Crusoe settles there for a time after selling his plantation in Brazil, but, as he explains, “I could not resist the strong Inclination I had to see my Island.” He eventually returns and learns what happened after the Spanish took control of it.ĭefoe probably based part of Robinson Crusoe on the real-life experiences of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who at his own request was put ashore on an uninhabited island in 1704 after a quarrel with his captain and stayed there until 1709. After almost three decades on the island, Crusoe departs (with Friday and a group of pirates) for England. Various encounters with local peoples and Europeans ensue. “Never Man had a more faithful, loving, sincere Servant, than Friday was to me,” Crusoe explains. Donald Crowley ).Ĭrusoe gradually turns “my Man Friday” into an English-speaking Christian. As Crusoe describes one of his earliest interactions with the man, just hours after his escape:Īt last he lays his Head flat upon the Ground, close to my Foot, and sets my other Foot upon his Head, as he had done before and after this, made all the Signs to me of Subjection, Servitude, and Submission imaginable, to let me know, how he would serve me as long as he liv’d I understood him in many Things, and let him know, I was very well pleas’d with him in a little Time I began to speak to him, and teach him to speak to me and first, I made him know his Name should be Friday, which was the Day I sav’d his Life I call’d him so for the Memory of the Time I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know, that was to be my Name. One of the group’s captives escapes, and Crusoe shoots those who pursue him, effectively freeing the captive. How many do you know?Īfter many years, Crusoe discovers a human footprint, and he eventually encounters a group of native peoples-the “Savages,” as he calls them-who bring captives to the island so as to kill and eat them. He carefully documents in a journal everything he does and experiences.Įvery answer in this quiz is the name of a novelist. He salvages what he can from the wreck and establishes a life on the island that consists of spiritual reflection and practical measures to survive. Crusoe is the only survivor, washed up onto a desolate shore. But he encounters a storm in the Caribbean, and his ship is nearly destroyed. Ambitious for more wealth, Crusoe makes a deal with merchants and other plantation owners to sail to Guinea, buy slaves, and return with them to Brazil. He escapes and ends up in Brazil, where he acquires a plantation and prospers. Now several hundred pounds richer, he sails again for Africa but is captured by pirates and sold into slavery. His first experience on a ship nearly kills him, but he perseveres, and a voyage to Guinea “made me both a Sailor and a Merchant,” Crusoe explains. He describes how, as a headstrong young man, he ignored his family’s advice and left his comfortable middle-class home in England to go to sea. Defoe’s first long work of fiction, it introduced two of the most-enduring characters in English literature: Robinson Crusoe and Friday.Ĭrusoe is the novel’s narrator. Written by Himself., novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in London in 1719. With an Account how he was at last as Strangely Deliver’d by Pyrates. Robinson Crusoe, in full The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years, All Alone in an Un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque Having Been Cast on Shore by Shipwreck, Wherein All the Men Perished but Himself. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
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