William Bligh
In 1808, the power struggle between Governor William Bligh and John Macarthur, one of the leading colonists involved in the trade in rum, came to a head, leading to the Rum Rebellion on 26 January 1808 when the New South Wales Corps deposed Bligh based on a petition of officers and leading colonists. William Bligh and Mary Putland were placed under house arrest. William Bligh refused to leave the colony until he received an official order from London and so they remained under house arrest while John Macarthur became the de facto head of the colony.