February 19, 2025

The year was 1704.

Alexander Selkirk, a Scot sailing on a British privateer didn’t like the way the ship was being run. He thought it was dangerous and would founder (turns out he was right) and he demanded to be let off the ship. The captain obliged marooning him on the Juan Fernandez Islands with a knife, musket and bible. Marooning was punishing worse than walking the plank because it usually meant slow starvation. The musket generally had only one ball, to use on yourself. As the ship sailed away Selkirk had second thoughts, the captain didn’t. He was marooned.

He was also lucky; the Juan Fernandez Islands are west of the Humboldt Current and are washed by sub-tropical waters. They have a milder climate, lots of fishing available. An earlier ship had let out goats that they thought would breed and be available for meat when the ship returned. It never did. The earlier ship had also left two other invasive mammals, rats and cats. Selkirk ran down goats for food and even domesticated a few. He made sure the cats were happy so they would sleep with him and make sure the rats didn’t.

Daily he climbed to the highest peak to look for ships. Twice he saw Spanish ships in the distance but avoided trying to make contact as he could only imagine how they would treat a Scottish privateer. Finally, a British privateer sailed by and he was rescued. When discovered he was dressed in goat skins and could barely speak English, but he had survived. He had been on the island, alone, for 44 months.

Upon his return to Scotland Alexandar Selkirk became a local celebrity because of his survival schools. Daniel Defoe decided to write a book about Selkirk’s adventures that became one of my favorite books in the 7th grade. It is credited as being the start of the English novel. In Britian, there were 20 novels written in 1719, this is the only one that is still read today. Although Daniel Defoe adapted Selkirk’s story to be set in the Caribbean the adventure remains on each page. The name of the book: The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

The Juan Fernandez Island was almost destroyed by a tsunami which took away the old town, much of which was built on pilings. Many more would have died but an alert 12-year-old girl saw the harbor empty of water and sounded the town bell alarm allowing many of the residents to get to higher ground. The 800 residents who live here now have all built dwellings above the tsunami line which requires the town folks to work their way uphill to get to their homes.

For many of the 800 people who call this island home, lobster is life. The Juan Fernandez rock lobster supports 80 percent of the economy. Because of this fact, the community agrees to a 4-month seasonal closure each year, prohibited the sale of any lobster under 11 inches long, and mandates that all females with eggs, regardless of size, be released back to the sea.

Perhaps most importantly, fishing rights cannot be bought and sold. Instead, they are passed down from parent to child. And each of the 150 or so fishing families has its own marca, a designated fishing ground that is kept secret from outsiders.  These prized lobsters’ range in color from gray green to a vivid orange, and grow as big as 15 pounds!

There are likely many reasons why the lobstermen have endured, but I believe it boils down to the psychology of isolation. For most of their history, the people of Juan Fernández Island were very aware that they were alone. They knew that if they lost their resources, they would lose everything. This is a lesson that the rest of the world could learn from.

In 2010, Chile made the wise decision to rename the island from Juan Fernandez to Isla Robinson Crusoe in hopes of attracting tourists. The change in name was successful because now a few cruise ships stop at this remote location. We were one of the lucky ones. I am told that the popular American television show Survivor, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson was based on the adventures that took place on this island.

I am certain Alexander Selkirk never dreamed that the island he first stepped foot on 321 years ago would become a tourist attraction. And that a boy who read The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe in the 7th grade based on the adventures of his life would get to visit it.

Thanks for traveling with us.