Talk:Battle of Gannoruwa/GA1

GA Review

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1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose):

Bad prose style, too many times also. You're repeating yourself. The Portuguese force was almost completely destroyed in the fight that ensued. Approximately 4000 soldiers of the Portuguese force were killed/Rajasinghe eventually made an agreement with the Dutch to drive the Portuguese from the country. As a result, the Portuguese were driven out by the Dutch in 1658

b (MoS):

1. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references):

b (citations to reliable sources):

Regional newspapers don't strike me as reliable sources in this case. Please source the story with scientific secondary works and primary sources. It's OK to use foreign language sources, wikipedia has enough people capable of checking material in almost any language.

c (OR):

1. • References needed:

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

2. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

I don't believe everything in this article, so I'm not sure it's free from bias. Portuguese sources are missing. That clearly doesn't help countering bias.

1. It is stable.

   No edit wars etc.:

2. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

3. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

Comments: In Battle of Gannoruwa#Background the reader needs to be introduced to the rivalry between the Dutch and the Portuguese. There were naval encounters and such.

In Battle of Gannoruwa#Provocations you mention the king and the Portuguese confiscating animals and than you say: The Portuguese also killed Rajasinghe's Disawe, a regional officer, of Batticaloa, much to the king's anger. That makes it sound that killing an officer is a minor incident compared to confiscating an elephant or two horses. Such a theses needs to highlight the worth of human life in this country with a bit more background information. The other posibility is, you change it so the killing of the officer(directly under the king's command!) is the more serious provocation.

Battle of Gannoruwa#Preparations You mention that the Portuguese were under the command of Fernao de Mendoca Furtado, the nephew and son in law of Mello. Portugal was a VERY Christian country. Such a liaison defies the Catholic church's legislation against incest. Please do provide a reliable source for that claim.

Battle of Gannoruwa#The king's vow needs to be expanded. Was he superstitious and thinking of it as an omen? Tell the reader more about the belief of the Sinhalese.

Battle of Gannoruwa#Battle makes the reader wonder and is hard to believe. They swiftly surrounded an army with heavy artillery? Before the Portuguese troops could reach the high ground at Kiriwat Talawa, the Sinhalese army surrounded them and opened fire with their heavy guns, including jingals. You can make this right from the start and introduce the arms and warfare of the different factions. Take a look at Battle of Artemisium or Battle of Plataea for comparison. Wandalstouring (talk) 18:40, 22 February 2009 (UTC)