ALEXANDER SELKIRK

The true story behind the tale of “Robinson Crusoe”.

Alexander Selkirk was born a seventh son and superstition decreed that he turn out to be special. Just how special no one could have guessed. His adventures inspired Daniel Defoe to write one of the best loved stories of all time. Alexander Selkirk would gain immortality in the guise of the fictional hero ‘Robinson Crusoe’.

Alexander was born in Lower Largo, Fife, Scotland, in 1676. His father John Selkirk, was a cobbler by trade. Alexander always dreamt of going to sea but he trained as a shoemaker under his father. He worked in his fathers trade until he was nineteen. The story goes...

Alexander Selkirk was cited to appear before the Kirk-session for indecent conduct in church but he escaped the reprimand by running away to sea. So in 1695 Alexander embarked on his career as a sailor. By 1703 he was Sailing Master of a galley the “Cinque Ports”. He set off as part of an expedition to plunder the ships and ports belonging to Spain on the Pacific coast of South America.

The voyage was an hazardous one. Captain Straddling was constantly quarrelling with his crew and Selkirk in particular. An ill-will grew between the captain and his short tempered Scottish galley master. The ship had taken a beating on its voyage out and suffered damage during its raids on Spanish shipping. Selkirk had doubts about the ships seaworthiness and its ability to make the return voyage to England. Selkirk asked to be put ashore on the Juan Fernandez islands. The captain obliged and Selkirk was left alone with a musket, bullets, gun powder, some carpenters tools, extra clothing, bedding, tobacco, an hatchet and a Bible.

At first he felt hopeless and dejected. He took to reading his Bible and praying to alleviate the loneliness. Soon he busied himself with survival and making his island home more comfortable. He shared his island retreat with the cats and rats that had bred from their descendants who had swam ashore from passing ships. The rats would bite at his feet and hands at night so Selkirk domesticated some of the cats to offer himself protection. The island also had goats. They became a source of food, clothing and companionship for the marooned Scotsman.

Selkirk visited his ”lookout” area every day to search the ocean for the sails of a ship. It was years before another ship appeared and this encounter nearly proved fatal for Selkirk. He had sighted two ships anchored off shore. He rushed down to the beach to signal the ships and saw they were Spanish. Spain was at war with England and Selkirk new that he would suffer a fate worse than death if he was captured. A landing party spotted Selkirk and fired at him as he ran and hid. The landing party soon gave up searching for Selkirk and the ships sailed off.

Alexander Selkirk spent four years and four months on the Island. On February 1, 1709, he spotted two British ships in the Bay. He built a fire on the beach and signalled to the two ships. Selkirk was rescued by Captain Woodes Rogers, the leader of a privateering expedition against the Spanish. Selkirk was told of the fate of his old ship the “Cinque Ports”. Soon after Selkirk had left the ship was wrecked and all hands were lost except Captain Straddling and seven men. They were captured by the Spanish.

Captain Rogers appointed Selkirk as Mate on one of his ships and for two years they plundered Spanish ships and attacked towns on the mainland. When they sailed back to London, in 1711, Selkirk’s share of the loot amounted to £800... a substantial sum in those days. It was around this time that Selkirk became an acquaintance of Daniel Defoe, who, years later, would romanticise the tales of Alexander Selkirk in the book “Robinson Crusoe”.

In the spring of 1712 Selkirk returned home to his family in Lower Largo. Alexander was not at ease at home. He sought solitude and would spend whole days alone wandering about the Kiel's Den, or fishing from a boat in Largo bay. Behind his fathers house he created a bower or cave and he trained two cats to perform little feats just like the companions he had on his island refuge. While on one of his solitary walks in the Kiel's Den, Alexander met Sophia Bruce and they eloped together to London.

The sea still held a fascination for Alexander Selkirk and he enlisted in the Navy. Sophia was now out of his life and Alexander married a Widow, Frances Candis, and made a will bequeathing all his property to her. She did not have to wait long to collect. Alexander Selkirk died of fever on board His Majesty’s ship Weymouth while off the coast of Africa in 1721. Frances claimed all Alexander possessed except the house he bought for his father and a few relics he brought back from the island.

His drinking cup and chest can be seen in the Antiquarian Museum, Edinburgh. The Chilean government has renamed the island, Isla Robinson Crusoe and another nearby island is to be called Alexander Selkirk Island.

More on PAGE 2...

LOWER LARGO

The true story behind the tale of “Robinson Crusoe”.

The beautiful bay of Largo forms a crescent of eight miles of coastline. The villages of Upper Largo and Lower Largo are about a mile apart. Behind them Largo Law rises to a height of 965 feet. Lower Largo was once known as Sea-town of Largo and lies parallel with the beach. Its main street is lined with rows of whitewashed fishermen’s cottages.

There is a beautifully wooded glen nearby called the Kiel’s Den. It is here that Alexander Selkirk took his solitary walks. In the Den stands a monolith known as the Tinker’s stone. Here Alexander Selkirk built himself a hut so he could be alone. As an added bonus for the tourist, the glen is said to be haunted. Kiel’s Den was a haunt of fairies and witches. They held their unholy celebrations on the green haugh, where the ruins of the castle look down on the Kiel Burn. The bridge over the stream is still known as the Fairy Bridge.

The remains of a submerged forest enclosed by a great ridge of sand has been discovered in Largo Bay. Legend tells us that the ridge was a great wall or rampart and the fishermen call it the dyke. Anchors sometimes drag up the roots of oak trees from the sand below. Alexander Selkirk is not the only mariner to come from Largo. Upper Largo can boast of Sir Andrew Wood, admiral of the Scottish fleet under James III and James IV. That is a tale we will save for a another day...