The Era of Exploration: Breadfruit’s Journey to the Caribbean

How Did Breadfruit End Up in the Caribbean?

Breadfruit isn’t native to the Caribbean. European colonizers recognized the value of breadfruit in the Caribbean because it was abundant and thrived in the warm, humid climate. Plus, it would be a cheaper option to feed the enslaved people on the islands. 

 

Most of breadfruit’s early travel to the Caribbean is explained through the story of Captain Bligh’s expedition to St. Vincent. In 1787, following his promotion to Captain, he was assigned a mission to transport breadfruit from Tahiti to the Caribbean aboard his ship called the “Bounty.” With no marines aboard to enforce Bligh’s authority, the ship maintained unclear order. They arrived in Tahiti ten months after leaving England, but breadfruit wasn’t in season, so the crew had to stay an extra five months on the island. During this time, the crewmen were enamored with island life, enjoying the culture and even taking on Tahitian wives. However, as breadfruit’s fruiting season rolled around, they weren’t prepared to go back to a stricter mariner life. (Fig. 3)

 

The master’s mate, the person who answers to the sailing master, Fletcher Christain, had already conflicted with Captain Bligh since their expedition began. In the middle of the night on April 28, 1789, the mutiny aboard the Bounty began. Christian, along with 18 of his supporters, forced Bligh and 18 of his supporters onto the deck of the Bounty. Bligh and his men were forced onto the launch of the Bounty, where they were left in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

 

Bligh made do with the limited materials he and his men were left with and headed to the island of Tofua in search of resources. Bligh and the remainder of his crew headed back to England to report the mutiny to the British Royal Navy. 

 

Bligh was tried and acquitted for the loss of the Bounty, but was allowed to restart another mission to Tahiti. In August of 1791, Bligh was back on the seas, this time with two ships, Providence and Assistance. Bligh’s second attempt proved successful, as he was able to transfer an entire cargo-load of breadfruit to the shores of St. Vincent and even returned to Britain with samples of ackee from Jamaica. 

 

Details of Captain Bligh’s expedition and the Mutiny on the Bounty are mentioned in Camps in the Caribbees: The Adventures of a Naturalist in the Lesser Antilles by Frederick A. Ober. I found it interesting that Ober shed light on something like the narrative behind how breadfruit ended up in the Caribbean. This connects to the Co-Founder of the ECDA, Dr. Aljoe’s term: embedded slave narratives. The term itself suggests that there is much more information present within works like Ober’s that present more compelling information about the past of the Caribbean. It’s important to recognize the fact that breadfruit is not native to the islands, but it, along with many other well-known plant species, has been forced onto and embedded in Caribbean ecosystems by European colonizers.