Survivor on a Desert Island

In the family of a Scottish tanner and shoemaker in 1676 was born Alexander Selkirk, from an early age had a very undisciplined character. At the age of seventeen he was summoned by the elders of the local church to a council, where he received a severe censure for "unbecoming behavior", and a few years later - for beating his brothers.

Tired of the moralizing of the church authorities, in 1703 Alexander took a job as a privateer to the famous explorer William Dampierre and went with his expedition to the southern seas.

Several ships took part in the expedition, and Selkirk began to rapidly gain seafaring experience. At that time Britain was engaged in a war of succession against Spain, and Dampier's merchant ships were authorized by the Admiralty to make armed attacks on enemy ships. So they fought long battles until, in October 1705, they stopped at an island in the uninhabited Juan Fernandez archipelago to stock up on water and food.

Selkirk expressed his concerns to Dampierre about one of the ships named Five Ports and its navigational capabilities and wanted to make the necessary repairs. The captain did not heed his privateer's advice, but Alexander continued to insist. To prove to the crew the dangers of sailing on a ship that was taking on water in the hold, he stated that he would rather stay on a deserted island than go to sea on a defective ship.

The crew had had enough of his lamentations, and Selkirk was landed on Juan Fernandez, given some clothes, utensils and tools, a mattress, an axe, a musket and powder, and a Bible. Having disposed of the troublemaker, the corsairs sailed away. "The Five Ports actually sank off the coast of modern-day Colombia. The survivors were picked up by the Spanish, deported to Peru, and imprisoned.

Selkirk stayed on the coast of the island, afraid to move away from the sea and listening to the roaring of what he thought were wild animals. Finally, he settled in a small cave, looking over the horizon every day for a passing ship and eating clams and lobsters. Alexander suffered greatly from remorse for his rash act, depression and loneliness. One day, numerous sea elephants swam ashore for their mating season, and he had to take refuge in the interior of the island.

Alexander had no idea how his life and diet far from the sea would improve and diversify. He found peppers and his diet was no longer bland, he ate cabbage and wild turnips, caught some goats and could have milk and meat. However, he was kept awake by the rats that swarmed on the island and bit Selkirk at night, but he managed to domesticate wild cats and they helped him a lot in this difficult situation.

His resourcefulness enabled him to make good use of the tools left behind by the corsairs. From the rims of barrels Alexander forged a new knife, with which he built two huts from the branches of pepper trees, and also cut up the carcasses of game he killed with his musket and sheared goats. However, the gunpowder ran out, and he had to catch his prey with his bare hands.

While chasing goats over rocks, Selkirk once slipped and fell, losing consciousness for 24 hours, but he survived and recovered from his injury. When his clothes wore out, Alexander used a nail and goatskins to sew new ones, remembering the lessons of his tanner father. Only Selkirk could not make shoes, and soon his feet became so calloused that he no longer needed shoes.

Alexander read much of the Bible and sang psalms, thus learning English and boosting his morale. His stamina came in especially handy when two Spanish ships anchored near the island. As much as the prisoner wanted to go home, he realized that the Spaniards would kill him, so he hid and let the ships sail again.

Four years and four months later, on February 2, 1709, William Dampier arrived on the island again with two ships. The sent landing party sought out Selkirk, who showed unbridled joy at seeing his liberators. Dampierre's men were beginning to suffer from scurvy after their long voyage, but Alexander, in gratitude for their return, cleverly caught some goats, gathered fresh fruit and vegetables, and fed the crew with meat and wholesome food, for which he was nicknamed "the governor of the island".

The captain of one of the ships, Rogers, was impressed by Selkirk's composure and physical strength. Alexander became so respected for his courage that he was appointed second mate to the captain, and later even entrusted with command of one of the ships, the Increase, on which he continued to pirate, harassing and plundering Spanish vessels. Selkirk circumnavigated the globe, returning home after an eight-year absence, on October 1, 1711.

Selkirk's adventures attracted much attention in England. Rogers wrote a book including an account of Alexander's experience and published it in 1712. Selkirk was interviewed about his stay on the island, and the following year he himself wrote an article about his story. Alexander enjoyed his celebrity and the riches gained from his voyages, but his hard character soon took its toll.

In September 1713 he was accused of assaulting a ship's carpenter in London, for which he faced imprisonment. To avoid arrest, he left, met a young milkmaid, Sophia Bruce, and brought her back to London in early 1717. Selkirk was soon drafted into the Royal Navy, however, and he returned to sea, leaving Sophia behind.

In 1720 at Plymouth he married the widow of the innkeeper Francis Candice, continuing his service as assistant captain and participating in patrols along the west coast of Africa. On December 13, 1721, he died of yellow fever, which was contracted in Africa by the ship's entire crew. His body was thrown into the sea according to the tradition of corsairs of the time.

It is said that Daniel Defoe in his book The Life and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, struck readers with many similarities to Selkirk's experiences. Even the illustrations for the first edition betrayed an uncanny resemblance to Alexander's figure, which spread the opinion that Selkirk was the prototype for the fictional character Robinson Crusoe.