Meermin

This article is about the ship. For the mutiny, see Meermin slave mutiny.

Meermin
refer to caption
An 18th-century Dutch hoeker
History
Dutch Republic
NameMeermin
NamesakeDutch word for "mermaid"
Owner
BuilderDutch East India Company
Laid down1759
Commissioned1761
Maiden voyageTexel–Cape Colony
FateGrounded off Struisbaai, southern Africa, 1766; broke up in situ
General characteristics [1][Fn 1]
TypeHoeker
Tonnage480[1]
Length102 ft 2 in (31.14 m)[Fn 2]
Beam29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
Draught11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
Sail planFull-rigged

Meermin (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmeːrmɪn] ⓘ) was an 18th-century Dutch cargo ship of the hoeker type, one of many built and owned by the Dutch East India Company. She was laid down in 1759 and fitted out as a slave ship before her maiden voyage in 1761, and her career was cut short by a mutiny of her cargo of Malagasy people. They had been sold to Dutch East India Company officials on Madagascar, to be used as company slaves in its Cape Colony in southern Africa. Half her crew and almost 30 Malagasy lost their lives in the mutiny; the mutineers deliberately allowed the ship to drift aground off Struisbaai, now in South Africa, in March 1766, and she broke up in situ. As of 2013, archaeologists are searching for the Meermin's remains.

  1. ^ a b Mountain 2005, p. 204.
  2. ^ "Meermin 1759". VOCsite.nl. 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012; "Slaves Failed Bid for Freedom". Rebirth.co.za. 2000. Retrieved 13 February 2012; "Struisbaai (R319)". Western Cape Government. 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2012; Chandler 2009; Mountain 2005, p. 204.
  3. ^ "Algemeen plan en spantenraam van de hoeker 'De Meermin'". Maritiem Digitaal. 1760. Retrieved 17 February 2014 (click on the image to view a larger version).
  4. ^ Collins 2001, pp. 68–71; Chandler 2009.
  5. ^ Collins 2001, p. 67.
  6. ^ "Dictionary.com Translator (Meermin)". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Amsterdam Voet". Terminology from the age of sail. Retrieved 13 February 2012; "Meermin 1759". VOCsite.nl. 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012;


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