DANIEL DEFOE AND THE ORIGINS OF ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Daniel Defoe, the author of ROBINSON CRUSOE, was born in London in 1661. He was a partisan of William III and when this royal patron died Defoe found himself with severe financial problems. He had previously failed in business - he was a hosier - with debts of £17,000 but his creditors, convinced of his integrity, allowed him to continue his buisiness.
However, in 1703 he had to pay a fine of £3,000 to the government for libel. From that period he became a political writer and for his attacks on the government of Queen Anne he was imprisoned for thirteen months in Newgate Jail.
Defoe was sixty when he wrote his famous book in 1721, a book which became, and has remained, a classic of English literature. The historical original of Robinson Crusoe was Alexander Selcraig, the seventh son of John Selcraig and Euphan Mackie. He was born in 1676 in Largo, Scotland.
He was sent to sea in 1695, changing his name to Selkirk and on May 18th., 1703, he sailed in the "Cinque Ports" galley, 96tons, 18 guns, and 63 men, Charles Pickering, Captain; Thomas Stradling, Lieutenant; and himself, Selkirk, Sailing Master. In that year they anchored at La Granda, Brazil, where Catain Pickering died, with the command falling upon Stradling. February of the following year saw them anchor at the unihabited island of Juan Fernandez to take in food and water. They left in pursuit of a French ship on February 29th. but returned in September. During this time Selkirk had frequent quarrels with Stradling and ultimately felt that the ship was not sea-worthy. So when the "Cinque Ports" departed at the end of the month, all his effects, with additional supplies, were taken on shore and he remained alone on the island.
[ALEXANDER SELKIRK: from the Probert Encyclopaedia....
Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish adventurer. He was born in 1676 at Largo, Fifeshire and died in 1721. He joined Dampier's privateering expedition in 1703; but when the vessel he was aboard landed at Juan Fernandez, off the west coast of South America, in 1704, he asked to be put ashore because of an argument with the ship's captain. In 1709 he left the island with Dampier, returned to Largo where he led a reclusive life, before returning to the sea. His experiences were the inspiration for the character Robsinson Crusoe in the book by Daniel Defoe.]
On February 2nd. 1709 the ships "Duke" and "Duchess", commanded by Captain Woodes Rogers anchored at Juan Fernandez and found Selkirk. He was taken on as mate of the "Duke" and they sailed on the 12th., arriving at Erith, on the Thames, on 14th. October 1711. The following year Rogers published an account of his voyages in which he related the finding of Selkirk and how he had lived alone on the island.. "four years and four months".
Another Officer of the same expedition, Captain Edward Cooke, published a similar volume and stated on the title page - "Wherein an Account is given of Mr. Alexander Selkirk, his manner of living and taming some wild Beasts during the four Years and four Months he lived upon the uninhabited Island of Juan Fernandez."
After his time on the "Duke" he [Selkirk] returned to Largo in 1712 and invested the money he had made. However, in 1717 he went back to the sea and became a Lieutanant in the Royal Navy and died at sea in 1723. Defoe used these accounts as the basis for Robinson Crusoe, with many embellishments, with shipwrecks, mutineers, and cannibals.
As evidence of the lasting popularity of Defoe's account of Selkirk's adventures a monument was ultimately erected on the island, the inscription which reads....
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IN MEMORY OF
A native of LARGO, in the County of FIFE, SCOTLAND,
He was landed from the Cinque Ports galley, 96tons, He died Lieutenant of H.M.S. Weymouth,
This tablet is erected near Selkirk's lookout,
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The Juan Fernandez group of islands are located 360 miles from Valparaiso, Chile. They were not colonised until the early part of the 20th. century. An exploration in 1908 by the Swedish Magellanic expedition yielded a report by the geographer Dr. Carl Skottsberg who stated that "From a botanical point of view Juan Fernandez is one of the world's most famous places."
There is now a thriving community on the islands and the worldwide popularity of Defoe's book is reflected in the current names of the islands - Isla Santa Clara, Isla Alejandro Selkirk, and Isla Robinson Crusoe.
Front page.
Introduction.
Daniel Defoe and the origins of Robinson Crusoe.
The UK TV series schedule.
The 1990 CD tracks list and credits.
The 1997 CD tracks list and credits.
The UK TV series credits.
Ordering CD's, contacts and addresses.
Research, letters and e-mails.
More Robinson Crusoe information.
Robert Hoffman today.
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