Talk:Ranald MacDonald

Discussion
I just started this article, additions and further editing highly appreciated.

The information is mostly based on the first article cited as an external link, as it was the best I could find, but some of it is based off other things I've read. Sources do no agree on the number of samurai selected to study English under MacDonald. My Japanese texbook has an article that claims 12, and I have a tendency to believe that, but I've found more online sources proclaiming 14, so that is the number I used in the article. I also saw 7 mentioned somewhere.--Lord Shitzu 22:31, Apr 18, 2005 (UTC)

Wow this page really took off, nice work PHG and others!--Lord Shitzu 14:54, Jun 17, 2005 (UTC)

I get the feeling that this story is being handled with kid gloves, or bowderized, and it's a little obnoxious. Nothing at all makes sense. How did he possibly convince the captain to give him a boat to go to shore? Was there deception involved?

Then he gets on a warship and leaves Japan 10 months after teaching English. Was he expelled from the country or was it voluntary?

Not even the most basic, and I would say, complete essential details of this incident (the defining incident of Macdonald's life) are provided. Without those details it's more or less impossible to understand the context or why these events happened. I didn't even know about Macdonald until this last hour. But I might have to do some research just to try to make this story not sound like someone describing a dream they had, where everything happens for no reason at all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.173.101.236 (talk) 13:50, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

I have issues with one line of this article "This mixed heritage made MacDonald a Métis, a person who straddles two cultures." - there are several problems with it. a Métis (capital M) is not simply "a person who straddles two cultures" - it's a member of a specific community that arose out of multiple cultures, and membership is not automatic because of coming from a mixed heritage. Ranald was Métis not only because of the mixed heritage, but also because the Métis community in BC/Oregon routinely adopted the mixed-blood children of fort employees. In addition to his mixed heritage, his step-mother was Métis, and he was educated in the Red River and raised around Métis, as a Métis, and as a result he was Métis. If it was just as a result of his biracial/mixed heritage, he would be métis, not Métis. I have changed the line to "MacDonald was a Métis." as I'm not sure how to clarify all of this, and don't think that this page is really the place to specify exactly what is or is not a Métis, or to differentiate between métis and Métis.--User:muskwatch —Preceding undated comment added 16:45, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

Archibald McDonald
I edited the name of Ranald MacDonald's father, for though all of his sons spelled it MacDonald, Archibald himself spelled his surname McDonald. I can find citations for this, immediately if you like links, but I can find offline reference to it as well, if necessary. I know a bit about this because Samuel MacDonald, Ranald's half-brother, was my great-great-great grandfather, and I was actually just gathering up the research to write an article, at least a stub, on Archibald, when I noticed that someone had reverted my edit. Please do not do this again, as McDonald is in fact the proper spelling. Thanks.

embryomystic 16:32, 11 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the clarification. In the future, if you use edit summaries your legitimate changes will be less likely to be reverted. Happy editing and thanks for fixing the redirect to Chief Comcomly. If you find more on him please be sure to add it. Katr67 16:56, 11 May 2007 (UTC)


 * That explanation makes sense. Since it was also spelled MacDonald on Chief Comcomly's page (until Katr67 fixed it), it looked like a mistake.  Thanks for your edits. Neier 22:16, 11 May 2007 (UTC)