6. The attack at Tofua caused Bligh to change his plans
The natives’ attack had occurred after they realized that Bligh had no ship, and was thus helpless. As Bligh considered that fact, he realized there was every reason to expect a similar reception at Tonga. Tofua was not the first time Bligh was attacked by what he referred to in his journal as Indians. He was present during the attack in which James Cook was killed by the natives in Hawaii; he had led the party covering the retreat from the beach. Bligh concluded without a ship at his back, he should expect treachery from the natives of any of the Pacific Islands, with the exception of Tahiti, and possibly even there.
He was also aware the nearest European settlement was on the island of Timor, though he was not aware of its precise location on the island, or even if it was still there. Timor lay 4,100 miles to the west. The route to reach it went through the rumored Fiji Islands, which were known to the British only through information given to them by the Polynesians. They were said by the latter to be peopled with cannibals. After passing Fiji, the route lay through the Great Barrier Reef, still poorly charted, and dotted with islands resorted to by natives also rumored to be cannibals. Bligh ordered the men to put the boat in order and inventory what stores and supplies they had as he considered his options.