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History is often stranger than fiction. If you have read Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, or seen one or more of the various films made of the book, you may be interested in the true story of Alexander Selkirk, the man on which Defoe based his story. There are obvious differences between Robinson Crusoe and Alexander Selkirk. Crusoe was marooned for nearly thirty years while Selkirk was stranded for only four years and four months. (Of course, Crusoe had the company of Friday and others for some of the time.) Defoe's island had a tropical location in the Caribbean, near the mouth of the Orinoco river off Venezuela, while Selkirk's was in the Pacific, some 400 miles off the coast of Chile, a much more temperate area. Selkirk's adventures took place in the early 18th century while Crusoe's were set in the mid-1600s. Alexander Selkirk was born in 1676, the seventh son of a cobbler, John Selkirk, and grew up in Lower Largo in the Kingdom of Fife, that area bordering the north coast of the Firth of Forth. It seems he had a bit of a temper. When he was nineteen his brothers tricked him into drinking sea-water, and he made such a fuss that whole family became involved in what today could be called a 'domestic affair' which ended up with Alexander being summoned to appear before the Kirk Session of Largo to explain his unruly behaviour. He found a way out of this situation quite easily. He ran away to sea, enlisting in an expedition heading for the South Seas. This was a privateering expedition led by Captains Dampier and Pickering, who had the sole intention of plundering the Spanish galleons and the rich Spanish colonies. These privateering expeditions were given approval by the government, but in reality it was legalised piracy which was very profitable if the expeditions were successful. While at school Alexander Selkirk had developed a keen interest in mathematics and navigation and became quite proficient in both subjects, something which stood him in good stead, for he soon became a first class navigator and was appointed sailing master (a position equivalent to 'first mate' on a modern ship) on Pickering's ship, the ninety ton vessel Cinque Ports. Unfortunately for all concerned the expedition proved to be a failure. Then Captain Pickering died, and a man named Thomas Stradling took over as captain. Stradling proved to be an incompetent commander. He mishandled his crew and his bad judgements caused unrest among the crew. He was so unpopular that at one time the crew mutinied and forty two of them were put ashore. Dampier intervened and persuaded the crew to return to the Cinque Ports, but there remained an uneasy peace between Stradling and his crew. In 1704, after a number of violent and unsuccessful encounters with Spanish ships the two captains went their separate ways, and the Cinque Ports sailed around Cape Horn and ended up at the islands of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles or so off Valparaiso in Chile, to refit. The largest of these islands was used by privateers as a place where they could go after rounding the Horn to make repairs to their ships. Being off the normal trade routes it was also safe from the attentions of the Spanish. While the ship was here, Alexander had an argument with Captain Stradling over the seaworthiness (or lack of) of the Cinque Ports, which finished with Alexander demanding to be put ashore on the island with his kit, fairly confident that most of the crew would join him. However, none of the crew felt inclined to join him and he was left on the island alone. As things turned out he was the only member of the ship's crew to return safely to England. The vessel sprang leaks and sank off the coast of Peru and most of its crew were drowned. Only the captain and seven other men survived, and they were captured and left to rot in a Peruvian jail. Alexander found that food and shelter on the island were not difficult to obtain. An earlier group of Spanish settlers had left behind a flock of goats which had multiplied, as goats do. There were also turnips and green vegetables which had been planted by pirates twenty years before and which had self seeded. Trees supplied him with the wood to build the frameworks of two huts which he covered with grass and goatskins. He also made clothes from goatskins, and, when his shoes wore out, he went barefoot. In the end his feet became so tough he could walk around anywhere on the island without discomfort. In fact, his life style on the island was remarkably good for his health. The simple food and plenty of exercise gave him a strong, vigorous constitution. And when he ran out of gunpowder he found that, with his new-found speed and stamina, he could capture a goat by chasing it up a hill. However, at first, he had had to struggle against depression and fear, but his mental attitude improved as he discovered the means to ensure his physical survival. But it was the isolation that bothered him most. He became dejected for want of human company. It was eighteen months before he became reconciled to his situation. Reading the Bible and studying his books on navigation helped him to occupy his mind. Eventually, he began to enjoy his island life. The climate was pleasant. On the island, winter only lasted for two months, while in June and July the summer heat was far from intense. On top of which there were no violent storms. He related after he had been rescued how "the manner of life grew exquisitely pleasant, that he never had a Moment heavy upon his Hands; his Nights were untroubled, and his Days joyous from the Practice of Temperance and Exercise. It was his Manner to use Stated Hours and Places for Exercises of Devotion, which he performed aloud, in order to keep up the Faculties of Speech, and to utter himself with greater Energy." It was on 2nd February, 1709, that an expedition, led by the English Captain Woodes Rogers R.N., spotted smoke coming from the island. The captain sent a landing party to investigate, and they met the wild man, Alexander Selkirk, who had lit the fire to attract attention. He must have been a weird sight, being completely dressed in goat skins. Fortunately for him, the pilot on Rogers ship, The Duke, was Captain William Dampier, who recognised him and vouched for him. Rogers was suitably impressed with Alexander's ability to survive on the desert island. Also, since he had studied his books while alone on the island, he had retained his old navigational skills, and before long Rogers put him in charge of the ship Increase which had recently been captured from the Spaniards. And so he re-embarked on his career as a privateer. Within a year he was master of The Duke, the ship that rescued him. He returned to England in October 1711 with £800, his share of the prize money from captured booty. When he returned to Lower Largo his family were overjoyed. They had long given him up for dead and were astonished that, not only was he still alive, but rich as well. But he found it difficult ashore, struggling to adjust to 'normal' life again and he often retreated into the country to try and recapture the solitude he enjoyed on Juan Fernandez. In 1713 he published an account of his adventures which Daniel Defoe used as the basis of his now famous novel: 'Robinson Crusoe'. Alexander, however, could never really readjust to life on the land, and, in 1720, a year after he was immortalised by Defoe, he joined the Royal Navy and went back to sea on board H.M.S. Weymouth. When he went he left with his mother the possessions he had cherished in his fight for survival on Juan Fernandez - his gun, his clothes chest and the coconut shell he had used as a drinking vessel. Unfortunately he never returned home. He contracted the dreaded fever due to drinking infected water, and died on board ship in December, 1721. He was buried at sea off the coast of Africa. BILL HUTCHINGS |
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