Series 45: 'Plan for the Voyage with Letters from various persons who interferd in the management of it', being papers concerning preparations for the breadfruit voyage of HMS Bounty, William Bligh, 1787

SAFE/Banks Papers/Series 45 (Safe 1/457)

series

1787

1296726

Digitised

14 documents

Sir Joseph Banks, with the endorsement of Evan Nepean, Under Secretary of the Home Office, was responsible for preparing plans for a voyage to transport breadfruit from the East Indies to the West Indies. The administrative arrangements involved him in procuring, equipping and fitting out a suitable vessel, HMS Bethia renamed HMS Bounty, for the voyage. Banks was also responsible for preparing official instructions for the voyage

The original plan directed that a vessel be detached by Governor Arthur Phillip from the colony at New South Wales to procure, as well as breadfruit and other useful plants from the East Indies, flax plants from New Zealand. Later revisions of the plans resulted in the outfitting of a separate expedition direct from England, under the command of William Bligh.

Subjects:
Bligh, William, 1754-1817
Bounty (ship)
Breadfruit - Pacific Ocean - transportation
Breadfruit - West Indies

Most of these documents were previously located at ML A78-4. Document 3 was previously located at ML A79-2. These papers, purchased in 1884 from Lord Brabourne by Sir Saul Samuel, the Agent-General for New South Wales, were transferred to the Mitchell Library in 1910. They were part of the accession which became known as the Brabourne collection

It is now not possible to reconstruct Banks' original arrangement, the series has therefore been arranged chronologically