Editing Alexander Selkirk (section)

==Castaway==
[[File:Rob-cru.png|thumb|left|alt=Shaded relief map of Robinson Crusoe Island with blue ocean background|Map of [[Robinson Crusoe Island]] (formerly Más a Tierra island), where Selkirk lived as a castaway]]
In September 1704, after parting ways with Dampier,{{sfnp|Funnell|1707|pp=46–47}} Captain Stradling brought ''Cinque Ports'' to an island known to the Spanish as [[Más a Tierra]] located in the uninhabited [[Juan Fernández Islands|Juan Fernández archipelago]] {{convert|670|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} off the coast of [[Chile]] for a mid-expedition restocking of fresh water and supplies.{{sfnp|Lee|1987|pp=394–395}}

Selkirk had grave concerns about the [[seaworthiness]] of their vessel and wanted to make the necessary repairs before going any further. He declared that he would rather stay on Juan Fernández than continue in a dangerously leaky ship.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=125}} Stradling took him up on the offer and landed Selkirk on the island with a [[musket]], a [[hatchet]], a knife, a cooking pot, a [[King James Bible|Bible]], bedding and some clothes.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=126}} Selkirk immediately regretted his rashness, but Stradling refused to let him back on board.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=125}}

''Cinque Ports'' later foundered off the coast of what is now Colombia. Stradling and "six or seven of his Men"{{Sfnb|Rogers|1712|p=145}} survived the loss of their ship but were forced to surrender to the Spanish. They were taken to [[Lima]] where they endured a harsh imprisonment.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|pp=145, 333}} Stradling attempted escape after stealing a canoe in Lima, but was recaptured and punished. The Spanish governor threatened to send all the survivors to the mines. The survivors ultimately returned to England after four years of imprisonment.{{Sfnb|Howell|1829|p=168|loc=Appendix}}{{Sfnb|Rogers|1712|pp=337-338}}

===Life on the island===
At first, Selkirk remained along the shoreline of Más a Tierra. During this time, he ate [[spiny lobster]]s and scanned the ocean daily for rescue, suffering all the while from loneliness, misery, and remorse. Hordes of raucous [[Mirounga leonina|sea lions]], gathering on the beach for the mating season, eventually drove him to the island's interior.{{sfnp|Steele|1713|p=169–171}} Once inland, his way of life took a turn for the better. More foods were available there: [[feral goat]]s—introduced by earlier sailors—provided him with meat and milk, while wild [[turnip]]s, the leaves of the indigenous [[Sonchus brassicifolius|cabbage tree]] and dried ''[[Schinus]]'' fruits ([[pink peppercorn]]s) offered him variety and spice. [[Rat]]s would attack him at night, but he was able to sleep soundly and in safety by domesticating and living near [[feral cat]]s.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|pp=127–128}}

[[File:Selkirk reading his Bible.png|thumb|right|alt=Engraving of Selkirk sitting in the doorway of a hut reading a Bible|Selkirk reading his Bible in one of two huts he built on a mountainside]]
Selkirk proved resourceful in using materials that he found on the island: he forged a new knife out of [[barrel]] hoops left on the beach;{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=128}} built two huts out of [[Schinus molle|pepper]] trees, one of which he used for cooking and the other for sleeping; and employed his musket to hunt goats and his knife to clean their carcasses. As his gunpowder dwindled, he had to chase prey on foot. During one such chase, he was badly injured when he tumbled from a cliff, lying helpless and unable to move for about a day. His prey had cushioned his fall, probably sparing him a broken back.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|pp=126–127}}

Childhood lessons learned from his father, a tanner, now served him well. For example, when his clothes wore out, he made new ones from hair-covered goatskins using a nail for sewing. As his shoes became unusable, he did not need to replace them, since his toughened, calloused feet made protection unnecessary.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=128}} He sang [[Psalms#The Psalms in Christian worship|psalms]] and read from the Bible, finding it a comfort in his situation and a prop for his English.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=126}}

During his sojourn on the island, two vessels came to anchor. Unfortunately for Selkirk, both were Spanish. Being British and a privateer, he would have faced a grim fate if captured and therefore did his best to hide. Once, he was spotted and chased by a group of Spanish sailors from one of the ships. His pursuers urinated beneath the tree in which he was hiding but failed to notice him. The would-be captors then gave up and sailed away.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=125}}

===Rescue===
[[File:Serkirk being taken aboard the Duke.jpg|thumb|alt=Selkirk, seated in a ship's boat, being taken aboard ''Duke''.|The rescued Selkirk, seated at right, being taken aboard ''Duke''.]]
Selkirk's long-awaited deliverance came on 2 February 1709 by way of ''Duke'',{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|pp=124–125}} a [[privateer]]ing ship [[maritime pilot|piloted]] by William Dampier, and its sailing companion ''Duchess''.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=6}} [[Thomas Dover]] led the landing party that met Selkirk.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=124}} After four years and four months without human company, Selkirk was almost incoherent with joy.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=129}} The ''Duke''{{'s}} captain and leader of the expedition was [[Woodes Rogers]], who wryly referred to Selkirk as the governor of the island. The agile castaway caught two or three goats a day and helped restore the health of Rogers' men, who had developed [[scurvy]].{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|pp=131–132}}

Captain Rogers was impressed by Selkirk's physical vigour, but also by the peace of mind that he had attained while living on the island, observing: "One may see that solitude and retirement from the world is not such an insufferable state of life as most men imagine, especially when people are fairly called or thrown into it unavoidably, as this man was."{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=130}} He made Selkirk ''Duke''{{'}}s [[second mate]], later giving him command of one of their prize ships, ''Increase'',{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=147}} before it was ransomed by the Spanish.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=220}}

Selkirk returned to privateering with a vengeance. At [[Guayaquil]] in present-day Ecuador, he led a boat crew up the [[Guayas River]] where several wealthy Spanish ladies had fled, and looted the gold and jewels they had hidden inside their clothing.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|pp=178–179}} His part in the hunt for treasure [[Manila galleon|galleons]] along the coast of Mexico resulted in the capture of ''[[Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación y Desengaño|Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación y Desengaño]]'',{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=294}} renamed ''Bachelor'', on which he served as sailing master under Captain Dover to the [[Dutch East Indies]].{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=312}} Selkirk completed the around-the-world voyage by the [[Cape of Good Hope]] as the sailing master of ''Duke'',{{sfnp|Cooke|1712|p=61}} arriving at [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|the Downs]] off the English coast on 1 October 1711.{{sfnp|Rogers|1712|p=427}} He had been away for eight years.{{sfnp|Funnell|1707|p=3}}