Discussion:Meermin

message: Hello Nortonius ! Browsing through the today's "On this day" rubric of WP en 1st page reminded me I had edited "Meermin",  the french version of Meermin slave mutiny   between 20 & 30 of september 2011, & had mumbled at that time : "How queer, the Brits haven't written anything in WP en about that ship...I'll have to do with that dutch article and the documentary I just watched on TV Arte, instead of quietly translating a WP en good article...". As I don't know how to look back in the "History" farther than the last 500 edits, you'd be very kind to point me who was the 1st editor (you, maybe, as for Meermin (VOC ship) ? ), & when he (or she ?) launched it. Maybe too you've cast a glance on the french article, so you can tell me what are the grossest among the blunders it certainly contains ?...I had asked a question ("fluitschip or hoeker ?") on the dutch talk page (the sources I got then said "fluitship"). Thanks a lot beforehand, t.y. I notice the blue gem Gerda has just kindly presented you with really looks like the Hope (ex Regent)...Wouldn't it be safer for you to pass it to some museum ? ;-) Arapaima (talk) 09:31, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
:Hello  the article was created on WP-en on 14 October 2011 by Gautier lebon – so, a little while after you were working on the French version! Maybe no coincidence... My first edit was on 28 January 2012. I have my own high-resolution JPEG copy of the 1760 plan for the Meermin, as used by Jaco Boshoff, and it is described as a hoeker there. The sources used in the English article are also quite clear that the Meermin was a hoeker, with no mention that I can recall of a fluyt; and the Dutch article says it was a hoeker too. My French is very rusty, but I'll try to have a look at the French article... Cheers. Nortonius (talk) 12:33, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
::Indeed I started the article, but it has been much improved subsequently.  I looked at the French version and it looks OK to me.--Gautier lebon (talk) 15:58, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
::Hello Gautier lebon, evidently I don't need to ping you! ;o)  I've had a quick look at the French article, there are some things I noticed:
::* Hoeker, not a fluitschip, as above.
::* It seems the ship was of 480 tons, not 450: see references in the English article, e.g. to Mountain, 2005 p. 204, which you can see on Google Books.
::* Apparently the Meermin sailed for Cape Town from north-west Madagascar, not Toliara in the south-west: search this link for "Betisboka Bay", though that place-name seems corrupt.
::* The precise number of crew was 56, per Mountain 2005, p. 204.
::* The precise number of slaves is unknown, one good source which it looks like you've used says 140, the Malagasy themselves said there were 150 of them – I see the French article mentions the private trade carried on by the crew!
::That's all for now, I'll try to have another look later – there's at least one thing in the French article which isn't in the English (yet): the average age of VOC slaves in Cape Town! Cheers. Nortonius (talk) 16:38, 18 February 2014 (UTC)
:::Thanks a lot Nort. & Gautier for the chat & informations Arapaima (discuter) 4 mars 2014 à 08:48 (CET)
thread_title: [[Meermin]] article : who was the first ?