Was there a robinson. Was Robinson Crusoe on ... Baikal ?! Traveler Daniel Foss

In no time she became a bestseller and laid the foundation for the classic English novel. The author's work gave impetus to a new literary direction and cinema, and the name Robinson Crusoe became a household name. Despite the fact that Defoe’s manuscript is covered in philosophical arguments from cover to cover, it is firmly established among young readers: “The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” is usually referred to as children's literature, although adult fans of non-trivial scenes are ready to plunge into unprecedented adventures on an uninhabited island along with the main a hero.

History of creation

The writer Daniel Defoe immortalized his own name by publishing the philosophical adventure novel Robinson Crusoe in 1719. Although the writer has written far from one book, it is the work about the unfortunate traveler that is firmly embedded in the consciousness of the literary world. Few people know that Daniel not only pleased the regulars of bookstores, but also introduced the inhabitants of foggy Albion to such a literary genre as novel.

The writer called his manuscript allegory, taking as a basis philosophical teachings, prototypes of people and incredible stories. Thus, the reader not only observes the suffering and willpower of Robinson, thrown to the sidelines of life, but also a person who is morally reborn in communication with nature.

Defoe invented this fundamental work for a reason; the fact is that the masters of the word inspired the stories of boatswain Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years on the uninhabited island of Mas-a-Tierra in the Pacific Ocean.

When the sailor was 27 years old, he, as part of the ship's crew, went sailing to the shores of South America. Selkirk was a stubborn and stabbing man: an adventurer could not keep his mouth shut and did not observe subordination, so the slightest remark by Stradling, the captain of the vessel, provoked a violent conflict. Once, after another quarrel, Alexander demanded to stop the ship and land it on land.

Perhaps the boatswain wanted to scare his boss, but he immediately satisfied the demands of the sailor. When the ship began to approach an uninhabited island, Selkirk immediately changed his mind, but Stradling was implacable. The sailor, who paid for his sharp tongue, spent four years in the "exclusion zone", and then, when he managed to return to life in society, he began to pace the bars and tell the stories of his adventures to local onlookers.

Alexander was on the island with a small supply of things, with him there was gunpowder, an ax, a gun and other accessories. Initially, the sailor suffered from loneliness, but over time he was able to adapt to the harsh realities of life. Rumor has it that, returning to the city's cobbled streets with stone houses, a sailing lover missed staying on an uninhabited piece of land. Journalist Richard Style, who loved to listen to the traveler’s stories, quoted Selkirk as saying:

“I now have 800 pounds, but I will never be as happy as I was when I had no farthing behind my soul.”

Richard Style published Alexander’s stories in The Englishman, indirectly introducing Britain to a man who would be called today. But it is possible that the newspaperman took the sayings from his own head, so this publication is pure truth or fiction - one can only guess.

Daniel Defoe never revealed the secrets of his own novel to the public, so hypotheses among writers continue to develop to this day. Since Alexander was an uneducated drunkard, he did not look like his book incarnation in the person of Robinson Crusoe. Therefore, some researchers are inclined to believe that Henry Pitman served as a prototype.

This doctor was sent into exile in the West Indies, but did not accept his fate and, together with his unfortunate comrades, took an escape. It’s hard to say if luck was on Henry’s side. After the shipwreck, he ended up on the uninhabited island of Salt Tortuga, although in any case it could have ended much worse.

Other lovers of novels are inclined to believe that the writer was inspired by the lifestyle of a certain ship captain Richard Knox, who spent 20 years in captivity in Sri Lanka. It should not be ruled out that Defoe reincarnated himself in Robinson Crusoe. The master of the word had a busy life, he not only dipped his pen in the inkwell, but also was engaged in journalism and even espionage.

Biography

Robinson Crusoe was the third son in the family and from early childhood dreamed of sea adventures. The boy’s parents wanted the offspring of a happy future and did not want his life to be like a biography or. In addition, the elder brother of Robinson died in the war in Flanders, and the middle one went missing.

Therefore, the father saw in the protagonist the only support in the future. He tearfully begged the offspring to take up his mind and strive for a measured and calm life of an official. But the boy did not prepare for any craft, but spent his days idly, dreaming of conquering the body of water on Earth.

The instructions of the head of the family pacified his fervor for a short while, but when the young man was 18 years old, he secretly gathered his belongings from his parents and was tempted by the free journey provided by his friend's father. Already the first day on the ship became the harbinger of future trials: a storm broke out in Robinson’s soul remorse, which passed along with inclement weather and was finally dispelled by alcohol.

It is worth saying that this was not the last black streak in the life of Robinson Crusoe. The young man managed to turn from a merchant into a miserable slave of a robber ship after being captured by Turkish corsairs, and also visited Brazil after a Portuguese ship saved him. True, the conditions of salvation were harsh: the captain promised the young man freedom only after 10 years.

In Brazil, Robinson Crusoe worked tirelessly on tobacco and sugarcane plantations. The protagonist of the work continued to lament over his father’s instructions, but a passion for adventure outweighed a calm lifestyle, so Crusoe again got involved in adventures. Robinson’s colleagues on the workshop listened to his stories about trips to the shores of Guinea, so it is not surprising that the planters decided to build a ship in order to secretly transport slaves to Brazil.

The transportation of slaves from Africa was fraught with dangers of maritime passage and legal difficulties. Robinson participated in this illegal expedition as a ship clerk. The ship sailed on September 1, 1659, that is, exactly eight years after his escape from home.

The prodigal son did not attach importance to the portent of fate, but in vain: the team survived a severe storm, and the ship gave a leak. In the end, the remaining crew members set off on a boat that capsized due to a huge shaft the size of a mountain. Exhausted Robinson was the only survivor of the team: the main character managed to get to land, where his many years of adventure began.

Plot

When Robinson Crusoe realized that he was on a desert island, he was overcome by despair and grief over his fallen comrades. In addition, beached hats, caps and shoes reminded of past events. Overcoming depression, the protagonist began to reflect on a method of survival in this vicious and forgotten place by God. The hero finds supplies and tools on the ship, and is also engaged in the construction of a hut and a stockade around it.

The most necessary thing for Robinson was the box of a carpenter, who at that time he would not exchange for a whole ship filled with gold. Crusoe realized that he would have to stay on a desert island for more than one month or even more than one year, so he began to equip the territory: Robinson planted fields with cereals, and tamed wild goats became a source of meat and milk.

This unfortunate traveler felt like a primitive man. The hero cut off from civilization had to be smart and industrious: he learned to bake bread, make clothes and burn dishes from clay.

Among other things, Robinson grabbed feathers, paper, ink, a Bible from the ship, as well as a dog, a cat and a talkative parrot, which brightened his lonely existence. In order to “lighten his soul even a little”, the protagonist kept a personal diary, where he recorded both remarkable and insignificant events, for example: “Today it was raining.”

Exploring the island, Crusoe discovered traces of savage cannibals who travel by land and have feasts, where the main dish is human meat. Once Robinson rescues a captive savage who was supposed to get to the cannibals on the table. Crusoe teaches a new acquaintance of the English language and calls it Friday, because on this day of the week their fateful acquaintance took place.

At the next cannibal raid, Crusoe, together with Friday, attack the savages and save two more prisoners: Friday's father and the Spaniard, whose ship was wrecked.

Finally, Robinson caught luck by the tail: a ship, captured by the rebels, was sailing to the island. The heroes of the work release the captain and help him regain control of the ship. Thus, Robinson Crusoe, after 28 years of life on a desert island, returns to the civilized world to relatives who considered him long dead. Daniel Defoe’s book has a happy ending: in Lisbon, Crusoe makes a profit from a Brazilian plantation, which makes him fabulously rich.

Robinson does not want to travel by sea anymore, so he transports his wealth to England by land. There, he and Fridays are waiting for the last test: at the intersection of the Pyrenees, the heroes are blocked by a hungry bear and a pack of wolves, with whom they have to fight.

• The novel about the traveler, settled down on a desert island, has a sequel. The book “Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” was published in 1719 along with the first part of the work. True, she did not find recognition and glory among the reading public. In Russia, this novel was not published in Russian from 1935 to 1992. The third book, Serious Thoughts by Robinson Crusoe, has not yet been translated into Russian.
• In the film "Life and the Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" (1972), the main role went to, who shared the set with Vladimir Marenkov and Valentin Kulik. This picture in the USSR was watched by 26.3 million viewers.

• The full name of Defoe’s work is: “Life, extraordinary and amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived alone for 28 years on an uninhabited island off the coast of America near the mouth of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown by a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship besides him, he died, outlining his unexpected release by the pirates, written by himself. "
• Robinsonade is a new genre in adventure literature and cinema that describes the survival of a person or group of people on a desert island. The number of works shot and written in a similar style can not be counted, but you can highlight the popular television series, such as "Lost", where they played, Terry O’Quinn, Naveen Andrews and other actors.
• The main character from the work of Defoe migrated not only to films, but also to animated works. In 2016, viewers saw the family comedy “Robinson Crusoe: A Very Inhabited Island”.

Alexander Selkirk was born in 1676 in Scotland on the North Sea coast in a shoemaker's family. In his father’s workshop, he was bored. But uncontrollably attracted to the tavern "Red Lion", where experienced sailors gathered. Hiding behind barrels, he listened to stories about the “Flying Dutchman” - a sailing ship with a crew of the dead, about the land of gold Eldorado, about brave sailors and fierce storms, about the impudent raids of corsairs and looted wealth.

For eighteen years he left the house and went to sea. Alas: soon the ship was captured by French pirates. The young sailor was captured and sold into slavery. But he managed to free himself and engage in a pirate ship.

He returned home with a gold earring in his ear and a tightly stuffed purse. But a quiet life soon got bored. And at the beginning of 1703, at the London Gazette, Selkirk read that the famous captain Dampierre was preparing to sail to the West Indies for gold on two ships. Such a prospect suited the Scot who was “sick” with the sea and the adventures, and Alexander signed up for the crew. He was to serve as a boatswain at the 16-gun Sank Pore gallery. In addition to her, the flotilla included the 26-gun brig "St. George" - a gift from the king of England.

The purpose of the campaign is an attack on Spanish ships, the capture of cities on land. Course - South Seas, Latin American countries. In a word, the extortionate expedition usual for that time under the slogan of the struggle of England against hostile Spain.

Decommissioned ashore

At first, ship life was calm, but the captain of the Sank Por ship, on which Selkirk served, suddenly died. Dampier appointed a new one - Thomas Stredling, a man famous for his steep disposition and cruel character. Difficult swimming began. And not only because the boatswain Selkirk didn’t get along well with the new captain. Now ships sailed on almost unexplored seas. A year and a half, ships wandered around the Atlantic Ocean, making bold raids on Spanish ships, and then, following the path of Magellan, went into the Pacific Ocean. Off the Chilean coast, English ships parted. Sank Por headed for the islands of the Juan Fernandez archipelago, where he hoped to stock up on fresh water. It was here that the events took place, thanks to which the name Selkirk remained in history.

After another skirmish with Captain Stredling, the boatswain Selkirk decided to leave the Sank Por, which by then had already been pretty battered and leaking. In October 1704, an entry appeared in the ship's log: “Alexander Selkirk was decommissioned from the vessel of his own free will.” A flintlock, a pound of gunpowder, bullets and a flint, a dress and linen, tobacco, an ax, a knife, a cauldron were loaded into a boat, they did not even forget the Bible.

Selkirk preferred to entrust fate to the uninhabited island of Mas a Tierra, part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago, 600 km west of Chile, instead of staying on a wrecked ship under the command of a hostile captain. In his heart he hoped that he would not have to stay on the island for a long time. After all, ships often came here for fresh water. But before the ship appeared on the horizon, he had to take care of food - he was left with food only for one day.

Fortunately, there were many wild goats on the island. So, as long as there is gunpowder and bullets, food is provided. However, time passed, and the rescue ship did not appear. Willy-nilly, I had to settle seriously on a piece of land lost in the ocean. Having examined the "possessions", Selkirk found that the island is covered with dense vegetation and is about 20 km long and 5 km wide. On the shore, it was possible to hunt turtles and collect their eggs in the sand. Birds were found in abundance, along the coast there were lobsters and seals.

Life on the island

The first months of the newly-minted robinson were especially difficult. And not so much because of the hourly struggle for existence, but because of loneliness. As he said later, it took 18 months to come to terms with hermitage. Sometimes Selkirk was seized with fear: what if this voluntary exile is for life ?! And he cursed the earth, which sheltered him in the ocean, like the hour when he decided on a rash act. If he had known then that the Sank Pore ship was wrecked shortly after its landing and almost the entire crew died, perhaps it would have thanked fate.

Every day, Selkirk climbed the highest mountain and stood, peering for hours at the horizon. A lot of work and fiction was required to establish a "normal" life on the island. Like primitive people, he learned to make fire by friction, and when gunpowder ran out, he began to catch wild goats with his hands. Once during such a hunt, he fell into the abyss with a goat and lay there unconscious for three days. After that, Selkirk began to cut the tendons of the legs of the kids, which made them lose playfulness.

More than four years have passed. One thousand five hundred and eighty days and one-on-one nights with nature! What a strain of physical and moral strength, so as not to become discouraged, not to allow despair to prevail! Diligence, perseverance in achieving the goal, enterprise - all these qualities were inherent in Selkirk in the same way as his literary brother Robinson Crusoe would be endowed with them even more.

Sail on the horizon

At the beginning of 1709, the seclusion of Selkirk came to an end. January 31 at noon from his observation post, he noticed a point. Sail! First time over the years! But will the ship pass by? You need to give a signal soon! But even without that it was clear that the ship was heading towards the shore of the Mas a Tierra. The ship anchored, and a boat sailed from it. These were the first people he saw after 4.5 years of solitude. One can imagine how surprised the sailors were when they met on the shore a "wild man" in animal skins, overgrown, who could not at first utter a word. Only on board the Duke was the name of the ship that saved Selkirk, he became speechless and told what had happened to him.

Selkirk himself was much surprised: it turns out that he owes his salvation ... to William Dampier! It was Dampier who managed to equip the expedition, which included Duke, and, making a voyage around the world, again visit the archipelago in order to pick up the unfortunate boatswain.

Only on October 14, 1711, Alexander Selkirk returned to England. When Londoners learned about the adventures of a fellow countryman, he became popular. But soon Selkirk got bored with the public. He was not able to tell vividly about his experiences. After 8 years, Daniel Defoe brilliantly filled this gap.

Which of us did not read in childhood, voluntarily or “from under the stick” (as required by the school curriculum), Daniel Defoe’s adventure novel about Robinson Crusoe? The novel is written in the relatively rare genre of "fictional autobiography" or "Robinzoads", so it is not surprising that the name of the protagonist became a household name two hundred years ago. Defoe himself wrote not one novel, but four. Moreover, the latter talks about the adventures of an already elderly Robinson in Siberia ... However, the latest novels in the series have not been fully translated into Russian.

The adventures of Robinson and his faithful companion Friday are so realistically written that no one doubts the reality of an "autobiography". However, alas, the real Robinson Crusoe never existed.

“Robinson” is a collective image of many stories about sailors who survived on uninhabited islands, of which there were many in that era.

Pirates in the service of Her Majesty

The fact is that, although Defoe bypasses this topic in his novel, all (or almost all) real prototypes of his novel were the pirates. In extreme cases, by privateers, i.e. by the same pirates, only working under a contract for one of the warring countries (most often they were used by Great Britain to rob Spanish “golden caravans”).

Since the pirate ships were not equipped with guardhouses, they were either killed or left on an uninhabited island “for God's judgment” for the misconduct of such sailors. In the latter case, the islands were used as "natural prisons." Indeed, you cannot escape from such an island, but it is not easy to survive there. This was the “divine judgment”: if a sailor was still alive a year or a couple of years later, his “colleagues” in the pirate “workshop” again took him away, if not ... No, as they say, there is no court.

Alexander Selkirk

It is believed that the greatest influence on Defoe had a history of survival of the Scots Alexandra Selkirka. It was a sailor who served on a galley (small warship) " Sank por"Where he was a boatswain. In 1704, as part of a small privateer flotilla, under the leadership of the famous captain Dampier, he was supposed to rob Spanish ships off the coast of South America. However, as a true Scottish privateer, Selkirk had a nasty character and wild temper, because of which he constantly quarreled with other sailors and superiors (and argue with pirate captain  - more expensive for yourself). Because of one of these quarrels, he was demoted in rank, after which he "in the hearts" declared that he now had no place on this ship. The captain took his words literally and ordered to land on the nearest uninhabited island ...

Despite the fact that the unlucky boatswain repented and asked to cancel the order, the captain equipped the sailor with everything necessary and landed on the small island of Mas and Tierra, 600 km from the coast of Chile.

A good start to Robinson's story

I must say that Selkirk received excellent equipment at that time. He was given spare clothes and underwear (luxury for those times), tobacco, a cooking pot, a knife and an ax. And most importantly, our hero was equipped with a completely modern flintlock gun with a pound of gunpowder, bullets and a flint. They also included the Bible, without which the “judgment of God” would not have been judgment. After 300 years, archaeologists, at the site of his camp in the tropics, also found navigational instruments, thanks to which Selkirk probably watched the stars, thus determining the day and month.

Note that the boatswain himself was an experienced person, although he was only 27 years old at the time of the landing. Alexander - the son of a shoemaker, at the age of 18 he escaped to the ship as a sailor. However, his ship was almost immediately captured by French pirates who sold Selkirk into slavery. Nevertheless, the brave young man fled, he himself joined the pirates and returned home as an experienced sailor with a voluminous wallet full of gold coins obtained in an unrighteous way ...

Once on a desert island, our sailor launched a storm of activity. He built an observation post and two huts: an office and a kitchen. At first he ate local fruits and roots (for example, he found a local variety of turnip), but then he found a small population of goats, which he hunted from his gun. Then, when the powder began to end, he tamed goats, began to receive milk, meat and skins from them. The latter came in handy when, after a couple of years, his clothes became unusable. Using the nail he found, he sewed himself simple clothes from goat skins. Experience in his father’s shoe workshop came in handy. From a half of coconut he made himself a “cup” on a leg, “furniture”, etc. That is, Selkirk settled on the island quite thoroughly.

Keep humanity alone

Alexander Selkirk never met his “Friday”, therefore he suffered most from loneliness. The main tests, by his own admission, were precisely loneliness and the fight against rats that flooded this island. Rats ate food and spoiled the rest of his property. Selkirk even independently made a chest (which he decorated with carvings) to protect things from bad weather and rats.

However, the boatswain found wild cats on the island that he tamed, and thus protected himself from tailed pests. The presence of goats, rats, and feral cats indicated that this island was once inhabited, but Selkirk never found traces of other people. In order not to forget human speech, he talked to himself and read the Bible aloud. Despite the fact that the boatswain was not the most righteous man, it was the Bible, as he himself later admitted, that helped him to remain a man in a wild environment.

Once, two Spanish vessels arrived on the island, probably in search of fresh water, but Selkirk, who was a British privateer, was afraid to go out because the Spaniards would surely hang him on the yards for piracy. The ships left, and the boatswain again was left alone with goats and cats.

Robinson's salvation and the end of the story

But he was still saved. Four years after his arrival on the island, on February 1, 1709, his own flotilla led by Dampier returned for Selkirk. However, its composition was already different, and the Sank Por ship was not there. It is noteworthy that Woods Rogers, the captain of the Herzog vessel, who was directly involved in the evacuation of the Robinson, indicated in his ship's log that he was saving the "governor of the island."

Once on a civilized land, Alexander Selkirk became a regular in taverns, where he told the stories of his adventures on a desert island with a glass of beer. Probably one of the witnesses to his hopping performances was Daniel Defoe. The Scot himself did not stay on land for long. After some time, he returned to privateer craft, but ten years later, off the coast of West Africa, he died of yellow fever and was “buried at sea” (that is, thrown overboard with all honors). So ended the story of this "Robinson".

By the way, the island where Alexander Selkirk lived was called " Robinson Crusoe", And the next -" Alexander Selkirk". But this happened after the inglorious death of the brave Scottish boatswain with a bad character, who died, without having learned that he had become a legend.

The novel "Robinson Crusoe" immortalized the name of Daniel Defoe, and the name of the protagonist has long been a household name. Any child in childhood imagined how he would end up on a desert island and would survive here. What can I say, not just a boy. So, most recently, we talked about the ruined millionaire who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his stay on the island. But what other real stories of robinsons are?

Robinson Crusoe Island, where Alexander Selkirk spent 4 years

Lived on a desert island: 4 years and 4 months

The story of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk just inspired Defoe to write a novel, it was he who became the prototype of Robinson Crusoe. True, the literary hero stayed on the island for 28 years and during that long time alone with nature and with himself, he spiritually grew. Selkirk spent 4 years on the island, and he got there not as a result of a shipwreck, but after a quarrel with the captain. And no friend to you Friday, and, of course, cannibals. However, Alexander managed to survive in harsh conditions, he ate shellfish, tamed wild goats and built two huts. In 1709, English ships discovered the sailor. When Selkirk returned to London, he told his amazing story to writer Richard Steele, who published it in the newspaper.

By the way, the island on which Selkirk lived alone was later named Robinson Crusoe. And 150 kilometers from it there is another island - Alexander-Selkirk.

Traveler Daniel Foss

Lived on a desert island: 5 years

Surprising is the story of another traveler, Daniel Foss. At the end of the 18th century, a man traveled on the Negotsiant ship along with a crew on the northern seas, where they hunted seals. The ship collided with an iceberg, and 21 people managed to escape by getting out of the boat. A month and a half they swam in the waves, until two people survived. Soon the boat was washed ashore, where Foss lost his last comrade. But this island was far from paradise: a small rocky piece of land, where there was nothing but a rookery of seals. Actually, the meat of the seals helped Daniel to survive, and he drank rain water. Only five years later, in 1809, a passing ship picked up Foss. With this poor fellow had to sail to him, as the captain was afraid that he would land the ship aground.

Tom Neal - Voluntary Hermit

Lived on a desert island: about 16 years

But there are stories of voluntary hermitage. So, for almost 16 years, the coral island of Suvorov became the home of Tom Neil, a native of New Zealand. He first visited the island in 1952. A man domesticated chickens, started a garden, caught crabs, shellfish and fish. Thus, the New Zealander lived on the island for almost three years, and after a serious injury was taken out. But this did not stop him from returning: Tom returned to his paradise in 1960 for three and a half years, and then in 1966 for ten years. After his second stay, Neil wrote the book Island for Myself, which became a bestseller.

Jeremy Bibs - Robinson, who managed to grow old on the island

Lived on a desert island: 74 years

In 1911, the ship "Beautiful Bliss" was shipwrecked. Only Jeremy Bibs managed to survive. Then he was only 14 years old. Because of his age, he was very fond of adventure novels, and what do you think, which book was one of his favorites? Of course, Robinson Crusoe. Here he learned basic survival skills, learned how to keep a calendar, hunt and build huts. The young man managed to grow old on the island: they took him only in 1985 as an 88-year-old man. Just imagine, during this time two world wars have passed and man has mastered space.

Alexey Khimkov with his comrades - polar robinsons

Lived on a desert island: 6 years

This story is even more severe: without rainforests and a warm sea. The team lived in the Arctic ice for six years. In 1743, led by helmsman Alexei Khimkov, a merchant ship set sail and got stuck in the ice. A team of four went ashore of Svalbard, where they found a hut. Here they planned to spend the night, but fate decreed otherwise: a strong Arctic wind blew the ice with the ship into the open sea, where the ship sank. The hunters had only one way out - to insulate the hut and wait for salvation. As a result, they lived on the island for 6 years, during which time the team made homemade spears and bows. They hunted bears and deer, and also fished. So the harsh arctic winter turned out to be tough for men. However, in their small camp there was an outbreak of scurvy, and one of the travelers passed away.

Six years later, a ship sailed past the island, which saved the polar robinsons. But not empty-handed, they boarded: during this long time they managed to get about 200 skins of a large beast and about the same amount of Arctic fox. About the misadventures of Russian robinsons, a book was later published entitled “The Adventures of Four Russian Sailors, brought by the Storm brought to Spitsbergen Island”, which was translated into several languages.