Mauatua, also Maimiti or Isabella Christian, also known as Mainmast ( 1764 – 19 September 1841) was a Tahitian tapa maker, who settled on

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

with the ''Bounty'' mutineers. She married both

Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during Lieutenant William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti during 1787–1789 for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian sei ...

and

Ned Young The complement of , the Royal Navy ship on which a historic mutiny occurred in the south Pacific on 28 April 1789, comprised 46 men on its departure from England in December 1787 and 44 at the time of the mutiny, including her commander Lieute ...

, and had children with both men. Fine white tapa, which was her specialty, is held in the collections of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and the

Pitt Rivers Museum Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed t ...

, amongst others.

Biography

Whilst the date of Mauatua's birth is not historically recorded, in later life she claimed to have witnessed the arrival of

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

in 1769. This information, combined with an estimate that she was 23 or 24 years old in 1788 when HMS ''Bounty'' arrived, suggests that she was born circa 1764. She was reputedly the daughter of a chief, or at least was born in a high social group. The suffix ''-atua'' means 'for god/gods' and indicates a position within nobility. Fletcher_Christian2

Mauatua left Tahiti with

and the mutineers; before they reached

, they attempted to begin a new settlement at

Tubuai Tubuai or Tupuai is the main island of the Austral Island group, located south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa and the uninhabited Îles Maria. They are part of the Austral Isla ...

. She was the oldest woman to travel with the mutineers, and became a matriarch of the new society that was ultimately founded by them on Pitcairn Island. She married Fletcher Christian, and they had two sons and a daughter. Their sons were Thursday October and Charles Christian; their daughter was called Mary Anne and she was born after her father was murdered on 20 September 1793. After Christian's death, Mauatua became the partner of

Edward Young Edward Young (c. 3 July 1683 – 5 April 1765) was an English poet, best remembered for ''Night-Thoughts'', a series of philosophical writings in blank verse, reflecting his state of mind following several bereavements. It was one of the mos ...

, with whom she had three children: Edward, Polly, and Dorothea. Along with the other Polynesian women, Mauatua brought the practice of beating

tapa cloth Tapa cloth (or simply ''tapa'') is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and H ...

to Pitcairn. They adapted the process to reflect the natural materials they had access to. During her lifetime, she gave tapa that she had made as gifts, including a bale of the cloth to Frances Heywood, wife of naval officer and mutineer,

Peter Heywood Peter Heywood (6 June 1772 – 10 February 1831) was a British naval officer who was on board during mutiny on the Bounty, the mutiny of 28 April 1789. He was later captured in Tahiti, tried and condemned to death as a mutineer, but subseq ...

. From surviving examples and contemporary observations, it appears that Mauatua specialised in making a fine white tapa. In 1831 Mauatua was part of the group who returned to Tahiti, landing there, according to historian Henry Maude, on 23 March 1831. Many of the group were killed by infectious diseases they had no immunity to – this included her son Thursday October. She returned to Pitcairn Island the same year. According to her descendant, Glyn Christian, Mauatua was instrumental in having the right to vote for women on Pitcairn made into law in 1838. Mauatua died on 19 September 1841 after catching

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. After her death,

Teraura Teraura, also Susan or Susannah Young ( – July 1850), was a Tahitian woman who settled on Pitcairn Island with the ''Bounty'' Mutineers. She took part in Ned Young's plot to murder male Polynesians who had travelled on HMS ''Bounty'' and kill ...

remained as the only survivor of the original settlers and the island's oldest inhabitant.

Legacy

Many of the families living on

and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

can trace their ancestry back to Mauatua. Three examples of

made by Mauatua are held in the collections of the

and at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

in London. Examples made by her daughters Polly and Dorothea (Dolly) are found in collections of the Turnbull Library in New Zealand and the

in Oxford, respectively. Cloth made by her great-granddaughter, Helena Beatrice Young, is also held at both the British Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum. Mauatua's craft as a tapa beater inspires the work of her descendant Jean Clarkson, whose work is held in the collection of

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

In popular culture

In the 1984 film '' The Bounty,'' Mauatua was played by Tevaite Vernette. In the film, the romance between her and Christian is portrayed as a cause of the mutiny. In the 1962 film ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

'' she was played by

Tarita Teriipaia Tarita Teriipaia (born 29 December 1941) is a French retired actress of French Polynesian and Chinese descent most famous for having been the third wife of actor Marlon Brando, whom she later divorced. For media and entertainment appearances and ...

, who received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In ''

'' (1935),

Mamo Clark Mamo or woowoo is a common name for two species of extinct birds. Together with the extant ʻIʻiwi they make up the genus ''Drepanis''. These nectarivorous finches were endemic to Hawaii but are now extinct. The Hawaiian name may be relat ...

acted in the role. Mauatua is the subject of several books, including a biography of her and Fletcher Christian by her great-great-great-great-grandson Glyn Christian. He also wrote a work of historical fiction based on her life. A novelisation of her life, and that of the other Polynesian women to live on Pitcairn, entitled ''Transit of Venus,'' was written by another descendant,

Rowan Metcalfe Rowan Metcalfe (1955–2003), also known as Rowan Pahutini, was a New Zealand novelist, short-story writer, poet, editor and journalist. She won the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award for a short story in 1997, having won the Young Writers awar ...

, and published posthumously. The artist Pauline Thompson, who was also a descendant, created several paintings inspired by Mauatua's life and those of other Pitcairn Islander women.

References

External links

IMDB IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Tevaite Vernette: Mauatua
*

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

The Bounty (movie 1984) – Fletcher follows Mauatua on the beach
{{Authority control 1760s births 1841 deaths Weavers Pitcairn Islands people of Polynesian descent Pitcairn Islands people Tahitian women Suffragists Deaths from influenza