Mystery of Alexander Selkirk, the real Robinson Crusoe, solved

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent Telegraph.co.uk


Scottish sailor Selkirk was marooned on a small tropical island in
the Pacific for more than four years. Photo: MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY

Cast away on a desert island, surviving on what nature alone can provide, praying for rescue but at the same time fearing the sight of a boat on the horizon. These are the imaginative creations of Daniel Defoe in his famous novel Robinson Crusoe. But the story is believed to be based on the real-life experience of Scottish sailor Selkirk, marooned in 1704 on a small tropical island in the Pacific for more than four years, and now archaeological evidence has been found to support his existence on the island.

An article in the journal Post-Medieval Archaeology claims that an archaeological dig on the Argentinian island of Aguas Buenas, 470 miles off the Chilean coast, reveals evidence of the campsite of an early European occupant. The most compelling evidence is the discovery of a fragment of a pair of navigational dividers which could only have belonged to a ship's master or navigator, which historical evidence suggests Selkirk must have been. In Selkirk's rescuer, Captain Woodes Rogers' account of what he saw on arrival at Aguas Buenas in 1709 lists "some practical pieces" and mathematical instruments amongst the few possessions that Selkirk had taken with him from the ship. Dr David Caldwell, National Museums Scotland, who helped lead the dig, said the find finally confirmed the whereabouts of the castaway camp. "The evidence uncovered at Aguas Buenas corroborates the stories of Alexander Selkirk's stay on the island and provides a fascinating insight into his existence there.," he said. "I am satisfied in my mind that this is the place where Selkirk set up his camp. I never thought we had a chance of finding it but the discovery of the divider was crucial."

The finds also provide an insight into exactly how Selkirk might have lived on the island. Postholes suggest he built two shelters near to a freshwater stream, and had access to a viewpoint over the harbour from where he would be able to watch for approaching ships and ascertain whether they were friend or foe. Accounts written shortly after his rescue describe him shooting goats with a gun rescued from the ship, and eventually learning to outrun them, eating their meat and using their skins as clothing. He also passed time reading the Bible and singing psalms, and seems to have enjoyed a more peaceful and devout existence than at any other time in his life. Alexander Selkirk was born in the small seaside town of Lower Largo, Fife, Scotland in 1676. A younger son of a shoemaker, he was drawn to a life at sea from an early age. In 1704, during a privateering voyage on the Cinque Ports, Selkirk fell out with the commander over the boat's seaworthiness and he decided to remain behind on island, now named Robinson Crusoe, where they had landed to overhaul the worm-infested vessel. He cannot have known that it would be five years before he was picked up by an English ship visiting the island. Published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is one of the oldest and most famous adventure stories in English literature. Whilst it is unclear whether Defoe and Selkirk actually met, Defoe would certainly have heard the stories of Selkirk's adventure and used the tales as the basis for his novel.