|
In 1789,
a descendant of a prominent Manx family named Fletcher Christian
lead the famous mutiny on board the HMS Bounty, casting Captain
William Bligh (who himself was married to a Manx woman) and
his supporters off in the ship’s 23 foot launch in the
middle of the South Pacific. Against the odds, Bligh managed
to navigate the launch more than 3,600 miles back to civilisation,
whilst Christian and his mutineers ended up establishing a settlement
on the remote Pitcairn Islands. |
| HMS Bounty |
In 1805, Manxman Capt. John Quilliam served on board HMS Victory
at the battle of Trafalgar as 1st Lieutenant to Admiral Nelson.
After the wheel had suffered damage, he personally devised and
operated a rigging which could steer the tiller from below deck,
and thus became known as the man who steered HMS Victory to
victory.
|
 |
| HMS Victory |
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The seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries saw the Isle of Man became an active
centre for smuggling, due to HM Customs & Excises officers
being unable to effectively assert their authority in the autonomous
jurisdiction. |
| |
| In 2005, the Isle of Man Steam Packet
Co. Ltd celebrates their 175th anniversary as the oldest continuously
operating passenger shipping company in the world. |
 |
| Ben my Chree of The Isle of Man Steam
Packet Company Ltd |
