Why did the New South Wales Corps oppose Governors John Hunter, Philip Gidley King, and William Bligh?

The New South Wales Corps frequently clashed with early governors because its officers sought to prioritize their own economic interests over the administration of the colony. While the governors were tasked with maintaining strict control, the corps officers—who were permitted to own land—engaged in unauthorized trading of goods, including liquor, to accumulate wealth.123

The opposition to specific governors was driven by the following factors:

• John Hunter and Philip Gidley King: The corps officers used their influence to undermine these governors when efforts were made to check their illicit trading activities and assert governmental authority.3
• William Bligh: Relations with Bligh were particularly strained because he was a more resistant administrator who openly accused the corps of corruption and ineptitude. Bligh’s attempts to stifle the colony's rum traffic and his conflict with John Macarthur—a former officer and leading entrepreneur—over land and commodity pricing directly led to the Rum Rebellion in 1808, during which the corps deposed him.431