We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Warfare

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is a Mutiny?

Mary McMahon
By
Updated: May 23, 2024
Views: 15,790
Share

A mutiny is an organized group rebellion against established authority, usually with an aspect of conspiracy among the organizers. The term is usually used in the context of the military, since it has a clear chain of authority that is remarkably easy to disrupt in this way. It is also used to discuss rebellions on ships, which have an organizational system similar to that used in the military. Usually, a mutiny arises because of grievances on the part of the mutineers.

The word comes from an obsolete English verb, “mutine,” taken from the French mutiner, “to revolt.” The concept has existed long before the word itself, however. Historical documentations of mutinies date back to Ancient Greek and Roman times, when soldiers and mercenaries sometimes turned on their superior officers for various reasons. Historically, these acts have been severely punished to discourage imitators.

Typically, a mutiny includes several organizers and a group of people whom the organizers have managed to ally to their cause. The rebellion may involve violence, as was the case with the mutiny on the Bounty, or it may be bloodless, in the instance of soldiers refusing to take up arms in the trenches of the First World War. The power of a the rebellion lies in its contraversion of authority, which can be terrifying for a government or ship captain, since it entirely disrupts what was thought to be a static system. The threat has the potential to severely destabilize an entire government, if carried out on a large enough scale.

A mutiny is most successful when it involves a large group of actors, since it impresses authority figures with its seriousness. A small uprising with only a few individuals can also be quickly put down and hushed up, while a larger mutiny will attract attention and potential additional mutineers. Modern militaries have measures in place to prevent rebellions, including more reasonable working conditions. As a result, group acts of mutiny are rare, although individual acts of insubordination certainly still occur.

Often, a mutiny resembles a strike, since it is intended to result in better working conditions. Especially on board ship, men often held them to get better food or shorter working hours. In other cases, it is intended to overthrow the existing authority, an act that might more closely resemble piracy. A strike is potentially much easier to deal with, since individuals in charge may be able to meet the demands of a mutineers without compromising themselves.

Share
Historical Index is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a Historical Index researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Related Articles

Discussion Comments
By titans62 — On Oct 13, 2011

@Izzy78 - I would think that some of the people that mutinied would do so in order to save their unit and not necessarily care about what happens to them.

In order to successfully mutiny everyone has agree with the problems at hand or allow it to happen and act like they did not know what was going on. If there is an inept leader that is simply leading men to their deaths with little pay off then a small group of people or even one person may mutiny in order to save their comrades in the future.

I do not know of an instance where an entire unit was prosecuted for committing mutiny, there could be instances of this happening, but I am sure that the military would think twice about executing an entire unit, because at that point it is obvious that the commanding officer was the problem and they all believed that he or she was.

By Izzy78 — On Oct 12, 2011

Anytime I think of mutinies I think of why the soldiers, under threat of execution, would attempt to overthrow and take over command of themselves, even though high command would eventually find out what happened.

I guess it may have something to do with either inept leadership or military leaders looking to sacrifice as many men as possible in order to achieve victory. I heard that this was a problem in Vietnam as inexperienced officers would send dozens of men to their deaths to simply win a battle for a small hill that had little strategic advantage.

I guess it could come down to the overall mood of the people fighting and if they think it is worth sacrificing or endangering their lives to achieve the goal of a leader. If their leader is doing a terrible job and their lives are on the line because of such they may think about getting rid of their leader and committing mutiny.

I still do not understand why they would do so knowing the penalties involved with mutiny and also knowing that they almost certainly will not get away with it.

By JimmyT — On Oct 11, 2011

@kentuckycat - Many people did commit fragging and this is probably the most modern common occurrence at least in the United States military in modern wars. Mutiny on ships almost never happens anymore, but back in Vietnam fragging and mutinies were common due to problems with the United States military handing officer titles to way too many people that were under-qualified.

Lieutenant George Calley, infamously know for the ordering the killing of over one-hundred civilians in the My Lai Massacre, was an example of an officer who was threatened with fragging on multiple occasions by his troops, due to his inept leadership and personified the problems with attempted mutinies during the Vietnam War.

By kentuckycat — On Oct 10, 2011

A mutiny on the high seas can be similar to fragging in the Vietnam war. Fragging is when the soldiers of a unit purposely put a live grenade in their commanding officers backpack or sleeping bag with intent to kill. Usually this was done because of the influx of inexperienced and under-qualified officers making terrible and nearly suicidal decisions that would lead men to death. This could definitely be considered and classified as a mutiny, but it was done to try and prevent an inept leader from making some horrible decision, leading many men to their deaths. Most of the men that did try fragging their officers were prosecuted and a few were given the death penalty under committing an act of mutiny.

By Monika — On Oct 10, 2011

One famous victim of mutiny is the explorer Henry Hudson, of the Hudson River fame. When the mutiny occurred, Hudson was on a voyage looking to discover the Northwest Passage to Asia.

His crew had stayed the winter on the shores of the Hudson Bay. Hudson himself wanted to continue exploring the Hudson Bay after the winter was over, in hopes of finding the Northwest Passage.

Hudson's crew wanted to go home instead. They were unable to convince Hudson, so they mutinied and took the ship. They left Hudson, his son, and a few other crew members marooned on a boat with some supplies in the Hudson bay. No one ever heard from Hudson again.

Meanwhile, the crew members weren't punished as mutineers once they got back to England, because they had too much valuable information about sea routes in "the New World."

When I learned about this story in school, it really captured my imagination. I always imagined Hudson and his son had lived, and maybe stayed with the Native Americans after that or something.

By SZapper — On Oct 09, 2011

@sunnySkys - While mutiny on ships might not be the same as it was a few hundred years ago, mutiny is still possible today. I looked it up, and members of the military can still commit mutiny and be punished with death.

However, it is only mutiny in the United States military to disobey a lawful order. Also, a mutiny must include a conspiracy. Although a member of the military can obviously get in trouble for refusing to obey and order, for a mutiny to take place several people have to conspire to disobey. Very interesting.

By sunnySkys — On Oct 09, 2011

I think the concept of mutiny is really interesting, especially on a ship. I imagine that if you're on a ship in the middle of nowhere, and you're being mistreated, you probably have little recourse. I can understand people who mutiny as sort of a strike for better working conditions.

However, I can also understand a mutiny at sea could be really dangerous. In the past when there wasn't any way for a police force to reach the ship. If you were a ship captain and your crew commits mutiny, there isn't much you can do about it.

This is probably why mutiny has been punished so severely, historically speaking. I remember reading somewhere that a lot of times, mutineers are punished with death! This was also partly to deter other people from raising a mutiny.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

Learn more
Share
https://www.historicalindex.org/what-is-a-mutiny.htm
Copy this link
Historical Index, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

Historical Index, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.