Mutiny or Murder? The Bloodsoaked Voyage of the Chapman Convict Ship by Conor Reidy

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Marks on right and tail foredges. Lifting of laminate near back cover left corner, now protected with book tape. Body text and binding are still very good.

On 15 March 1817 the convict ship the Chapman departed from Cork, Ireland with 200 male prisoners on board. When it dropped anchor off Sydney Cove four months later, its prison doors opened to reveal 160 gaunt and brutalised men. Twelve were dead, and twenty-eight lay wounded in the hospital below deck.

As officials pieced together the horrors of the voyage, many questions arose. Why did Michael Collins claim that his fellow convicts conspired to take the ship? Why was Captain Drake unable to rein in the violent and sadistic Third Mate Baxter? Was there really an attempted mutiny on the Chapman? Or was this cold-blooded murder?

Using daily crew journals, detailed testimony from several convicts, and official colonial government correspondence, this book unravels what happened during those four months at sea. Tarnished by intrigue, suspicion and mutual hatred, this is the story of one of the darkest episodes in the history of penal transportation between Ireland and Australia.