The
Juan Fernández Islands, to which
Más a Tierra belongs, was to have
a more famous occupant from October 1703
when Alexander Selkirk made the decision
to stay there. Selkirk was concerned about
the condition of the Cinque Ports, on
which he was sailing, and remained on
the island – the ship did later
sink with most of its crew being lost.
Being a voluntary castaway, Selkirk was
able to gather numerous provisions to
help him to survive, including a musket,
gunpowder, carpenter's tools, a knife,
a Bible, and his clothing. He survived
on the island for four years and four
months, building huts and hunting the
plentiful wildlife before his rescue on
2 February 1709. His adventures were a
direct inspiration for Robinson Crusoe,
a novel by Daniel Defoe first published
in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the
first novel in English. Más a Tierra
was later renamed Robinson Crusoe Island.
Philip
Ashton was captured by pirates while fishing
near the coast of Nova Scotia in the June
of 1722. He managed to escape in March
1723 when their ship landed at Roatán
in the Bay Islands of Honduras, hiding
in the jungle until the pirates left him
there. He survived for 16 months, being
rescued by the Diamond, a ship from Salem.
In 1812, the British ship Isabella, captained
by George Higton, was shipwrecked off
Eagle Island (part of the Falkland Islands).
Most of the crew were rescued by the American
sealer Nanina, commanded by Captain Charles
Barnard. However, realising that they
would require more provisions for the
expanded number of passengers, Barnard
and a few others went out in a party to
retrieve more food. During his absence
the Nanina was taken over by the British
crew, who left them on the island. Barnard
and his party were finally rescued in
November of 1814. In 1829, Barnard wrote
A Narrative of the Sufferings and Adventures
of Captain Charles Barnard detailing the
happenings.
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