 While Rowley and Hamelin had <unk> in the Indian Ocean , Corbet had made the lengthy journey back to Britain . During his time in command of Nereide , Corbet had already developed a reputation as a strict disciplinarian , regularly beating his men for the slightest <unk> , to the extent that he had provoked a brief mutiny on Nereide in 1808 . His reputation spread before him , and when he switched commands with Captain Richard <unk> of HMS Africaine , he was met with a storm of protest from Africaine 's crew . Although none of the men aboard Africaine had served with Corbet before , his preference for brutal punishment was well known in the Navy and the crew sent a letter to the Admiralty insisting that they would not serve under him . Concerned at what they considered to be mutiny , the Admiralty sent three popular officers to Africaine with the message that if the protest was quietly dropped there would be no courts @-@ martial for mutiny but if not , the entire crew would be liable to attack . To emphasise the threat , the frigate HMS <unk> was brought alongside with her gunports open and her cannon ready to fire . <unk> , the crew of Africaine allowed Corbet aboard and the frigate sailed for the Indian Ocean a few days later , carrying instructions for the authorities at Madras to prepare an expeditionary force to invade Isle de France . 
