Mutiny

Mutiny is a criminal conspiracy among a group of people (typically members of the military or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) to openly oppose, change, or overthrow a lawful authority to which they are subject. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against their superior officers, but it can also occasionally refer to any type of rebellion against an authority figure.

During the Age of Discovery, mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ship's captain. This occurred, for example, during Ferdinand Magellan's journeys around the world resulting in the killing of one mutineer, the execution of another, and the marooning of others; on Henry Hudson's Discovery resulting in Hudson and others being set adrift in a boat; and the notorious mutiny on the Bounty.

Until 1689, mutiny was regulated in England by Articles of War instituted by the monarch and effective only in a period of war. In 1689, the first Mutiny Act was passed which passed the responsibility to enforce discipline within the military to Parliament. The Mutiny Act, altered in 1803, and the Articles of War defined the nature and punishment of mutiny until the latter were replaced by the Army Discipline and Regulation Act in 1879. This, in turn, was replaced by the Army Act in 1881.

Today the Army Act 1955 defines mutiny as follows:

Mutiny means a combination between two or more persons subject to service law, or between persons two at least of whom are subject to service law—

The same definition applies in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

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