The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. During the 19th century it was widely referred to as the Great Rebellion. The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20 years to the day after Arthur Phillip founded European settlement in Australia. Afterwards, the colony was ruled by the military, with the senior military officer stationed in Sydney acting as the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony until the arrival from Britain of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie as the new Governor at the beginning of 1810.
Read more about Rum Rebellion: Appointment As Governor, The Overthrow of Governor Bligh, Aftermath, Causes
Famous quotes containing the words rum and/or rebellion:
“There’s nought, no doubt, so much the spirit calms
As rum and true religion.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Men must be capable of imagining and executing and insisting on social change if they are to reform or even maintain civilization, and capable too of furnishing the rebellion which is sometimes necessary if society is not to perish of immobility.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)