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Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian seized command of the ship from William Bligh on 28 April 1789. ==Early life== Christian was born on 25 September 1764, at his family home of Moorland Close, Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth in Cumberland. Fletcher's father's side had originated from the Isle of Man and most of his paternal great-grandfathers were historic Deemsters, their original family surname McCrystyn. Fletcher was the brother to Edward and Humphrey, being the three sons of Charles Christian of Moorland Close and of the large Ewanrigg Hall estate in Dearham, Cumberland, an attorney-at-law descended from Manx gentry, and his wife Ann Dixon.〔Glynn Christian, ''Fragile Paradise: The discovery of Fletcher Christian, Bounty mutineer''; 2nd ed. (U.S.A.: Bounty Books, 2005), p. 11.〕〔(Charles Christian ) at thepeerage.com, accessed 28 May 2010〕 Charles's marriage to Ann brought with it the small property of Moorland Close, "a quadrangle pile of buildings ... half castle, half farmstead." The property can be seen to the north of the Cockermouth to Egremont A5086 road. Charles died in 1768 when Fletcher was not yet four. Ann proved herself grossly irresponsible with money. By 1779, when Fletcher was fifteen, Ann had run up a debt of nearly £6,500 (equal to £ today),〔 and faced the prospect of debtors' prison. Moorland Close was lost and Ann and her three younger children were forced to flee to the Isle of Man, to their relative's estate, where English creditors had no power. The three elder Christian sons managed to arrange a £40 (equal to £ today) per year annuity for their mother, allowing the family to live in genteel poverty. Christian spent seven years at the Cockermouth Free School from the age of nine. One of his younger contemporaries there was Cockermouth native William Wordsworth. It is commonly misconceived that the two were 'school friends'; Christian was six years the senior of the future Poet Laureate. His mother Ann died on the Isle of Man in 1819. He appeared in 1783, now eighteen years old, on the muster rolls of outward bound for a 21-month voyage to India. The ship's muster shows Christian's conduct was more than satisfactory because "some seven months out from England, he had been promoted from midshipman to master's mate". Christian twice sailed to Jamaica with Bligh. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fletcher Christian」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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