tautoia
Oldest uncle of Mauatua/Maimiti, who inherited the chiefdom of Matavai but died in battle.
Te Aha Huri Fenua
Father of Mauatua/Maimiti.
Teio
A girl from Pare, known on Pitcairn as Mary. Died there in 1829.
Teraura
A girl from Matavai, bond sister, or closest friend, of Mauatua/Maimiti. Known later on Pitcairn as Susannah. Died there in 1850.
Tetua Avari’i
Mauatua/Maimiti’s maternal grandmother, born on Aimeo.
Tevarua
A girl from Matavai, known on Pitcairn as Sarah. Died by falling from the cliffs there in 1799.
Thursday October
The first child born on Pitcairn, in 1790, son of Mauatua/Maimiti and Fletcher Christian. Died on Tahiti in 1831.
Ti’ipari’i
Mauatua/Maimiti’s maternal grandfather, old chief of Matavai and Haapape.
Tinafanea
A young woman from the island of Tupuai, who joined the Bounty.
Titahiti
A Tupuaian chief’s son who accompanied the Bounty to Pitcairn.
Titriano
Transliteration of Christian. Fletcher Christian, Manxman, first mate on the Bounty. Murdered on Pitcairn in 1793.
Toofaiti
A girl from the island of Huahine, known on Pitcairn as Nancy. Died on Tahiti in
1831.
Torano
Transliteration of Solander, Cook’s botanist on the Endeavour.
Tu
High chief of Pare, cousin of Mauatua/Maimiti, later known as Taina, then King Pomare 1.
Tuaonoa
A young ari’i woman of Tahiti. Her full name was Teehuteatuaonoa. Known on Pitcairn as Jenny. Left Pitcairn aboard a whaling ship in 1817. No descendants known.
Tupaia
A priest of Tahiti who sailed with Cook to Aotearoa but died en route to England.
Tute
Captain Cook.
Vaetua
Younger brother of the chief Tu/Taina, of Pare. Cousin of Mauatua/Maimiti.
Vahineatua
A young woman of Matavai. Known later on Pitcairn as Prudence. Died on Tahiti in 1831.
Vehiatua
Chief of the Taiarapu peninsula, often at war with the other chiefs of Tahiti during
Mauatua/Maimiti’s childhood.
Williams, Jack
ABS on the Bounty, native of Guernsey. Murdered on Pitcairn in 1793.