On 20 January 1766 the Dutch slave ship, the Meermin, set off from Madagascar with 140 Malagasy to be sold to the Cape Colony as slaves. Three weeks into the voyage, on 18 February, the Malagasy revolted, taking command of the ship. With a final stand taking place just off the coast of Struisbaai in the Cape Colony, the Malagasy found themselves pitted between the Dutch on board the vessel and the British settlers on land. This is a story of South Africa's first freedom fighters in the early days of slavery in the Cape.