These revolts had little chance of success, despite the fact that there were up to ten times more captives than crew on the vessels. However, several revolts ended in catastrophe for the European crews. In 1725, the Vautour was lost at Morondava following a revolt of enslaved Africans and, in 1792, the Françoise lost its entire crew (Bialuschewski, 2011; Gerbeau, 2013, pp. 51-54; Letter from Floris to Cossigny and Dupuy, Port-Louis, 02 May 1792. MNA, F/37, f. 48). In 1807, the Ecureuil was wrecked following a slave revolt, but the captives appear to have been unable to escape (Anonymous, Report on vessels in the harbours of Saint-Denis and Saint-Paul, 1 April 1807 to 31 March 1808. ANOM, COL, C3/27, f. 290). In 1770, officer Dumargaro of the Mouche used swivel guns to come to the rescue of another vessel where 180 captives had mounted an insurrection. Together with the crews of five other vessels in the harbour, the French were able to take control of the ship in a boarding operation. The toll of casualties was high: forty-five  
enslaved people were killed and 50 were injured (Dumargaro, Report of maritime services and campaigns. s.d.n.l. AN, MAR, C7/94, p. 38).  
As for the Dutch, the case of the Meermin is interesting because it is the sole example of a successful revolt on the high seas. In 1766, the commander, despite two unsuccessful attempted revolts in Madagascar, presented swords to the captives on deck, with the instruction that they were to be cleaned. The captives took control of the vessel with ease and forced the crew members to set sail for the Great Island. However, second officer Olof Leij decided to take the opposite course, and the vessel grounded in the Struisbaai, close to the Cape Colony. Once there, Leij alerted the local authorities, and the departing captives fell into an ambush. The remaining 103 enslaved people of the 140 purchased in Madagascar were transported to the Cape (Sleigh and Westra, 2013).