Scotsman Alexander Selkirk (1676 – 1721), also spelled Selcraig or Selchraig – they were not big on consistent spelling in Scotland in those days – was a problem child. An unruly youth and teenage delinquent, Selkirk was born and raised in Fife, Scotland. Those traits followed him into adulthood, and got him into serious trouble: marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island for years. As seen below, the tale of his survival was the inspiration behind Robinson Crusoe.
A Quarrelsome Streak Kept Selkirk Constantly in Trouble
Selkirk first appears in the historic record in 1693, when he was summoned by the church elders of the Kirk Session for “indecent conduct at church”. It is unclear just what the indecent conduct was. He did not bother to put in an appearance: Kirk records note that he: “did not [appear] being gone away to [the] sea”. By 1701, Selkirk was back in Fife, got into trouble, and was summoned by the Kirk Session once again: he had assaulted his brothers, father, and a brother’s wife after he was pranked with a cup of salt water.
This time, Selkirk actually heeded the Kirk Session’s summons, and showed up. He apologized to the congregation, and promised to mend his ways. Selkirk returned to the sea as a privateer, or legalized pirate. A competent seaman, he rose to become sailing master, or navigator. He remained quarrelsome, however, and that disagreeable trait eventually caught up with him.
Talking Himself Into Getting Marooned
In 1704, Selkirk sailed on the Cinque Ports under a Captain Thomas Stradling, with whom he ceaselessly quarreled. When the ship stopped at the uninhabited Juan Fernandez Archipelago, about 420 miles off the coast of Chile, Selkirk complained that the vessel was unseaworthy, and demanded extensive repairs. The captain refused, so Selkirk stated that he would rather stay behind on an uninhabited island, rather than sail on in such a dangerous ship.
To Selkirk’s dismay, Captain Stradling called his bluff, and left him on an island with a knife, hatchet, musket, cooking pot, some food, and a Bible. It was the start of a years-long ordeal. When Captain Stradling called Selkirk’s bluff and landed him in the uninhabited Mas a Tiera, now Robinson Crusoe, Island, Selkirk repented and begged to be taken back aboard ship. A gloating Captain Stradling refused, and left Selkirk behind as he sailed on.
Survival on a Deserted Island
As things turned out, Selkirk had been right. The Cinque Ports actually was unseaworthy, and foundered off the coast of what is now Colombia. Most aboard drowned. The few survivors who made it to shore were taken prisoner by the Spanish, then at war with Britain. They endured years of privation and torture. A despondent Selkirk, unaware of his relatively good fortune, set about to survive as a castaway.
At first he stayed along the shoreline, barely surviving on lobsters and scanning the horizon in hopes of rescue by a passing ship. No rescue came, and eventually, thousands of sea lions that congregated on the shoreline for mating season forced him into the island’s interior. Luckily for him, he discovered that there was a lot more food inland: turnips, spices, and most importantly, feral goats.
Getting Marooned Might Have Saved Selkirk
When Selkirk ran out of gunpowder for his musket, he chased the goats on foot and wrestled them to the ground. In addition to meat and milk, they provided him with skins for clothing when his clothes were reduced to rags. He was pestered by rats that gnawed at him as he slept. Relief finally came when he tamed some feral cats that kept the rodents at bay. In his long solitude, Selkirk constantly read his Bible and sang hymns to keep his mind engaged.
Twice, ships dropped anchor off the island. Unfortunately for Selkirk, however, both ships were Spanish enemies, so he was forced to hide when their crew came ashore. Salvation finally arrived in the form of a British ship in 1709, by which time Selkirk hardly remembered how to speak. Selkirk’s tale of survival made him a celebrity, and eventually inspired Daniel Defoe to write The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
History Halls – Fighting Women: Empress Matilda
Smithsonian Magazine, July 2005 – The Real Robinson Crusoe
World History Encyclopedia – Alexander Selkirk
