Rum Rebellion

The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a coup d'état in the British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, its name derives from the illicit rum trade of early Sydney, over which the 'Rum Corps', as it became known, maintained a monopoly. During the first half of the 19th century, it was widely referred to in Australia as the Great Rebellion.

Bligh, a former Royal Navy captain known for his overthrow in the mutiny on the Bounty, had been appointed governor in 1805 to rein in the power of the Corps. Over the next two years, Bligh made enemies not only of Sydney's military elite, but several prominent civilians, notably John Macarthur, who joined Major George Johnston in organising an armed takeover. On 26 January 1808, 400 soldiers marched on Government House and arrested Bligh. He was kept in confinement in Sydney, then aboard a ship off Hobart, Van Diemen's Land, for the next two years while Johnston acted as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales. The military remained in control until the 1810 arrival from Britain of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, who took over as governor.

William Bligh succeeded Philip Gidley King. Bligh was well known for his overthrow in the mutiny on the Bounty. It is likely that he was deliberately selected by the British government because of his reputation as a "hard man" and was expected to have a good chance of reining in the maverick New South Wales Corps; something that his predecessors had not been able to do. Bligh left for Sydney with his daughter, Mary Putland, and her husband, Lieutenant John Putland, while Bligh's wife remained in England.

Even before his arrival, Bligh's style of governance led to problems with his subordinates. The Admiralty gave command of the storeship HMS Porpoise and the convoy to the lower-ranked Captain Joseph Short, while Bligh took command of a transport ship. This led to quarrels which eventually resulted in Captain Short firing across Bligh's bow in an attempt to force Bligh to obey his signals. When this failed, Short tried to give an order to Lieutenant Putland to stand by to fire on Bligh's ship. Bligh boarded Porpoise and seized control of the convoy.

When they arrived in Sydney, Bligh, backed up by statements from two of Short's officers, had Short stripped of the captaincy of Porpoise – which he gave to his son-in-law, cancelled the 240-hectare (600-acre) land grant Short had been promised as payment for the voyage, and shipped him back to England for court-martial. Short was acquitted. The president of the court, Sir Isaac Coffin, wrote to the Admiralty and made several serious accusations against Bligh, including that he had influenced the officers to testify against Short. Bligh's wife obtained a statement from one of the officers denying this, and Banks and other supporters of Bligh lobbied successfully against his recall as governor.

Soon after his arrival at Sydney, in August 1806, Bligh was given an address of welcome signed by Major George Johnston for the military, by Richard Atkins for the civilian officers, and by John Macarthur for the free settlers. However, not long after, Bligh also received addresses from the free and freed settlers of Sydney and the Hawkesbury River region, with a total of 369 signatures, many made only with a cross, complaining that Macarthur did not represent them. They blamed him for withholding sheep so as to raise the price of mutton.

One of Bligh's first actions was to use the colony's stores and herds to provide relief to farmers who had been severely affected by flooding on the Hawkesbury River, a situation that had disrupted the barter economy in the colony. Supplies were divided according to those most in need, and provisions were made for loans to be drawn from the store based on capacity to repay. This earned Bligh the gratitude of the farmers, but the enmity of traders in the Corps who had been profiting greatly from the situation.

Under instructions from the Colonial Office, Bligh attempted to normalise trading conditions in the colony by prohibiting the use of spirits as payment for commodities. He communicated his policy to the Colonial Office in 1807, with the advice that his policy would be met with resistance. On 31 December 1807 Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, wrote back to Bligh with instructions to stop the barter of spirits.