View source for Mutiny

{{Short description|Disobeying of superiors}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Mutineers|other uses|Mutineer (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Army Mutiny|the 1924 event in the Irish Free State|Irish Army Mutiny}}
{{Redirect|Mutiny!|the debut studio album by American rock band Set Your Goals|Mutiny! (Set Your Goals album)|the West End musical|David Essex}}
[[File:Mutiny HMS Bounty.jpg|thumb|An illustration of the [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on the ''Bounty'']]]]

'''Mutiny''' is a [[revolt]] among a group of people (typically of a [[military]] or a [[crew]]) to oppose, change, or remove their superiors or orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, but it can also sometimes mean any type of rebellion against any force. Mutiny does not necessarily need to refer to a military force and can describe a [[political]], [[economic]], or [[power structure]] in which subordinates defy superiors.

During the [[Age of Discovery]], mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ship's [[Captain (nautical)|captain]]. This occurred, for example, during [[Ferdinand Magellan]]'s journeys around the world, resulting in the killing of one mutineer, the [[Capital punishment|execution]] of another, and the [[marooning]] of others; on [[Henry Hudson]]'s ''[[Discovery (1602 ship)|Discovery]]'', resulting in Hudson and others being set adrift in a boat; and the famous [[mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on the ''Bounty'']].

Mutiny is widely considered a serious crime, punishable by imprisonment, [[penal labour]] or death. Failure to prevent or suppress a mutiny may also be punishable depending on the circumstances; negligent failure may result in [[Military discharge|dishonourable discharge]] while wilful failure may bring any punishment including death.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/23-24/123/part/I/crossheading/mutiny/enacted |title=Naval Discipline Act 1860 |website=[[UK National Archives]] |access-date=25 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/894 |title=10 U.S. Code § 894 - Art. 94. Mutiny or sedition |website=[[Cornell Law School]] |access-date=25 April 2025}}</ref> The UK has passed various [[Mutiny Acts]] to establish procedure and punishment, the latest of which is the [[Armed Forces Act 2006]]. Military mutineers are usually tried at [[court martial]], represented by [[counsel]]. [[Piracy|Pirate]] captains have been known to mete out punishment ''[[ad hoc]]'' without [[due process]].

==Penalty==
Those convicted of mutiny often faced [[capital punishment]].

===United Kingdom===
Until 1689, mutiny was regulated in [[Kingdom of England|England]] by ''[[Articles of War]]'' instituted by the monarch and effective only in a period of war. In 1689, the first [[Mutiny Acts|Mutiny Act]] was approved, which passed the responsibility to enforce discipline within the military to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|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 [[Armed Forces Act 2006]] defines mutiny as follows:<ref>{{cite act |title=Armed Forces Act 2006 |pinpoint=s. 6 |institution=Parliament of the United Kingdom |index=c.52 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/52/section/6 |year=2006}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|(2)For the purposes of this section a person subject to service law takes part in a mutiny if—

(a)in concert with at least one other person subject to service law, he—

(i)acts with the intention of overthrowing or resisting authority; or

(ii)disobeys authority in such circumstances as to subvert discipline;

(b)he agrees with at least one other person subject to service law to overthrow or resist authority; or

(c)he agrees with at least one other person subject to service law to disobey authority, and the agreed disobedience would be such as to subvert discipline.}}

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

The military law of England in early times existed, like the forces to which it applied, in a period of war only. Troops were raised for a particular service and were disbanded upon the cessation of hostilities. The crown, by [[prerogative]], made laws known as Articles of War for the government and discipline of the troops while thus embodied and serving. Except for the punishment of desertion, which was made a [[felony]] by statute in the reign of [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]], these ordinances or Articles of War remained almost the sole authority for enforcing discipline until 1689. That year, the first Mutiny Act was passed and the military forces of the crown were brought under the direct control of Parliament. Even the Parliamentary forces in the time of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] and [[Oliver Cromwell]] were governed not by an act of the legislature, but by articles of war similar to those issued by the king and authorized by an ordinance of the Lords and Commons exercising in that respect the sovereign prerogative. This power of law-making by prerogative was however held to be applicable during a state of actual war only, and attempts to exercise it in times of peace were ineffectual. Subject to this limitation, it existed for considerably more than a century after the passing of the first Mutiny Act.

From 1689 to 1803, the Mutiny Act occasionally expired during times of peace. Yet [[statutory power]] was given to the crown to make Articles of War that operated in the [[British Empire|colonies]] and elsewhere beyond the seas in the same manner as those made by prerogative in times of war.

In 1715, in consequence of the rebellion, this power was created in respect of the forces in the kingdom, but apart from and in no respect affected the principle acknowledged all this time that the crown of its mere prerogative could make laws for the government of the army in foreign countries in time of war.

The [[Mutiny Act 1803]] effected a great constitutional change in this respect: the power of the Crown to make any Articles of War became altogether statutory, and the prerogative merged in the act of Parliament. The [[Mutiny Act 1873]] was passed in this manner.

Such matters remained until 1879 when the last Mutiny Act was passed and the last Articles of War were promulgated. The Mutiny Act legislated for offences in respect of which death or penal servitude could be awarded. Meanwhile, the Articles of War, while repeating those provisions of the act, constituted the direct authority for dealing with offences for which imprisonment was the maximum punishment, as well as with many matters relating to trial and procedure.

The act and the articles were found not to harmonize in all respects. Their general arrangement was faulty, and their language sometimes obscure. In 1869, a royal commission recommended that both should be recast in a simple and intelligible shape. In 1878, a committee of the House of Commons endorsed this view and made recommendations for performing the task. In 1879, a measure was passed into law consolidating in one act both the Mutiny Act and the Articles of War, and amending their provisions in certain important respects. This measure was called the Army Discipline and Regulation Act 1879.

After one or two years of experience highlighted the need for improvement, it was superseded by the Army Act 1881, which formed the foundation and main portion of the military law of England. The act contained a proviso saving the right of the crown to make Articles of War, but in such a manner as to render the power in effect a nullity by enacting that no crime made punishable by the act shall be otherwise punishable by such articles. As the punishment of every conceivable offence was provided, any articles made under the act could be no more than an empty formality having no practical effect.

Thus the history of English military law up to 1879 may be divided into three periods, each having a distinct constitutional aspect: (I) prior to 1689, the army, being regarded as so many personal retainers of the sovereign rather than servants of the state, was mainly governed by the will of the sovereign; (2) between 1689 and 1803, the army, being recognised as a permanent force, was governed within the realm by statute and without it by the prerogative of the crown; and (3) from 1803 to 1879, it was governed either directly by statute or by the sovereign under an authority derived from and defined and limited by statute. Although in 1879 the power of making Articles of War became in effect inoperative, the sovereign was empowered to make rules of procedure, having the force of law, to regulate the administration of the act in many matters formerly dealt with by the Articles of War. These rules, however, must not be inconsistent with the provisions of the Army Act itself, and must be laid before parliament immediately after they are made. Thus in 1879, the government and discipline of the army became for the first time completely subject either to the direct action or the close supervision of Parliament.

A further notable change took place at the same time. The Mutiny Act had been brought into force on each occasion for one year only, in compliance with the constitutional theory:
<blockquote>
that the maintenance of a standing army in time of peace, unless with the consent of parliament, is against law. Each session therefore the text of the act had to be passed through both Houses clause by clause and line by line. The Army Act, on the other hand, is a fixed permanent code. But constitutional traditions are fully respected by the insertion in it of a section providing that it shall come into force only by virtue of an annual act of parliament. This annual act recites the illegality of a standing army in time of peace unless with the consent of parliament, and the necessity nevertheless of maintaining a certain number of land forces (exclusive of those serving in India) and a body of royal marine forces on shore, and of keeping them in exact discipline, and it brings into force the Army Act for one year.
</blockquote>

====Sentence====
Until 1998, mutiny and another offence of failing to suppress or report a mutiny were each punishable with death.<ref>{{cite act |url=http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&Year=1955&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&activeTextDocId=2675342&parentActiveTextDocId=2675303&showAllAttributes=1&hideCommentary=0&suppressWarning=0&versionNumber=1 |title=Army Act 1955 |index=c.18 |pinpoint=Part II Discipline and Trial and Punishment of Military Offences |institution=Parliament of the United Kingdom |year=1955}}</ref> Section 21(5) of the [[Human Rights Act 1998]] completely abolished the [[Capital punishment in the United Kingdom|death penalty in the United Kingdom]]. (Prior to this, the death penalty had already been abolished for murder, but it had remained in force for certain military offences and [[treason]], although no executions had been carried out for several decades.) This provision was not required by the [[European Convention on Human Rights]], since Protocol 6 of the Convention permitted the death penalty in time of war, and Protocol 13, which prohibits the death penalty for all circumstances, did not then exist. The government introduced section 21(5) as a late amendment in response to parliamentary pressure.

===United States===
The [[United States]]' [[Uniform Code of Military Justice]] defines mutiny thus:

<blockquote>
:Art. 94. (§ 894.) 2004 Mutiny or [[Sedition]].

:(a) Any person subject to this code (chapter) who—
::(1) with intent to usurp or override lawful military authority, refuses, in concert with any other person, to obey orders or otherwise do his duty or creates any violence or disturbance is guilty of mutiny;
::(2) with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of lawful civil authority, creates, in concert with any other person, revolt, violence, or other disturbance against that authority is guilty of sedition;
::(3) fails to do his utmost to prevent and suppress a mutiny or sedition being committed in his presence, or fails to take all reasonable means to inform his superior commissioned officer or commanding officer of a mutiny or sedition which he knows or has reason to believe is taking place, is guilty of a failure to suppress or report a mutiny or sedition.
:(b) A person who is found guilty of attempted mutiny, mutiny, sedition, or failure to suppress or report a mutiny or sedition shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

</blockquote>

U.S. military law requires obedience only to lawful orders. Disobedience to unlawful orders (see [[Superior orders]]) is the obligation of every member of the [[U.S. military]], a principle established by the [[Nuremberg Trials|Nuremberg]] and [[Tokyo Trials]] following [[World War II]] and reaffirmed in the aftermath of the [[My Lai Massacre]] during the [[Vietnam War]]. However, a U.S. soldier who disobeys an order after deeming it unlawful will almost certainly be court-martialed to determine whether the disobedience was proper. In addition, simple refusal to obey is not mutiny, which requires collaboration or conspiracy to disobedience.

==Famous mutinies in history==

===16th century===
* [[Sack of Antwerp]], one of the many mutinies in the Spanish [[Army of Flanders]]<ref>{{aut|Parker, G.}} (2004) ''The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road 1567–1659. Second edition''. Cambridge U.P., {{ISBN|978-0-521-54392-7}}, ch.8</ref> during the [[Eighty Years' War]]; this mutiny caused the provinces of the [[Habsburg Netherlands]] to temporarily unite in rebellion against [[Philip II of Spain]] and sign the [[Pacification of Ghent]].
*[[Sack of Rome (1527)]], military event carried out by the mutinous troops of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]].

===17th century===
* [[Discovery (1602 ship)|''Discovery'']] mutiny in 1611 during the 4th voyage of [[Henry Hudson]], after having been trapped in pack ice over the winter, his desire to continue incited the crew to casting him and 8 others adrift. 
* ''[[Batavia (1628 ship)|Batavia]]'' was a [[ship]] of the [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC), built in 1628 in [[Amsterdam]], which suffered both mutiny and [[shipwreck]] during her maiden voyage.
* [[Second English Civil War]]
** [[Corkbush Field mutiny]] (1647)
** [[Banbury mutiny]] (1649)
** [[Bishopsgate mutiny]] (1649)

===18th century===
* The [[Wager Mutiny|''Wager'' Mutiny]] – the main body of the crew of the British war ship HMS ''Wager'' mutinied against their Captain after she was wrecked on a desolate island off the [[Gulf of Penas|south coast of Chile]] in 1741. The ship was part of a [[George Anson's voyage around the world|squadron]] bound to attack Spanish interests in the Pacific. 
* A failed 1787 mutiny aboard the [[Middlesex (1783 EIC ship)|''Middlesex'']] occurred two weeks before HMS ''Bounty''{{'}}s final departure from England, which included the lead mutineer of HMS ''Bounty'' Fletcher Christian's older brother Charles.
* [[Mutiny on the Bounty|Mutiny aboard HMS ''Bounty'']], a mutiny aboard a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy]] ship in 1789 that has been made famous by several books and films.
* [[Quibéron mutinies]] were major mutinies in the French fleet in 1793.
* [[Hermione mutiny|HMS ''Hermione'']] was a 32-gun [[fifth-rate]] [[frigate]] of the [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy]]. While operating in the Caribbean in 1797 a portion of the crew mutinied, killing the captain, eight other officers, two midshipmen and a clerk before surrendering the ship to the Spanish authorities. The mutiny was the bloodiest recorded in the history of the Royal Navy.
* [[Spithead and Nore mutinies]] were two major mutinies by sailors of the [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy]] in 1797.
* Schemes for mutiny onboard nine British warships between June and mid-August 1798, resulting in courts-martial for crew from {{HMS|Adamant|1780|6}}, {{HMS|Atlas|1782|6}}, {{HMS|Caesar|1793|6}}, {{HMS|Defiance|1783|6}}, {{HMS|Glory|1788|6}}, {{HMS|Haughty|1797|6}}, {{HMS|Neptune|1797|6}}, {{HMS|Queen Charlotte|1790|6}} and {{HMS|St George|1785|6}}<ref name="MarinersMirror">{{cite journal |last1=MacDougall|first1=Phillip |date=2022 |title=The Naval Mutinies of 1798 |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |volume=108 |issue=4 |pages=423–438 |publisher=[[Society for Nautical Research]]|doi=10.1080/00253359.2022.2117457 |s2cid=253161503 }}</ref>
* The [[Vlieter Incident]] was a mutiny of a squadron of the fleet of the [[Batavian Republic]] which caused it to be surrendered to the British without a fight in 1799 at the start of the [[Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland]].

===19th century===
* [[HMS Dominica (1805)|HMS ''Dominica'']] - in May 1806, crew members mutinied, took over the ship and turned her over to the French. She was later recaptured by the British and the mutiny's ringleader hanged. 
* [[Vellore Mutiny]], outbreak against the [[British East India Company]] on 10 July 1806, by sepoys forming part of the garrison of a fortress and palace complex at Vellore (now in Tamil Nadu state, southern India).
* The [[Froberg mutiny]] by the Froberg Regiment in [[Fort Ricasoli]], [[Malta Protectorate|Malta]] in 1807. The mutiny was suppressed and 30 men were executed.
* The US whaler ''[[Globe (1815 whaleship)|Globe]]'' mutiny of 1824. Captain and several crewmen were brutally murdered by whaler Samuel Comstock of Nantucket. Comstock was then murdered on Mili, a remote but inhabited Pacific island that he intended to take over and make his own, by the ship's remaining survivors.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/gpl_1793280/page/n11/mode/2up | title=A narrative of the mutiny on board the ship Globe, of Nantucket, in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 1824: And the journal of a residence of two years on the Mulgrave Islands : With observations on the manners and customs of the inhabitants by William Lay, of Saybrook, Conn. And Cyrus M. Hussey, of Nantucket, the only survivors from the massacre of the ship's company by the natives | date=1828 }}</ref>
* [[Barrackpore Mutiny]], (2 November 1824), incident during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), generally regarded as a dress rehearsal for the Indian Mutiny of 1857 because of its similar combination of Indian grievances against the British.
* [[St. Joseph Mutiny]] (1837): rebellion, led by [[Daaga]], of forcibly conscripted African soldiers in the [[1st West India Regiment]] in [[British Trinidad]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/01440399108575034|first=Thomas|last=August|year=1991|title=Rebels with a cause: The St. Joseph Mutiny of 1837|journal=Slavery & Abolition|volume=12|issue=2|pages=73–91}}</ref>
* ''[[La Amistad]]'', in 1839. A group of captured African [[slave]]s being transported in [[Cuba]] mutinied against the crew, killing the captain.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3080/ |title = Unidentified Young Man |website = [[World Digital Library]] |date = 1839–1840 |access-date = 2013-07-28 }}</ref>
* The brig [[USS Somers (1842)|USS ''Somers'']] had a mutiny plotted onboard on her first voyage in 1842. Three men were accused of conspiring to commit mutiny, and were hanged.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/columnists/memmott/2017/11/20/jim-memmott-high-seas-mutiny-canandaigua-connection/881514001/|title=Jim Memmott: A high-seas mutiny with a Canandaigua connection|newspaper=Democrat & Chronicle (USA Today)|location=Rochester|last=Memmott|first=Jim|date=November 20, 2017|access-date=May 30, 2019}}</ref>
*''[[Lady Franklin (barque)|Lady Franklin]]'' (1854) seized by convicts
* The [[Indian rebellion of 1857]] was a period of armed uprising in [[India]] against [[United Kingdom|British]] colonial power, and was popularly remembered in Britain as the Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Mutiny. It is remembered in India as the First War of Independence.
* The ''Sharon'', a Fairhaven whaleship, was subject to multiple mass desertions, mutinies and the murder and dismemberment of a cruel (and from the record, [[Psychopathy#Sociopathy|sociopathic]]) captain by four [[Polynesians]] who had been pressed into service on the ''Sharon''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Druett |first=Joan |date=2003 |title=In the Wake of Madness  |publisher=Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill}}</ref>
* In 1857 on the whaleship ''Junior'', Cyrus Plummer and several accomplices engineered a mutiny that resulted in the murder of Captain Archibald Mellen and Third Mate John Smith. The mutineers were captured and found guilty in the fall of 1858. Plummer was sentenced to be hanged and his accomplices received life sentences. The story made national and international news and Plummer was able to garner a stay of execution from President [[James Buchanan]] and was ultimately pardoned by [[Ulysses S. Grant]].
* The [[Cavite Mutiny]] of 1872 in the Philippines.
* The [[Brazilian Naval Revolt]] was the occasion of two mutinies in 1893 and 1894.

===20th century===
[[File:The Russian Revolution, 1905 Q81546.jpg|thumb|Artistic impression of the [[Russian battleship Potemkin#Mutiny|mutiny]] by the crew of the battleship ''Potemkin'' against the ship's officers on 14 June 1905.]]
* Mutiny aboard the [[Russian battleship Potemkin|Russian battleship ''Potemkin'']], a rebellion of the crew against their officers in June 1905 during the [[1905 Russian Revolution|Russian Revolution of 1905]]. It was made famous by the film ''[[Battleship Potemkin|Battleship ''Potemkin'']]''.
* The ''[[Revolt of the Lash|Revolta da Chibata]]'' ("Revolt of the Lash") was a Brazilian naval mutiny of 1910, where Afro-Brazilian crewmen rose up against oppressive white officers who frequently beat them. Their goal was to have their living conditions improved and the ''chibata'' (whips or lashes) banned from the navy.
* [[First Battle of Topolobampo|Guaymas Mutiny]] On 22 February 1914, [[Mexican Navy]] sailors under Lieutenant {{ill|Hilario Rodríguez Malpica|es}} seized control of gunboat ''Tampico'' off [[Guaymas, Mexico]]. This event led to a [[Fourth Battle of Topolobampo|naval campaign]] off [[Topolobampo]] during the [[Mexican Revolution]].
* [[Curragh Incident]], also known as the Curragh Mutiny of 20 July 1914 occurred in the [[Curragh]], [[Ireland]], where [[British Army|British officers]] threatened to resign rather than enforce the [[Home Rule Act 1914]].
* [[Etaples Mutiny]] by British troops, 1917
* [[French Army Mutinies (1917)|French Army mutinies]] in 1917. The failure of the [[Nivelle Offensive]] in April and May 1917 resulted in widespread mutiny in many units of the French Army.
* [[Wilhelmshaven mutiny]] broke out in the [[Imperial Germany|German]] [[High Seas Fleet]] on 29 October 1918. The mutiny led directly to the Kiel mutiny a few days later.
* [[Kiel mutiny]]: Major revolt by sailors on 3 November 1918 in response to arrests of suspected Wilhelmshaven ringleaders. It sparked the [[German Revolution of 1918-1919]], which led to the collapse of the [[House of Hohenzollern|monarchy]] and the establishment of the [[Weimar Republic]].
* [[Luxembourg rebellions|Luxembourg Rebellions]]: After two failed communist revolutions in November and after a minor mutiny in December, the [[Luxembourg Armed Forces|Luxembourg Army]] took over the [[Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg)|Chamber of Deputies]], and proclaimed a republic. 
* [[André Marty#Black Sea mutiny|Black Sea mutiny (1919)]] by crews aboard the French dreadnoughts ''[[French battleship Jean Bart (1911)|Jean Bart]]'' and ''[[French battleship France|France]]'', sent to assist the White Russians in the [[Russian Civil War]]. The ringleaders (including [[André Marty]] and [[Charles Tillon]]) received long prison sentences.
* The 1920 mutiny of the mainly Irish unit of [[Connaught Rangers#Mutiny in India, 1920|Connaught Rangers]] in the British Army against [[Irish War of Independence#Martial law|martial law being imposed]] and brutally enforced by the [[Black and Tans]] in Ireland during the [[Irish War of Independence]]. The leader, [[James Daly (mutineer)|Private James Daly]], became the last member of the British Armed Forces to be executed for mutiny when he was shot by [[firing squad]] on 2 November 1920.
* [[Kronstadt rebellion]], an unsuccessful uprising of Russian sailors, led by [[Stepan Petrichenko]], against the government of the early [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] in the first weeks of March in 1921. It proved to be the last large rebellion against [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] rule.
* [[Irish Army Mutiny]], a crisis in March 1924 provoked by a proposed reduction in army numbers in the immediate post-[[Irish Civil War|Civil War]] period.<ref name="GFG">[[Garret FitzGerald]] ''[http://generalmichaelcollins.com/Cumann_na_nGael/Garrett_Fitzgerald.html Reflections On The Foundation of the Irish State] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319151530/http://generalmichaelcollins.com/Cumann_na_nGael/Garrett_Fitzgerald.html |date=2011-03-19 }}'', University College Cork, April 2003</ref><ref>[[Irish Times]] ''March 10th, 1924'' 10 Mar 2012</ref>
* [[Invergordon Mutiny]], an [[industrial action]] by around a thousand [[sailor]]s in the [[British Atlantic Fleet]], that took place on 15–16 September 1931. For two days, ships of the [[Royal Navy]] at [[Invergordon]] were in open mutiny, in one of the few military strikes in [[United Kingdom|British]] history.
* Mutiny aboard the Dutch warship the ''[[HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (1909)|De Zeven Provinciën]]'' as a result of salary cuts in early February 1933.
*[[1936 Naval Revolt (Portugal)|1936 Naval Revolt]] in Portugal, also known as the Mutiny on the Tagus ships. Sailors aboard two Portuguese ships imprisoned their officers and attempted to sail out into the open sea. Coastal artillery disabled both ships and the [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] shortly thereafter founded the [[Legião Portuguesa (Estado Novo)|Legião Portuguesa]].
* [[Cocos Islands Mutiny]], a failed mutiny by [[Sri Lanka]]n servicemen on the [[British Empire|then-British]] [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]] during the [[Second World War]].
* [[Battle of Bamber Bridge]] on 24–25 June 1943, a racially motivated mutiny by African American soldiers in a segregated U.S. Army truck unit stationed in [[Bamber Bridge]], [[Lancashire]], [[United Kingdom]].
* [[Townsville mutiny]] on 22 May 1942, a mutiny by about 600 African American servicemen of the [[96th Engineer Battalion (United States)|96th Engineer Battalion]] of the United States Army while serving in Townsville, Australia, during World War II. See also [[African-American mutinies in the United States armed forces]].
* [[Port Chicago mutiny]] on August 9, 1944, three weeks after the Port Chicago disaster. 258 out of the 320 African-American sailors in the ordnance battalion refused to load any ammunition.<ref>Though 50 sailors were convicted of mutiny after the [[Port Chicago disaster]], there is some question as to whether there was a conspiracy, a prerequisite of mutiny, rather than simple refusal to obey a lawful order. All of the sailors were willing to do any other task except load ammunition under unsafe conditions.</ref>
* [[Terrace Mutiny|Terrace mutiny]], a mutiny by French-Canadian soldiers in Terrace, British Columbia, in November 1944.

====After World War II====
* [[Post–World War II demobilization strikes]] occurred within [[Allies of World War II|Allied military forces]] stationed across the [[Middle East]], [[India]] and [[Southeast Asia]] in the months and years following the Second World War.
* [[The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny]] encompasses a total strike and subsequent mutiny by the Indian sailors of the [[Royal Indian Navy]] on board ship and shore establishments at [[Bombay]] Harbour on 18 February 1946.
* [[SS Columbia Eagle incident|SS ''Columbia Eagle'' incident]] occurred on 14 March 1970 during the [[Vietnam War]] when sailors aboard an American merchant ship mutinied and hijacked the ship to [[Cambodia]].
* The [[East Bengal Regiment]] switched sides from the [[Pakistan Army]] to the [[Mukti Bahini|Bangladesh Forces]] during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]. 
* The [[Unit 684#Mutiny|Unit 684 mutiny]] occurred in 23 August 1971 when members of [[Republic of Korea Air Force]] black ops Unit 684 mutinied for unclear reasons.
* The [[Soviet frigate Storozhevoy#Mutiny|''Storozhevoy'' mutiny]] occurred on 9 November 1975 in [[Riga]], [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvian SSR]], Soviet Union. The [[Political commissar|political officer]] locked up the [[Soviet Navy]] captain and sailed the ship toward [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]].
* [[Greek junta#Velos mutiny|The ''Velos'' mutiny]]: On 23 May 1973, the captain of [[USS Charrette|''Velos'']] destroyer refused to return to [[Greece]] after a [[NATO]] exercise to protest against the [[Greek junta|dictatorship in Greece]].
* [[1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny|1977 Bangladesh Air Force Mutiny]], during which 11 officers of the [[Bangladesh Air Force]] were killed by mutineers. 
* The [[Coup d'état of December Twelfth]] in 1979, where a [[Hanahoe|secret society of military officers]] in [[South Korea]] led by Major General [[Chun Doo-hwan]] mutinied against the [[Chief of Staff of the Republic of Korea Army]] General [[Jeong Seung-hwa]]. 
* Following [[Operation Blue Star]] against Sikh militants holed in the [[Harmandir Sahib|Golden Temple]] in the Sikh [[holy city]] of [[Amritsar]], many soldiers and officers of [[Indian Army]]'s [[Sikh Regiment]] mutinied or resigned.<ref>{{cite web|author=AP |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/02/world/general-promises-to-punish-sikh-mutineers.html |title=General Promises To Punish Sikh Mutineers |location=India; Amritsar (India); Punjab State (India) |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1984-07-02 |access-date=2012-06-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sikhmuseum.com/bluestar/newsreports/840611_6.html |title=Operation Blue Star 1984 Golden Temple Attack Sikhs |publisher=Sikhmuseum.com |date=1984-06-11 |access-date=2012-06-10}}</ref>

===21st century===
* 2003 [[Oakwood mutiny]] – A group of 321 officers and personnel of the [[Armed Forces of the Philippines|Philippines Armed Forces]] took over the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center serviced apartment tower in [[Makati]] to show the Filipino people the alleged corruption of President [[Gloria Macapagal Arroyo]].
* [[2006 state of emergency in the Philippines#Fort Bonifacio crisis|2003 Fort Bonifacio Crisis]] – Members of the [[Philippine Marines]] staged a protest over the removal of their Commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda.
* [[2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt]] – A group of Bangladesh border guards revolted, demanding equal rights to the regular army and killed several of their officers.
*2011 [[Mutiny on Lurongyu 2682|Mutiny on ''Lurongyu 2682'']], a Chinese fishing trawler in the South Pacific. After a month of killings, 11 of the 33 crew returned to China.
*[[2013 Eritrean Army mutiny]] on 21 January 2013, when around 100 to 200 soldiers of the [[Eritrean Army]] seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster, [[EriTV]], to resist the rule of President [[Isaias Afwerki]].
* 2013 1st Battalion [[Yorkshire Regiment]], British Army – Sixteen soldiers were jailed after a court martial for staging a 'sit-in' protest against their Captain and Colour Sergeant<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25313387|title=Yorkshire Regiment soldiers jailed for sit-in protest|work=BBC News|date=2013-12-10|access-date=2014-04-07}}</ref>
* 2014 [[Nigerian Army]]: A total of 54 soldiers were [[capital punishment in Nigeria|sentenced to death]] by [[firing squad]] by a court martial in two separate trials, after they had refused to fight to recapture a town that had been captured by [[Boko Haram]] [[insurgent]]s. The sentences are subject to the approval of senior officers.<ref>{{cite news|title=BREAKING: Nigerian Military Sentences 54 Soldiers To Death For Mutiny|url=http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/17/breaking-nigerian-military-sentences-54-soldiers-death-mutiny|access-date=12 March 2017|publisher=Sahara Reporters|date=17 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Nigerian soldiers given death penalty for mutiny|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30526725|access-date=12 March 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=17 December 2014}}</ref>
* [[2020 Malian mutiny]], where elements of the [[Malian Armed Forces]] mutinied before developing into a coup which overthrew the civilian government of President [[Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta|Ibrahim Keïta]].
* 2022 [[Russian Ground Forces]]: [[Obozrevatel]] reported that around 5,000 contract soldiers in the city of [[Belgorod]] rioted after being told that they would be sent to fight in [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Рагуцька |first=Лілія |date=2022-02-26 |title=У Білгороді 5 тис. контрактників влаштували бунт та відмовилися їхати воювати з Україною. Ексклюзив |url=https://news.obozrevatel.com/ukr/russia/u-bilgorodi-5-tis-kontraktnikiv-vlashtuvali-bunt-ta-vidmovilisya-ihati-voyuvati-z-ukrainoyu-eksklyuziv.htm |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=OBOZREVATEL NEWS |language=uk}}</ref> Russian soldiers had also been [[Surrender (military)|surrendering]] en masse, and many had reportedly sabotaged their own vehicles, with prime examples being instances of gas tank sabotage among soldiers in the [[Russian Kyiv convoy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Balevic |first=Katie |title=Pentagon official says Russian troops have 'deliberately punched holes' in their own gas tanks in apparent attempts to avoid combat as morale declines: report |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-have-punched-holes-their-own-gas-tanks-2022-3 |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mass surrender, sabotage of own equipment – Pentagon on Russian military units |url=https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/general/805291.html |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=Interfax-Ukraine |language=en}}</ref>
* 2022 [[Russian Naval Infantry]]: Russian conscripts rioted aboard [[Ropucha-class landing ship|Russian naval ships]] which were going to land in [[Odessa]] as part of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. As a result of the riot, the [[Landing operation|landing]] was called off.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-01 |title=Russian young marine conscripts staged a riot against landing in Odessa |url=https://odessa-journal.com/russian-short-service-marine-conscripts-staged-a-riot/ |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=odessa-journal.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Дібров |first=Сергій |date=February 28, 2022 |title=Russian Marine conscripts riot when ordered to land 'straight to Odessa' |url=https://dumskaya.net/news/rossiyskie-matrosy-ustroili-bunt-kogda-im-prikaz-160512/ |access-date=February 28, 2022 |website=Dumskaya}}</ref>
* 2022 [[Russian Ground Forces]]: Russian soldiers of the [[37th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade|37th Motor Rifle Brigade]] purposefully [[Fragging|ran over their commanding officer]], [[Colonel]] Yuri Medvedev, killing or severely injuring him. This was reportedly because the 37th Brigade had lost close to 50% of their men during the [[Battle of Makariv]] under the leadership of Medvedev.<ref>[https://antikor.com.ua/articles/532047-rossijskij_voennyj_pereehal_na_tanke_svoego_komandira_v_otmestku_za_gibelj_tovarishchej_v_bojah_pod_kievom Российский военный переехал на танке своего командира в отместку за гибель товарищей в боях под Киевом]</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Russian troops attack own commanding officer after suffering heavy losses |date=2022-03-25 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326024156/https://thehill.com/policy/international/599792-russian-troops-attack-own-commanding-officer-after-suffering-heavy/ |archive-date=2023-03-26 |url-status=live |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/599792-russian-troops-attack-own-commanding-officer-after-suffering-heavy/}}</ref>
* 2023 [[Wagner Group mutiny]], where the Russian private military company [[Wagner Group]] mutinied against the Russian Ministry of Defense for intentionally concealing the true number of [[Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War|soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine]] and allegedly attempting to deceive the public and President Vladimir Putin by portraying Ukraine as an aggressive and hostile adversary which, in collaboration with NATO, was plotting an attack on Russian interests.
* 2024 Voznesensk mutiny: On 4 October 2024, Ukrainian soldiers of the 187th Battalion of the [[123rd Territorial Defense Brigade (Ukraine)|123rd Territorial Defense Brigade]] refused orders to perform a combat mission and went AWOL. The soldiers then held a rally in [[Voznesensk]] where they attempted to draw attention to the lack of training and weapons to participate in combat operations in the Donetsk sector.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2024 |title=Самовільно залишили військову частину на Донбасі: у Вознесенську воїни 123-ї бригади ТрО вийшли на мітинг |trans-title=Went AWOL from Donbass: in Voznesensk, the soldiers of the 123rd brigade of the TDF went to a rally |url=https://suspilne.media/mykolaiv/850417-samovilno-zalisili-vijskovu-castinu-na-donbasi-u-voznesensku-voini-123-i-brigadi-tro-vijsli-na-miting/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003202946/https://suspilne.media/mykolaiv/850417-samovilno-zalisili-vijskovu-castinu-na-donbasi-u-voznesensku-voini-123-i-brigadi-tro-vijsli-na-miting/ |archive-date=3 October 2024 |work=[[Suspilne|Suspilne Mykolaiv]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Coup d'état]]
* [[Fragging]]
* [[Insubordination]]
* [[List of revolutions and rebellions]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [[doi:10.1177/00223433211020092|Jaclyn Johnson's Military Mutinies and Defections Database (MMDD), 1945–2017.]]
*{{EB1911|noprescript=1|wstitle=Mutiny}}
*Easton, Callum, ''The 1797 Naval Mutinies and Popular Protest in Britain: Negotiation through Collective Action'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) {{ISBN|978-3-031-98839-4}}, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98840-0
* {{cite book|last=Guttridge|first=Leonard F|title=Mutiny: A History of Naval Insurrection|publisher=United States Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1992|isbn=0-87021-281-8}}
* {{cite book|title=Naval Mutinies of the Twentieth Century: An International Perspective|url=https://archive.org/details/navalmutiniesoft00cbel|url-access=registration|editor1-last=Bell|editor1-first=Christopher M|editor2-last=Elleman|editor2-first=Bruce A|location=Portland, Oregon|publisher=Frank Cass Publishers|year=2003|isbn=0-7146-8468-6|oclc=464313205}}
* Pfaff, Steven and Michael Hechter. 2020. ''[[doi:10.1017/9781108149853|The Genesis of Rebellion: Governance, Grievance, and Mutiny in the Age of Sail]]''. Cambridge University Press.

{{Pirates}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Crimes]]
[[Category:Military law]]
[[Category:Mutinies| ]]