Talk:Charles Rawden Maclean

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A fact from Charles Rawden Maclean appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 2 July 2010 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that while still a boy, John Ross walked more than 600 km, crossing crocodile and hippopotamus-infested rivers, to obtain relief supplies for the settlement at Port Natal?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2010/July.

Wikipedia

John Ross

This discussion started off on one of the original editors' Discussion pages. It was agreed to transfer it here.

Thanks for starting this article - I have been fascinated by his story since I first saw his grave in my local cemetery and have gradually been collecting a lot of info about him, with a view to starting an article shortly. I have recently ordered a copy of Stephen Gray's book to fill in more of the detail - I'll read it on my forthcoming holiday.

With this in mind, I have been adding links to various pertinent articles - ironically, the only relevant article where he is not mentioned is that for Durban. Perhaps that can be rectified in due course. Cheers. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 09:08, 22 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

p.s. I also intend to create an article about the John Ross which was named after him. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 09:11, 22 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Daemonic Kangaroo. Thank you for your message. My main interest in him was his connections with Durban. I stumbled across his name when I was updating the article Tugela River. (I used to live in in the town of Colenso which was on the banks of the river). In the next few days I intend to write the South African part and I am quite happy to leave you to write the rest. Martinvl (talk) 10:26, 22 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for what you have done so far - I am a bit perplexed by the confusion over the date of birth as both the Friends of Old Southampton Cemetery and the Fraserburgh Heritage Centre are adamant about the 1815 date. I will probably email them and ask for their comments - is their any chance that you could email me copies of the pages in the books cited by you so I can pass these on to them? I have a recent photo of the grave, which I will upload to WP Commons and add to the article, and that for the cemetery. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 15:30, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have now received the biography written by Stephen Gray in 1992, in which he asserts that the coreect date of birth is 17 August 1815, which he has checked against the Fraserburgh parish records. He is rather dismissive of the works of both Ritter (which he describes as "fiction") and Bulpin. Rather than edit the article piecemeal, I would prefer to read the whole book and then summarise its contents. As I will be away for most of July, it will be several weeks before I can come back on this. Cheers. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 10:43, 24 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Daemonic Kangaroo. Are you happy to transfer this conversation to the Charles Rawden Maclean page? Martinvl (talk) 12:43, 24 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes of course, much of this should be on the article's talk page. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 12:59, 24 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Martinvl" Martinvl (talk) 21:07, 24 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Natal Papers of "John Ross"

I saw the following on Amazon

"The Natal Papers of John Ross (Killie Campbell Africana Library Publications): Loss of the Brig Mary at Natal with Early Recollections of That Settlement and Among the Caffres" Charles Rawden Maclean; Paperback; £12.50

It was edited by Stephen Gray. I have also found a reference which states that Isaacs was more interested in selling a "good book" than telling the truth. Lets see what Maclean has to say. The interesting thing about the title of his book is the use of the word "Caffres" - which later became "kaffir" - a term that was used on the London Stock Exchange in pre-war days to describe South African shares, and which became a derogatory term after WWII. BTW, it is derived from the Arabic word Kafr meaning heathen or infidel. Given Maclean's leanings, it is highly improbable that he meant it in the sense in which it is used today. Martinvl (talk) 21:15, 24 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

On page 134 of my copy, in the chapter "Among the Caffres", Maclean describes himself as "one . . . of the small band of Europeans who first had intercourse with the Caffre tribes of Natal . . ." commenting that "the wreck of the Mary . . . cast me among the Zulu Caffres at a very early age", and goes on to refer to the Caffre chief, Langalibalele. He certainly doesn't use the term in an offensive manner. Before I add any of the book's content to the article, I will read it all, to get a better feel for the author. If you want to get in their first, feel free. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 04:50, 25 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]