Robinson Crusoe is a novel written by Daniel Defoe. Published in 1719 it is said to be based on the adventures of Alexander Selkirk. Selkirk was a Scottish sailor who spent over four years on the uninhabited island of Más a Tierra. The island which was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966 lies 670 km (420 mi) off the coast of Chile.
Alexander Selkirk was born in the village of Lower Largo, Fife, Scotland in 1676. He ran away to sea in 1695. By 1703, having set sail from Kinsale, Ireland he was the sailing master of the ship the ‘Cinque Ports’. The ship was a galley on a privateering expedition off the coast of South America. Selkirk felt his ship would sink following sea battles with the Spanish and asked to be put ashore.
When the ship stopped at the island of Más a Tierra to take on fresh water and supplies, the captain granted Selkirk’s request. He was put ashore and was given bedding and some clothes, tools, tobacco, a bible and a gun and ammunition. He lived alone on the island until 1709 when he was rescued by a passing English ship.
Selkirk returned to Scotland in October 1711. He wrote an account of his adventures in 1712. Daniel Defoe later fictionalised his story in the novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’. Selkirk joined the Royal Navy and returned to sea in 1720. He served on board HMS Weymouth off the coast of West Africa. He contracted yellow fever and died on December 13th 1721. He was buried at sea.
Alexander Selkirk the Scottish seaman whose adventures inspired the story of ‘Robinson Crusoe’ was taken off island of Más a Tierra (now Robinson Crusoe Island), after four years of being marooned there, in the year 1709 On This Day.
