Alexander Selkirk – The real Robinson Crusoe

Alexander Selkirk was born in Scotland in 1676 and has one of the most amazing survival stories of all time, he was also the main inspiration for the fictional character “Robinson Crusoe”.

Selkirk was an unruly youth and preferred adventure to regular life, so when he had the opportunity to join the crew of a buccaneering ship he jumped at the chance, becoming part of a ship led by Captain William Dampier on his journey to the Pacific.

Over the next few years Selkirk would engage in acts of piracy towards other nations, as free-sailing ships like this were allowed to do so by their home countries, and he gained considerable wealth in the process.

His good fortune would not last though as during a fierce battle with a well armed French ship in February of 1704, Selkirk’s vessel became badly damaged, forcing them to land on the Juan Fernández islands, located some 420 miles off the coast of Chile.

The ships captain wanted to quickly resupply with food and fresh water and head off again in-case the nearby Spanish ships should find them. Selkirk noticed their ship was to badly damaged to make the trip to the nearest port, so he requested to remain on the island, fearing the ship would sink half way there.

The captain took him up on his offer and handed him a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding and some clothes. He immediately regretted his decision and requested to be allow back on-board, but the captain apparently refused.

At first Selkirk stayed close to the shore line of the main island, eating spiny lobsters and crab, hoping for rescue to come along soon. He stayed close to the shore for the easy access to food but sea lions invaded his beach during the peak of their mating season, and not wanting to get stabbed with a venom filled spine he retreated to the center of the island.

This proved to be a smart move as wild goats which had been introduced to the island many years before by the Spanish and now provided him with meat and milk. Wild turnips and cabbage were also present, and after making a fishing spear he ended up with a pretty nice diet.

He was lucky at first to not have to struggle for food, but the island presented other problems. He claimed he was frequently attacked at night by rats who tried to eat him whenever they found him asleep, so he ended up sleeping close to a pack of wild cats who had also been introduced earlier. Feeding them fish scraps and pieces of meat he semi-tamed them into letting him sleep close to them, which solved the rat problem.

Eventually he made two huts to live in, with the first being his living and sleeping hut, and the second being just for cooking and food storage.

During his time on the island he spotted two ships which both landed to resupply with water, but unfortunately for him they were both Spanish ships which would have probably just killed him, so he hid in the trees until they left. The first ship he avoided easily, but some of the crew from the second spotted him and chased him through the forest. Apparently he climbed a tree to escape, and one of the Spanish soldiers actually went to the toilet at the base of the tree he was hiding up, but luckily for him he wasn’t spotted.

His time on the island went surprisingly well for the most part, with only one major accident. When his gun powder ran out he hunted goats by running after them with a spear, and during one such chase he ran over a small cliff that had the view of the edge blocked by bush’s.

Luckily for him the goat ran through first and Selkirk landed on top of the animal, which likely saved him from a broken back. He lay there for about a day, not able to move right away from the pain, but surprisingly only suffered major bruising and no broken bones.

On 2nd February 1709 a privateering ship named “Duke” landed on the island to restock their water, only to find an ecstatic Selkirk bouncing up and down on the beach. After he calmed down he agreed to help the crew who were suffering from scurvy, and so he went out and caught 2 or 3 goats a day. After everyone was ready Selkirk left with the crew and joined them under the command of captain Thomas Dover.

Selkirk stayed with this crew for a while and then remained in the field of buccaneering for the next few years. On 1st October 1711 he landed on the south of England after eight years away and spent his time living in London. After moving around England over the next few years he enlisted in the royal navy and died at sea from Yellow fever on 13th December 1721, he was buried at sea.