Matthew Quintal

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Matthew Quintal (March 3, 1766 - 1799) was an able seaman and mutineer aboard the HMS Bounty. He was a strong, muscular Cornishman from Padstow, 5 feet 5 inches tall, with fair complexion, light brown hair, strong made, and heavily tattooed on his backside and elsewhere.

His mother died when he was young, and he lived with an uncle for two years. After two years at Plymouth with his father, he shipped aboard the sloop-of-war, 'Nymphas' as servant to his uncle, a gunner. After his uncle's death, he was appointed servant to the Captain of a man-o-war, serving three years. There is no question that he was one of the most violent crewmembers and Pitcairn residents. He had a permanent attachment to Tahiti, and had no particular interest in returning to England. Although it is interesting to note that he, more than any other Pitcairn mutineer, not only named his consort after his mother, but each of his children is named for a member of his family. Not the act of a man with no feelings for family.

On 10 Mar 1788, Quintal became the first person on board the Bounty to feel the lash. Upon complaint to Bligh by Fryer, he was given two dozen lashes for insolence and mutinous behavior. He was the first crewman approached by Christian concerning the mutiny. Initially he was frightened of the possible consequences, but after Martin overheard and agreed, he became an ardent supporter of Christian.

After the Pitcairn landing, he favored destroying the Bounty, and, while the others discussed it, he went below and set the ship on fire. Like McCoy, who appears to have been a friend of his prior to his time on the 'Bounty', the introduction of liquor on Pitcairn affected him badly.

As an instance of his ferocious nature, the story is handed down that one day his wife Tevarua went fishing, and not succeeding in catching enough to satisfy Quintal, he flew into a rage abusing her unendingly, and finally bit off her ear. In 1799, in a drunken rage, he threatened to kill all of Christian's children unless he could take Isabella, his widow, as a wife. Adams and Young refused his demand, and realized that their lives and the lives of many other were in danger, and decided that something had to be done. They invited him to Adams' house, at which time he was set upon and overpowered by the two men. By means of a hatchet, the dreadful work of his execution was soon completed. The dreadful scene was eyewitnessed by 9-year-old Elizabeth Mills.