He was a sailor from Lower Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland. He was the 7th son of a 7th son, something long regarded as significant in empowering such a person with second sight and other supernatural abilities. His mother treated him as her favourite because of this special status. Interestingly, the Biblical David was the 7th son of a 7th son (though there is conflicting evidence for this).
Selkirk became a buccaneer and sailed with many of the most influential sea captains of that period. One was William Dampier who, in my opinion, was and still is the greatest explorer and scientist in his own right. His collected knowledge of sea currents and weather patterns was remarkably accurate and extensive, some of which is still used today.
Selkirk’s ship was anchored in Cumberland Bay of Isla Mas-a-Tierra, a small island about 700km from the Chilean coast, In the south Pacific Ocean. After Rapa Nui (Easter Island), an island further west which is regarded as the most lonely place in the world, Isla Mas-a-Tierra would come a close second.
Uninhabited, it was a stop-off place for buccaneers and Spanish ships. A good harbour provided an ideal place to careen hulls and carry out repairs while having abundant fresh water and food in the shape of goats and vegetables. These had been deliberately left there by sailors, over time, to thrive and multiply, providing abundant supplies at any time.
Selkirk’s supernatural abilities, if they existed, would have contributed wholly to his fear that the ship was so rotten it would sink within a few weeks of setting sail. He told the captain, Stradling, that he would rather stay on the island, alone, than risk sailing in a ship with a rotting hull. The captain didn’t like Selkirk, it is believed, and he immediately had Selkirk rowed to the shore with all his possessions. The ship sailed away without Selkirk … and did sink, some of the crew being captured by Spanish seamen.
Selkirk spent the next 4 years and 4 months alone on the island. When he was rescued, William Dampier was the pilot of one of the two ships that had stopped at the island.
It took more than a year before Selkirk was back in Britain. He became the toast of the town as news of his story spread. Daniel Defoe picked up on this amazing story of survival. He may even have met Selkirk. The most popular book of that era was published by Defoe shortly afterwards and except for a few details, the story mirrors Alexander Selkirk’s time on the island. The island in fact, was renamed Isla Robinson Crusoe by the Chilean Government years later, no doubt to capitalise on the popularity of a story that caught the world’s interest for hundreds of years. Not so well known is that of the 3 islands that make up the tiny archipelago of the Juan Fernández Islands, one is named Isla Alejandro Selkirk.
Perhaps of interest to health-conscious people is how Selkirk’s appearance was remarked upon by his rescuers. He was super fit and healthy (not a shred of processed or manufactured foodstuffs had passed his lips for over 4 years!) Before leaving the island he had taken some sailors and a couple of dogs to hunt a few goats for the two ships’ food supplies. The island is very steep almost everywhere, and goats, of course, prefer the rocky terrain and heights for protection. Well, in bare feet, Selkirk outran the dogs and later carried two adult goats on his shoulders, all the way back to the shore. Captain Stradling it is recorded, remarked on how calm a person Selkirk was.
I have a few personal heroes in my head, so to speak. Alexander Selkirk is certainly one of them. In the book (above) “10 Indelibles. Formidable Distinctive Individuals” there is a chapter on Selkirk.
